I’ve heard that hormonal contraception – things like the Pill and Depo – can cause HIV infection. Is this true?
No, hormonal contraception (HC) does not cause HIV infection – the HIV virus does. If a woman is at risk of becoming infected with HIV, it is possible (though not yet proven) that using HC may increase her risk somewhat. But a woman at risk of contracting HIV who is using HC will still be at risk of contracting the virus even if she stops using HC. There are many factors that go into determining a woman’s risk of contracting HIV. Even if hormonal contraceptive use turns out to be one of these factors, there will still be many others. And many of these other factors – number of sexual partners; use or non-use of condoms; use of injecting drugs – have a stronger impact on risk than hormonal contraception is likely to have, even in a worst-case scenario. So we should not focus on hormonal contraception and forget about everything else. Looking at the “big picture” is the best way to reduce HIV risk for everyone.
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