TresSugar

Forget the Pill? Facts About Nonhormonal Birth Control

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:57:39 PST

As women celebrate more than 50 years since the release of the birth control pill, those who feel the negative side effects of hormonal birth control have missed out on the party. Hormonal options range from the ring to the patch to the pill, but what if you want to avoid the consequences, including mood swings, weight gain, decreased sex drive, or other side effects? You're in luck - different methods of hormone-free birth control exist.

I've rounded up some basic info - including effectiveness rates and pros and cons - on several different nonhormonal options that will let you enjoy freedom from pregnancy. If one or more spark your interest, talk to your gynecologist about whether it will work for you.

Should You Go Off the Pill to Make Sure He's the One?

Tara Block — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:50:36 PDT

There's a new study out that gets more specific on how the pill impacts who you're attracted to - and it's bad news for your sex drive. According to the study, women on the pill choose uglier men who are worse at sex but better at long-term relationships.

The birth control pill evens out hormones and causes women to choose men who are more similar to them, a safer choice, and more "father" material. But while the relationships last longer, the women involved in the study were willing to put up with worse sex. Those who aren't on the pill may choose men who are more different than them, leading to a guy who may be great in bed but not good for them in the long run.

The researchers even go as far as to recommend you switch to condoms before marrying to insure he's still "the one," once the hormones wear off. "Choosing a non-hormonal barrier method of contraception for a few months before getting married might be one way for a woman to check or reassure herself that she's still attracted to her partner," says Craig Roberts of Stirling University, Scotland.

Since we've heard a lot about how the pill affects a woman's sex drive, it seems to me that it may be more about a woman perceiving the sex as bad than the mate actually being bad at sex. But it's really interesting (and a little scary) to see how your choice of birth control could dictate your relationship choices. Would you experiment with going off the pill to test your relationship chemistry?

Did Your Birth Control Pill Get Recalled?

Annie Scudder — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:10:50 PDT

Pharmaceutical company Qualitest Pharmaceuticals has slacked on the quality part of its name, causing a recall of birth control pills manufactured at its factory. Last week, the producer of generic drugs admitted that a packaging mix-up put pills in the wrong places. The company said it didn't cause any immediate health danger, unless you count the risk of unintended pregnancy. The recall notice read, "As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception." Might there be a spike in births nine months from now?

The list of recalled birth control pills includes:

Cyclafem 7/7/7
Cyclafem 1/35
Emoquette
Gildess FE 1.5/30
Gildess FE 1/20
Orsythia
Previfem
Tri-Previfem

Pill Woes: Women Are Getting Pregnant to Avoid Getting Fat

Tara Block — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:50:28 PDT

According to a new report, concern about weight gain is one of the biggest reasons women quit taking the pill. Then some of these women are getting pregnant, which is a bit counterproductive if you're trying to not pack on the pounds. But the myth that the pill causes weight gain is just that, a myth, fueled by horror stories and false information, says the lead author of the paper. Studies show that oral contraception doesn't make you gain weight, and it may even cause you to lose weight.

While the warning labels on the pill's box may list weight gain as a side effect, these lists aren't always trustworthy. They list side effects anyone taking the medication in a trial believed they had, and the reasons for weight gain are difficult to pinpoint. In controlled studies there wasn't a big difference between the side effects women who took the pill had compared to those who took a placebo - spotting and bleeding in between periods are the most common.

Scientists say that a major factor in women believing they'll get fat on the pill is the "nocebo effect," aka the power of suggestion. If we think we might gain weight on the pill, we will. What has your personal experience been with the pill? And has a fear of gaining weight ever prevented you from taking the contraceptive?

The Pill Could Impact Who You Date

Annie Scudder — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:50:44 PDT

This week, The Wall Street Journal reported on something I've heard before: taking the pill could change which guys turn you on.

Breaking down the intricacies of personal taste to basic science, evolutionary psychologists and biologists have produced studies demonstrating that a woman is attracted to the scent, or pheromones, of men who have different immune systems than she does, perhaps since children born to parents with differing immunities would be healthier. Studies have also shown that women are more attracted to masculine men while ovulating.

But new research suggests that these preferences disappear when a woman takes hormonal birth control. She no longer prefers masculine men, nor those with different immunities. One biological anthropologist looking into the impact of the pill at University College London explained her motive, "We just want to know what we're doing" by taking the pill . . . "If there is a risk it affects our romantic life and the health status of our children, we want to know."

If you met your mate while you were on the pill, does this make you question your compatibility, or do you think it's an oversimplification of love?

What's Your Preferred Method of Birth Control?

Annie Scudder — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:15:50 PST

The Pill is still queen of contraception, according to new research from the National Center of Health Statistics. The center interviewed 7,356 women ages 15 to 44 over two years and compared the results to similar surveys conducted in 1982, 1995, and 2002. As it was in 1982, the pill is still the most popular choice among women looking to prevent pregnancy, but whether you're more likely to use birth control in the first place depends on your background.

Based on the data, the more educated a woman's mother is, the more likely she is to use birth control. Use also varied on race. White women are the most likely to use contraception, followed by Asian American women, Hispanics, and then black women. Here are some more stats:

In 1982, 55.7 percent of women used contraception. Today, 61.8 percent of women do.
17 percent of women use the pill (15.6 percent did in 1982), 16.7 percent rely on female sterilization (12.9 percent did in 1982), and 10 percent of women rely on condoms (6.7 percent did in 1982). As for other nonhormonal options, there was an increase in IUD use and a near end to the use of a diaphragm. The use of the so-called withdrawal method also went up.
Male sterilization has remained steady at 6.1 percent.
The use of emergency contraception has increased to 10 percent of women from 4 percent in 2002.

What's your preferred method?

What Women Want and Fear, According to Beyaz Birth Control

Colleen Barrett — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:00:35 PST

Beyaz is the new birth control pill that contains prenatal vitamins. That's not a bad thing from a health standpoint, but it is counterintuitive for a pill taken to prevent pregnancy. Hey, who knows what women want? One day they don't want a baby; the next day they do.

In its commercial, Beyaz illustrates the choices women face in the great retail store of life. Young women are tempted by grad school, a trip to Paris, and a stork-like bird. While I doubt a birth control producer would be politically motivated, the ad implies if you do get pregnant you're going to have the baby, which sounds like an anti-choice agenda. I've broken down the commercial into screen-by-screen shots; it certainly shows what Beyaz thinks, but what do you?

New Birth Control Pill Contains Pregnancy Vitamins

Colleen Barrett — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:30:45 PST

The FDA approved a new birth control this Fall that's identical to Yaz (made by the same company) with one difference: it contains folate, the prenatal must have for "women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant."

It's called Beyaz, which sounds like a verb or a SFW way to write b*tch. Putting prenatal vitamins in birth control makes perfect sense from a public health standpoint. The Center for Disease Control estimates half of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned (though only 20 percent of those women are on the pill), and 50 to 70 percent of neural tube birth defects could be prevented if women took folate.

So while this all sounds great, a big step forward for women not planning their pregnancies, it doesn't particularly instill my confidence as a consumer. How do you feel about taking a pill prepared to fail?

Three Unlikely Preachers of the Pill

Colleen Barrett — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:00:18 PDT

The pill has celebrated its 50th birthday all year, but 1960 was not the year it entered the US market; it was the year the FDA approved it as a form of birth control.

It had been around throughout the '50s and prescribed to a suspiciously large number of women for "severe menstrual disorders." Yet nobody, not even The New York Times, publicly acknowledged its birth-controlling powers until 1957.

That was when three clergy men - a priest, a rabbi, and a minister - accidentally got it some press while arguing against its dangerous, off-label use of preventing pregnancy. Even then, when The New York Times reported it, it did not mention the brand name, Enovid, so it was not like women could run out and ask their doctors for it.

It wasn't until May 10, 1960, when the FDA approved Enovid as a contraceptive, that the Times finally called it what it was: the "first birth control pill."

Best Birth Control Pills to Keep Emotions Even

Colleen Barrett — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:00:00 PDT

While the pill celebrates 50 years of blocking sperm, a new study says it makes women more possessive and paranoid about their partners' fidelity.

I'm not down with women using periods as an excuse to behave badly - or men using it to dismiss emotions - but anyone who's ever had a bad birth control experience would probably agree it can ambush the mood. The study does illustrate one worthwhile fact: pills with more oestrogen are more likely to cause emotional upsets than pills with less or none. None sounds like a delightful amount, so what pills are oestrogen-free? Find out below.