Contraception
Hey Gorgeous
Before I dance out of my scope as a Dietitian I want to state that I am a) not a doctor and b) when I work with women in regards to their contraception and health the goal is the same as this article, to provoke curiosity.
Contraception is something we can readily access from our doctor, sexual health nurse and community clinics. Let’s not forget that contraception wasn’t always a women’s right and as little as 53 years ago The Supreme Court (USA) gave married couples their first legal right to use the oral contraceptive pill as birth control. It wasn’t until 1972 that all women in the US regardless of marital status were given the right to contraception.
I first used hormonal birth control when I was a teenager and I had no idea how it worked, that a pill bleed isn’t a period (how many of us commonly say that we don’t run the pill back to back without a bleed because its unnatural not to have a “period”) and what questions I should have asked before taking this medication for almost 10 years.
So gorgeous, let me tell you what my teenage self never knew and help you prepare for conversations with your doctor about what form of contraception is right for you.
Here are some questions you need to ask yourself and then ask your health care provider:
Why are you using hormonal contraception? And if the answer isn’t to prevent a pregnancy i.e. to “regulate” your period (don’t even get me started) then this isn’t the right reason and you need to be thinking of this as simply a Band-Aid solution. If you have Endometriosis this may not apply to you (more on this another time)
What other methods of contraception (non-hormonal) are out there and could they be right for me? (copper IUD, barrier methods such as male or female condoms and fertility awareness methods are all other options)
What are the side effects of the proposed contraception choice? (for example the relationship between depression and the oral contraceptive pill is frightening and the copper IUD can increase your period flow by up to 20%)
Bottom line is you have a right to INFORMED choice (see what I did with that key word) and is important you understand all of the options, the good and the bad, before making a choice for you and your body.