Most popular contraceptive pill ‘not the safest’

THE most popular oral contraceptive in Ireland is not the safest, research suggests.

Yasmin is the preferred choice among Irish women but it carries an almost six-fold added risk of blood clots, compared with women not on the pill.

Dutch researchers found that the safest option was an oral contraceptive containing levonorgestrel and combined with a low dose oestrogen, such as Microlite.