Warning about birth control pills after two women died just ten days apart

Women taking birth control pills and doctors who prescribe them have been warned after two women died from similar complications in the same month.

Coroner Alex Ho of Auckland, New Zealand, released findings on this week’s tragedies and recommended that women be advised of the risks of venous thromboembolism, as both women have unknown blood clotting disorders.

One of the women, Georgia O’Neill, a 24-year-old make-up artist, was found dead by her roommate in her shared room in Mount Roskill Auckland in September 2021.

Ms O’Neill had texted her flatmate and her father earlier in the day, telling her she was feeling unwell and had pain in her lower back that extended down her left leg. She told her roommate the pain made her throw up.

Coroner Ho said Ms. O’Neill was unaware she had a condition called factor V Leiden mutation, which increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) for those taking the pill 35-fold.

For non-diseased people taking the pill, the risk is about three to four times higher.

Dr Eileen Merriman, clinical director of hematology and senior thrombosis doctor at Te Whatu Ora Waitematā, said there was no benefit to routinely testing for factor V Leiden before patients started using the contraceptive.

Isabella was rushed to Auckland Hospital but died shortly afterwards

This is because most people who develop DVT or PE do not have the thrombophilic mutation.

“The absence of a positive test may therefore falsely reassure people with a family history of venous thromboembolism who may have additional risk factors,” Dr. Merriman, the NZ Herald reported.

In Coroner Ho’s recommendations, he said all women who took the combined contraceptive pill, and especially those with a family history of venous thromboembolism, should be alert for symptoms and not ignore them.

Symptoms of DVT include leg pain in the thigh or calf, swelling, warm skin and reddish discoloration or streaks.

Symptoms of a pulmonary embolism include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, chest pain under the rib cage, dizziness and fainting.

Coroner Ho said women should be properly informed about the increased risk and symptoms to watch out for before being prescribed the pill.

He also referred to the death of the second young woman, Isabella Rangiamohia Alexander (17), who collapsed with her father in the same month.

She was taken to Auckland Hospital but died shortly afterwards. Blood clots were later found on her legs and lungs.

In the report Dr. Merriman that, in general, “the consequences of unwanted pregnancy can cause far greater harm to women than safe oral contraceptives.”

“The risk of DVT and PE during pregnancy is sixty times higher than that of the combined oral contraceptive pill.”