NuvaRing Blood Clots

NuvaRing may increase the risk of potentially deadly blood clots and other deadly NuvaRing side effects. In 2008, a spokesperson for the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said the agency was looking into the product and would likely consider a petition to ban it.

Twofold Risk of NuvaRing Blood Clots

The Food and Drug Administration approved NuvaRing in 2001 and the following year, the vaginal contraceptive became widely available. Used to prevent pregnancy, NuvaRing is a flexible ring inserted into the vagina where it remains for three weeks. During that time, it releases synthetic estrogen and progestin. Etonogestrel, the progestin in NuvaRing, is a form of desogestrol—a hormone in newer oral contraceptives that has been linked to a twofold risk of blood clots.

In February 2007, Public Citizen petitioned the FDA, seeking to ban newer oral contraceptives containing desogestrol because of the increased clotting risk.

NuvaRing Blood Clot Lawsuit

In March 2008, the family of a 32-year-old woman who developed a deadly blood clot after using the contraceptive filed a NuvaRing lawsuit against the contraceptive’s maker. The woman had been using the vaginal contraceptive for about six months when she suffered the blood clot. The lawsuit claimed that the maker of NuvaRing failed to provide adequate warnings regarding the risk of potentially fatal clotting due when using the NuvaRing birth control method.