This is a guest post written by Chloe Nyxie Nook in collaboration for World Contraception Day.
I remember when my doctor first prescribed me the contraceptive pill like it was just yesterday. Back in 2009 I was just seventeen years old and the pill was this magical little tablet that was only used by ‘the cool girls’ to prevent teenage pregnancy. I had just recovered from anorexia nervosa for the first time, so sexual intercourse was the last thing on my mind.
But when I visited my doctor for a host of awful menstrual problems, they suggested the contraceptive pill as a ‘fix all’ solution. To say I was a little flabbergasted would be an understatement. Not only was I painfully aware of the stigma around the pill, I was terrified of what my mother would say.
In 2009 rural Northern Irish town anything in regards to sex, contraception or ‘ladies’ problems’ just wasn’t talked about. Even during our mandatory ‘health classes’ we weren’t given a large amount of information about the pill, or any contraception other than condoms. The phrase ‘don’t have sex or you’ll get pregnant and die’ comes to mind, because that is exactly how it felt.
It wasn’t until I read through the patient information leaflet that I came to discover the multitude of other things the pill could be used for. Some of which I had struggled with for months after regaining my period.
Photo by Katy Anne on Unsplash
The history of the Contraceptive Pill within the United Kingdom
While the pill was accessible in the United States from as early as 1960, it wasn’t until a year later that it became available to those in the United Kingdom. However, at the time, it was only accessible for married women! Despite attempts being made in 1965 to have this extended to unmarried and single women, it wasn’t until 1967 that it became more widely accessible. This was only made possible through the “The NHS Family Planning Act.”
“The NHS Family Planning Act” was a monumental occasion for women living in the United Kingdom! By this point 12.5million women worldwide were already in receipt of the pill. Not only did this act create a sense of autonomy and control over their bodies and reproductive choices, but on a grander scheme it introduced increased career progression and opportunities for advancements in health care.
Maggie Andrews, Professor of cultural history at the University of Worcester once state that the introduction of the pill meant that for many women, married or single, there was now a reduced association between sex and pregnancy. Something which is very important if you want to experience intimacy, but are not ready or do not want children.
While the pill was no doubt an amazing breakthrough for women everywhere, it wasn’t and still isn’t one hundred percent effective. There is always a slight chance that pregnancy can occur even with the use of the pill. This can happen for a variety of reasons, most notably misuse or not taking it consistently.
Therefore, historically women felt that there should be a backup option, such as an additional method of contraception (i.e. condoms). But, in the early eighties, there came another revolutionary breakthrough in reproductive health care known as the morning after pill.
While chemists had been working on the morning after pill since the early seventies, it wasn’t licensed here in the United Kingdom until 1984. Through trial and error over many years, the morning after pill was perfected. In 2001 it became legally available to buy over the counter at any pharmacy, meaning yet another step forward in autonomy and reproductive health care for women.
But what about the daily pill? The mini pill is now available to purchase with a quick and simple assessment in pharmacies across the united kingdom and Northern Ireland. However, it’s still free by visiting a general practitioner.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
The positives and negatives of using the contraceptive pill
The discovery of the contraceptive pill was revolutionary however, there are many things to consider before choosing this as your primary method of birth control. The main reason that most people take the contraceptive pill is to prevent pregnancy.
However, there are benefits to the contraceptive pill that you may not be aware of:
- The pill can help regulate the menstrual cycle. This is particularly useful if you’re prone to irregular periods, which can be both concerning and irritating for planning things such as vacations.
- Not only does it regulate your period, but it can also lead to lighter periods.
- It’s proven to be ninety nine percent effective if taken as directed.
- Not only is it safe and convenient, but it also allows for sexual spontaneity.
- It can greatly reduce the level of discomfort experienced from menstrual cramps.
- The combination pill can be taken to change the time or frequency of your period, meaning you can choose to skip a period safely.
- Some combination pills also help reduce instances of osteoporosis, anaemia, acne, vaginal dryness, and pelvic inflammatory disease.
However, as with many medications there can also be some unwelcome side effects. In my experience, I’ve heard of several of these occurrences in friends and family members who have taken oral contraceptives.
I recently spoken to a pharmacist and I’ve been assured that most of these side effects should disappear by the second or third month of consistent use. This is known as an adjustment period, and occurs with the majority of medications on the market today.
With that being said, if you’ve recently started the contraceptive pill, you may experience any of the following:
- Headaches
- Breast tenderness
- Nausea
- Bleeding, or spotting, between periods
- Depression or mood changes
- Changes in libido
What’s your experience with the contraceptive pill? Maybe you’ve never used it before, or experienced completely different side effects that put you off! I’d love to hear in the comments.
Great post 👍
This is interesting topic, I can see it has some good and bad sides. I never tried it but will keep this in mind. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for reading and commenting.
The pill was certainly revolutionary; I used to take it but since I moved to the U.S. I haven’t (I’d actually like to get back on it because it helped calm my extremely painful periods). It’s definitely got its pros and cons but it’s useful for so many things beyond contraception (which is under attack here in America). Fab post!
Exactly why I wanted Chloe to share this post on world contraception day with everything happening. I thought it would spark a great discussion. Thank you for reading and commenting.
I don’t take the pill anymore mostly d/t health reasons and once I stopped taking it, I realized that I prefer not being on it. There’s definitely a lot of good reasons to take it though, and a viable option for many.
Thank you for reading and commenting. I have tried to comment on your latest. But it will not let me log in to comment.
Oh no! I have no idea why it’s not letting you log in. I’m logged into WP so idk if it’s on my end or not 😕
I will keep trying!
Very interesting topic! The pill invention was a very important milestone in history! many of my friends got prescribed the pill for acne and excess hair problems. I personally never used it before, so I can’t give my personal experience on it. Thanks for talking about those topics, it is very important to raise awareness regarding sexual health.
Thank you for reading and commenting. X
The contraceptive pill has given women a huge increase in freedom as they can now control when they become pregnant, leading to more opportunities in employment, education, and sports. The pill worked well for me when I didn’t want to have kids, and it was easy to just stop taking it when I did decide it was time to get pregnant. I tried to go back on it last year at age 48 when I started having periods so heavy I was borderline anemic. Unfortunately within weeks I developed a blood clot in my calf after a three hour plane trip. The drs blame the clot on the pill and the plane. So, no more pills for me at this age.
Sorry to hear you’ve recently had a horrible experience with the pill. I hope you find something that works just as well for you. Thank you for reading and commenting.
I just started using it again to help with some mood symptoms. So we’ll see! Very interesting post 💕
Thank you for reading and commenting.
This is such an important post, especially for the political climate of the United States. Whether women choose to go on it or not, they should know about all options relating to their sexual health.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
So glad it helped you! This is a complicated topic for me as I haven’t had very good luck with any of them in the past but not sure how the lower hormonal doses would be. For me, the pill made me emotionally unstable and I didn’t even recognize myself but I’m glad there are other options out there and I know friends who thought it was life changing, especially for painful cramping. thanks for sharing it’s a very important topic!
This was a guest post by Chloe. So it was Chloe’s experience. As I have never taken it before. Thank you for sharing your experience as I am sure it is not for everyone.
This is a great guest post on a really important subject. I started taking the pill around the same age, for the same reason.
It is great you could relate to this post. Thank you for reading and commenting.
This is such an interesting topic. I still don’t think its spoken about enough, especially in schools. The pill made me a nightmare to live with so I came off of it.
It is interesting to hear about other people’s experience as I have never been on it which is why I was so interested in having a guest post on it.
I can’t even remember how long ago I’ve been on the pill probably around 10 years! So far I’ve been pretty lucky and it’s worked well for me x
That’s great you have had a positive experience with the pill. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Thank you for giving me the platform to discuss this. I do plan on going a pros and cons on various contraceptives at a different time, and I hope your readers would be okay with me taking some of their experiences. Anonymously of course!
I am so glad you shared this post, I think it was a great post to discuss women’s rights and freedom especially with everything happening right now. Thank you so much!
Great post. I don’t take the pill anymore and haven’t for year’s. It affected my mood too much, so I’ve had to try other things. I was on it for 10 years and when I stopped I got acne for ages. But it did stop me getting pregnant during that time which was good! Jade MumLifeAndMe
That’s good that it benefited you at the time. Thank you for reading and commenting your experience.
Thanks for sharing this – I’ve looked into this before and changed.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Thanks for the thorough article. It is interesting to reflection on how body and how the pill affects me.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
I really loved reading the history part of the pills and was surprised how “new” they actually are. They certainly have made great impact for women’s freedom in everything and I think the other reasons should be more common knowledge because hormones affect our bodies in hundreds different ways and a lot of them can cause problems.
Definitely an informative post that Chloe has shared. It really can have a huge affect on the body which is why knowledge is power. Thank you for reading and commenting.
I’ve been on the pill for YEARS but this was a really informative post in regard to the history of it! I’m currently on the mini-pill which has worked wonders for me but I’m hoping to come off it very soon because I feel like it’s been too long and I’d like my body to get back to normal 🙂
Thank you for reading and commenting. That sounds like a good idea to give your body a break.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I learned so much from this post, especially the history of the pill in the UK!
I have never been on the pill which is why Chloe guest posted for me. She has written a great post hasn’t she? Thank you for reading and commenting.
There are some good benefits to going on the contraceptive pill. I can’t go on the pill because I have a slight issue with my liver plus I’m on enough meds as it is! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you for reading and commenting. I don’t take it either, hence the guest post. X
What a fabulous post! Super informative. I didn’t realise that way back when you could only get the pill if you were married. It just seems barbaric looking at it now. I’ve been on the pill for many years. 10+ before I had the girls and now I’m back on it again. In all honesty I do think it’s revolutionary and brilliant, but there’s part of me that hates it too. I hate how I’ve got to (I mean, I don’t, i just do) put something in my body to prevent pregnancy. Part of me would love my body to just do what it’s supposed to do naturally without any hormone input. I feel so conflicted about it. Like it’s brilliant, I just want to be me without the extra hormones. It’s a difficult one. X
I didn’t know much about it either as I have never been on it. Chloe has really written an informative and detailed blog post. Thank you for reading and commenting your experience.
I tried it years ago but the headaches and numbness in my head scared me away from it. I know some friends who have been on them for years with no side effects. Though.
Thank you for reading and commenting your experience.
A brilliant post, a topic that needs to be discussed more and more. I got to learn so much from this post, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
It’s fantastic that the contraceptive pill gave women the freedom that was often lacking before, allowing them a better choice around when and if they’ll get pregnant. It’s a shame that organisations like the Catholic church don’t agree with contraception. Now we just need to make period products free
Definitely. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Great post, I was on it for years and it did mean my periods were regular and symptoms weren’t as bad, however I don’t think it helped my mental health in the long run, I was just permanently flat.
It is interesting to hear about other people’s experience. I have never been on it, which is why I asked for a guest writer. Glad you were able to relate. Thank you for reading and commenting.
This is such an important post. There isn’t enough education on contraceptives and all of the side effects. I was put on the pill to manage my endometriosis symptoms and it actually made them 10X worse! The side effects were horrendous for me and I had NO idea.
As I have never been on the pill I wanted a guest writer who has personal experience. It is so interesting to hear other people’s experiences as they are all so different. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Thank you for reading and commenting your story. X
Never used pills but I’m glad I stumbled on this piece
Thank you for reading and commenting.
The pill gave me bad headaches, I’ve been on a few but they all gave me some issue. I just have the coil now 🙂
Corinne x
It is good there are so many options now! Thank you for reading and commenting your experience.
What a fascinating and useful post! I love that Chloe goes into depth about the history and development of the pill and how the stigma around it slowly changed for the better. <3
Thank you for reading and commenting.
This is so interesting to read! Recently I have been put on the pill due to endometriosis. I don’t really like to be on the pill because I don’t like the idea of added hormones, but it is definitely a relief that I get 6 weeks ish without pain which is lifesaving for me. It’s nice to be able to have an idea of when it’s coming too x
That is good you have some time to be pain free. That is definitely a plays. Thank you for reading and commenting.