Women who use Depo-Provera face a higher risk of developing a slow-growing brain tumor, according to a new study that comes as the contraceptive’s maker, Pfizer, faces hundreds of lawsuits claiming that it was aware of the potential risks.

Depo-Provera — the brand name for depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) — contains the synthetic progestin hormone, which stops the ovaries from releasing an egg to prevent pregnancy.

The injections, used by roughly 1 in 4 sexually active US women at some point, last about three months. 3

For the new study, researchers examined over 61 million female patient records, finding that women who used DMPA had a twofold higher risk of getting diagnosed with meningioma compared to women not on hormonal birth control.

Meningioma is typically ben

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