Contraception can make women very sick. Is there a better way?

It is the newest finding of a whole array of studies documenting the impact hormonal contraception has. However, for many of those that use such medication, it is also the newest blow.

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Although risk is small – responding to the report, Cancer Research UK says that other factors such as alcohol and smoking have a much bigger impact and those under 50 still face less of a risk – it is still a new worry alongside other common side effects associated with hormonal birth control use.

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My journey with birth control started when I was 14 when I found myself in a gynaecologist office through the recommendation of my GP to consider the pill to combat other health issues I was experiencing.

As a young teen, I remember thinking it all felt very exciting in a way – like a right of passage into adult life – and, truthfully, the first couple of years were rosy.

However, at some point, circumstances meant I had to change the contraception I was on. The problem was simple really. The medication I had been placed on abroad, was not really marketed in the UK: ‘Would I want to try another?’ No problem – or so I thought. I left the GP with a new prescription, not knowing that the years to come would see me form a love-hate relationship with contraception; a constant battle to maintain control over my body and fertility, while experiencing side effects to do so.

The pill has been available on the NHS since the 1960s; first to married women only, later in the decade extended to everyone.

The difference this made should not be underestimated – when it comes to society, the side effects of hormonal contraception were truly positive.

The Pill (Image: FREE)

Not only was there the obvious benefit of avoiding unwanted pregnancy, but through the autonomy women gained over their bodies, they too gained more control over their timeline and life events such as accessing education and advancing their career.

Yet, for all its benefits, hormonal contraception has also become known for its side effects.

Ask Google and you will find a whole array of things: headaches, dizziness, nausea, menstrual changes, mood swings, weight loss or gain, changes in blood pressure – the list goes on.

Many of these have been known and documented for decades. Taking hormonal contraception has always been a trade-off – and remains so today.

After changing to a new pill the first time, I soon experienced changes in my body, including a decline in my physical and mental health.

I returned to my GP and have been conducting a process of trial-and-error with almost every available contraceptive method since: Other pills, the coil, the implant, the three-monthly contraceptive shot – each with their own new issues.

Some I can laugh about. I still often joke about an incident that happened a few days after I got the hormone shot, which involved me crying because I opened the fridge and discovered the butter had gone off. I cried; my friend laughed (a lot) – I too can laugh about it now. Yet, some other aspects are not as easy to ridicule away.

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I know I am not alone. I am not saying such people don’t exist, but I have yet to meet someone who has never experienced any side effects from taking hormonal contraception.

In the process of writing this piece, I spoke to some friends, who all have stories like mine. Some additionally detailed ‘side effects of the side effects’, such as the resistance they received when going to a GP with contraception-related concerns and being dismissed.

The newest finding that we may face a higher risk of breast cancer, for myself and those I spoke to, is the cherry on top of an unfair gamble and uphill battle. Yes, these extreme risks may only apply to a small number of people. But how can we know it won’t be us?

However, what presents an even bigger blow is what to me seems to be a lack of urgency for change.

Side effects, such as the ones I listed but also more pressing ones, such as the increased risk of blood clots, have been known for years – decades even – yet there seems to be little alternative offering.

It feels like, when it comes to contraception, we are stuck in decades gone by.

Of course, hormonal contraception is not the only medication that has side effects, nor should these new findings stop people from taking it.

Overall, the benefits continue to outweigh the risks and I, my friends, other women and people with uteruses, will in all likelihood continue to take them despite the drawbacks, as doing so is better than not.

However, such logic should not delay efforts in advancing making contraception better.

There is some potentially promising research happening, such as a pill that could be taken once a month instead of every day, as well as research into contraception for men – an idea shelved in previous decades due to a lack of appetite for it and the fear of ‘undesired side effects’ – in which scientists recently announced they made a breakthrough.

Until these studies materialise, however, we continue to give hormonal contraception to people that are otherwise healthy – often from a young age and over a long period of time – that has the potential to make them sick. Why? Because this still beats the alternative consequences.

However, we should be allowed to dream of a future in which we don’t face this catch-22.

As research continues to highlight the potential impact hormonal contraception can have, just as much research should be going towards making it safer for all.

Daniella Theis is Scottish Student Journalist of the Year