There are many options for contraceptives, but the one usually recommended to women is the birth control pill.
Women take the pill for many reasons other than contraceptive use. The pill can help prevent acne, cysts on breasts and ovaries, regulate a woman’s period, help with menstrual cramps and more.
The pill is a relatively effective form of birth control. According to the Mayo Clinic, 9 out of every 100 women taking the pill will get pregnant in the first year of use. With perfect use, the pregnancy rate is less than 1 out of every 100 women every year.
However, the pill has lots of side effects that can be daunting, including bleeding or spotting, headaches, nausea, bloating, blood clots in the legs, severe mood swings and more.
These side effects can be different for each woman and can vary in severity. Going off the pill also produces side effects.
The amount of hormones going into a woman’s body affects the hormone balance. Taking synthetic hormones out of the system causes the body to need to figure out how to regulate hormone levels on its own again.
I originally went on the pill when I was a sophomore in high school for acne, severe period cramps and to regulate my heavy and irregular periods. That means at 21 years old, I have been on the pill for 5 years.
I don’t want to get pregnant any time soon, so I will be using contraceptives for a while. This means I could be taking a substantial amount of synthetic hormones for anywhere between 10 and 15 years.
Having my body get used to something like that for so long is terrifying. When I want to go off the pill to eventually have children, I have no idea how my body will react.
When I originally went on the pill, there was no discussion about the side effects or what it’s going to do to my body when I eventually stop taking it. I was told the pill would help with the issues I had at the time.
I had such bad periods that I would have to stay home from school each month for the first few days. I would scream in pain and the only relief I would get was when I threw up, all the while bleeding through one pad per hour. It’s recommended women change their pad at least one time every six to eight hours. Bleeding as much as I was so quickly is clearly not normal.
When I first got on the pill, I just wanted to get some relief. I never thought about what it would do to my body because I was never told.
Discussions of the harmful effects of long-term use of the birth control pill are not had enough. We need more education on these topics as well as more comprehensive advice from doctors when we decide to start contraceptive use.
Nicole Hindberg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @HindbergNicole
Sara H
Hi Nicole! Posting on the website (anonymously) as opposed to Facebook (my parents follow the Arg). I REALLY appreciate you for writing this article. Birth control means a lot to me because it helped me embrace my sexual life deeply. I completely agree with you that we are not told about the long-term effects of the pill enough. But I want to share my personal experiences because every person is different. I got on the pill my first year at UI getting away from my (super) conservative parents (thank god). My periods were awful (3-4 sleepless nights during my 7 day period and the worst cramps EVER so I feel you). My acne was awful (ate healthy and lots of skin care, still bad). And my hormones were off (too many emotions). The pill helped all of these problems with the only negative effect being about 10 pounds of weight gained. Though it mainly went to my boobs and butt so I can’t complain. Plus, I became (very) sexually active at UI so it helped with my relationships and sexual exploration a lot. After about six months of taking the pill, I started finding more horror stories online with harms and bad experiences on the pill. They scared me a lot. But I think we should remember that everyone is different too. Almost all of my close sorority sisters took the pill (one of them since her freshman year of HS) and barely any of them had negative side effects (some did say they had to try a few before the right one though). So I kept taking it for two more years because it worked for me. I think if you’re experiences are negative, you’re more likely to speak up about it. I then got off the pill because it was impossible to take when I went home and was always around my parents so I got the Kyleena IUD inserted my junior year. Much less risk for long-term effects and actually increased my libido too (is that good or bad lol?). Far less hormonal (which is great for girls more affected by hormones), but every body is different and will react differently. Mine has been perfect and I got my IUD inserted and health routinely checked at the Planned Parenthood in Pullman (If you’re on the fence, I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with them. Consultation is free and they’ll make you feel at ease) regularly. The only difference from the pill was I got occasional acne but it was much better than what it was before the pill (boosted my confidence big time). And I lost the weight in my boobs and butt (damn it). Each time my OBGYN told me all the possible side effects and gave me the option to look into it more but I was always eager to get on contraception right away (admittedly I should have looked into it more, but I also should have been taught it). The benefits have far outweighed the harms for me. Though like you said, I wish women (and mean) were taught the harms in more detail, especially in the U.S. I’m now graduated and in a relationship where my boyfriend knows so much about birth control (he lived in Germany for three years. They teach sex-ed in detail there. A crazy concept, I know). It’s honestly a blessing how much he knows and cares and pays attention, something a lot of guys I’ve met don’t care (or care to know) about. Anyways, ultimately it’s our body and we deserve to know what we’re getting into to take control of ourselves whether for sexual or health reasons. You never know unless you try. So take the education into your own hands while the education system still stinks. It was well worth it for me despite my ignorance when getting on it (ignorance is bliss as some say). And thank you so much, Nicole, for this article! I’ve rambled longer than what you wrote, lol, but this is something I regret not being more vocal about to other women and I wished UI raised more awareness about contraception while I was there so more young women knew about contraception and real people’s experiences! So I pass it on when I can. Sorry for the long ramble. Again, thank you so much for this!