safyral birth control

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new oral contraceptive (OC), SAFYRAL ™ (3 mg of drospirenone / ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg / levomefolate calcium tablets 451 mcg and 451 mcg levomefolate calcium tablets). In women who opt for an OC of birth control, SAFYRAL raises folate levels in order to reduce the risk of rare neural tube defects (NTDs) in pregnancy conceived with SAFYRAL or soon after stopping it . SAFYRAL provides birth control YASMIN ® (3 mg of drospirenone / ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg) with 451 mcg levomefolate calcium, which is a vitamin B.


SAFYRAL Bayer is the second OC containing folic acid. In September, the FDA approved Beyaz ™ (3 mg of drospirenone / ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg / levomefolate calcium tablets 451 mcg and 451 mcg levomefolate calcium tablets), the first FDA-approved OC to increase folate levels in women opt for an OC for birth control.



"With the FDA approval of Safyral, Bayer has now two oral contraceptives containing folic acid," said Leslie North, vice president of marketing, Women's Health, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. "Beyaz SAFYRAL and part of the growing health Bayer franchise for women, and these new products, reinforce our commitment to provide women with contraceptive options."


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the March of Dimes and other health authorities recommend that all women of childbearing age leading to supplement your diet with at least 400 mcg of folic acid daily. A well-established body of evidence supports the folate supplementation as a means to reduce the incidence of neural tube defects - birth defects rare brain and spinal cord. These rare birth defects occur in the first weeks of pregnancy - often before a woman discovers she is pregnant. As a result, supplementation with folic acid every day is particularly important for at least one month before and three months after conception.


"The combination of an oral contraceptive with folic acid is important, because women can become pregnant while using OCs or shortly after discontinuation, possibly before seeking counseling before the conception of their health care providers," said Dr. Anita Nelson, professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California. "For women who already use YASMIN for contraception, SAFYRAL offers these women a new option to receive daily folic acid supplements as part of their routine of organized crime."


Women should not use SAFYRAL if they smoke and are over 35 years of age. Smoking increases the risk of serious side effects of the pill, which can be life threatening, including blood clots, stroke or heart attack. This risk increases with age and number of cigarettes smoked.