Major Project
Shraddha Adhikari
ENG-170
Prof. Sara Vinciguerra
5 December 2022
Birth Control Pills are Harmful to Women
Birth control pills are used to prevent unwanted pregnancy. This is an accessible and easy-to-use contraceptive among women. Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved “the pill” in 1960, it has become the most popular and one of the most effective forms of birth control ever invented (Dominquez). A woman’s body creates and releases eggs into the ovary, the pills prevent the release of the eggs into the ovary. This action helps to avoid pregnancy. “Birth control pills are synthetic forms of the hormones progesterone and estrogen taken by women to prevent pregnancy” (Dominquez). The problem is that progesterone and estrogen affect a woman’s body through changes in physical appearance, hormonal changes, and weight gain and loss. Contraceptives like female and male condoms do not affect the female body compared to birth control pills. There are many other options for contraceptives apart from birth control pills that do not harm a woman’s physical and mental well-being.
The different types of birth control pills are combination pills, Progestin-Only pills (POP), and Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECP). All these pills are used to prevent unwanted pregnancies with different success rates. The use of birth control pills among women is increasing, and they are unaware of the side effects on their bodies. All these pills have side effects like hormonal changes and can cause nausea, vomiting, and headache with period cramps. “Since 2006 those over 18 years old can purchase emergency contraception without a prescription and general awareness of emergency contraception methods have been high among college students” (Kamimura). Students learn about sexual intercourse, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and birth control pills from their doctors and teachers. Birth control pills are more effective in avoiding pregnancy compared to condoms, but it comes with the price of a possible stroke, blood clots, and hypertension (Dominquez). All contraceptive pills contain some amount of human-made estrogen and progesterone. A woman’s body contains a certain level of estrogen and progesterone that they, require but when the amount is increased, it can cause different medical issues.
The problem with fertility and contraceptives is complex and results from the interaction of many factors, like economics, religion, morals, ethics, and most importantly knowledge (Kamimura). The reason why birth control pills are popular among women is because of a lack of awareness and knowledge about their different consequences. It is a common experience that when we buy medicine, we don’t go through its components or side effects. Same way, when women get birth control pills, they know that it is supposed to prevent pregnancy but they don’t go through the components. The effects of birth control pills might differ from woman to woman as everyone has a different body.
Being on pills can magnify stress, leading to anxiety and depression. A 2016 study in Denmark analyzed nationwide health records and revealed that people on birth control pills were most likely to be diagnosed or treated for depression (Ray). We should all be aware that contraceptive pills have a long term effect on a woman and their mental health. “A study of adolescents in the U.S. who were currently or had ever used the pill showed an increased risk for ever having experienced depression” (Ray). Young women are going through different physical changes as they are growing but the irregular level of progesterone and estrogen affects their mood. The change in mood, and having mood swings lead to anxiety and depression as it magnifies different feelings.
“Just like cigarette boxes, the pills should have all the pros and cons on the box” (“It sucked: Eight women open up about being on the pill”). It sucked: eight women open up about being on the pill produced by BBC shows eight different women and their experience with birth control pills, how it affected their bodies, and five out of eight women had anxiety or depression. They talk about different health symptoms they had like migraine, weight gain, headaches, loss of sleep, and full-body muscle pain while taking birth control pills. “When I stopped taking birth control pills, I noticed that I was losing weight without doing anything differently” (“It sucked: Eight women open up about being on the pill”). All these women talk about how they started feeling better not having pills. They claim that not taking birth control pills made them feel good, their depression was showing some improvement and their mental and physical health was improving (“It sucked: Eight women open up about being on the pill”).
Prescribed birth control pills are beneficial but unprescribed ones can be very harmful to one’s body. Doctors prescribe birth control pills to some women to regulate the menstruation cycle. They also help in reducing period cramps and pre-period cramps. They are also used in skincare as it reduces acne. Birth control pills decrease the risk of ovarian cysts, improve endometriosis, decrease benign breast disease or breast cysts, and reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer (Dominquez). They are used for different medical purposes apart from avoiding pregnancy.
Birth control pills have several side effects that could harm a woman’s body. However, contraceptive devices like male and female condoms do not have any side effects. Condoms are one of the contraceptive devices which protects one from Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs) and also does not cause any hormonal change. However, condoms are not widely used among women as it is less accessible and expensive compared to birth control pills. “ The gap between knowing about contraceptives and using them could be attributed to the sensitive nature of the topic” (Kamimura). A contraceptive device like birth control pills is easier to use as you can take them orally or have them injected, but using a condom requires learning the techniques to use it. The use of contraceptives can be a sensitive subject in some cultures and some might be against it. The culture I come from considers sexual subjects and talks taboo. My teachers used to skip chapters involving any sexual subjects and we never learned about contraceptives from school.
Contraceptives can be difficult to use if you are never taught about them. Birth control pills are easy to use and have instructions on using them, but condoms don’t have them. Schools and colleges should make programs like safe sex, learning about bad touch/good touch, using condoms, and other sex education. The school textbooks and instructions on contraceptive devices are not effective and efficient to know about their disadvantages. Medical and educational institutions should focus more on promoting the use of condoms compared to birth control pills. I am not saying birth control pills shouldn’t be used at all. However, it should not be the first choice when using a contraceptive device just because it is cheap and accessible.
Every woman has heard about the negative effects of pills from their family and friends. However, the use of birth control pills is not decreasing because it is easy to use and cheap. This is an important issue as it is affecting people physically resulting in medical issues. However, the long-term effect is that people suffer from anxiety and depression because of the pills. People talk about how you can choose the contraceptive you want to use but there are other factors like cost, accessibility, and most importantly cultural beliefs and value.
Works Cited:
Dominquez Linda, “Birth Control Pills”, Accessed Date: 20 October 2022
https://www.healthywomen.org/your-health/birth-control-pills
Kamimura, Akiko, et al. “Knowledge and Perceptions of Contraceptive Health Among
College Students in Vietnam and the United States.” International Journal of Sexual
Health, vol. 33, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 9–17. EBSCOhost,
https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2020.1846655.
Kulesza-Bronczyk, B., et al. “Health Behaviors and Knowledge of Birth Control Methods among Students.” Progress in Health Sciences, vol. 4, no. 1, June 2014, pp. 136–43.
EBSCOhost,
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=97099133&site=ehost-live.
Ray Laurie, “How different types of hormonal birth control affect your mental health”, 8 April 2022
“It sucked: Eight women open up about being on the pill” BBC. Accessed: 3 December 2022
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180823-women-speak-about-side-effects-of-the-birth-control-pill