Topic: birth control

Stop Giving The Pill All The Credit—Penicillin Actually Launched Sexual Revolution

Stop Giving The Pill All The Credit—Penicillin Actually Launched Sexual Revolution

Once upon a time, young men and women couldn’t go about having sex all willy-nilly without worry, but then along came the Pill, divorcing us from our reproductive destinies and ushering in the sexual revolution—or so the story goes. A new economic analysis, however, shows how this legend may give birth control too much credit. A bigger factor in launching the modern sexual milieu may be the widespread use of penicillin for treating syphilis. More »

Hormonal Birth Control Could Give You A Better Brain

Hormonal Birth Control Could Give You A Better Brain

Unexpected upsides to hormonal birth control seem to get way less attention than potential risks, but here’s a benefit we shouldn’t let slip under the radar: Using hormonal contraception could help give you a better brain. In a new study published in the Journal of Women’s Health, researchers Kelly Egan and Carey Gleason say hormones in the pill et al. can improve women’s cognitive abilities in middle- and old-age — and the longer the use, the greater the effect. More »

Where Did All The Diaphragms Go? Let’s Take Another Look At This “Outdated” Contraceptive

Where Did All The Diaphragms Go? Let's Take Another Look At This "Outdated" Contraceptive

Where did all the diaphragms go? Not in the vaginas of modern American women, that’s for sure. Until I started researching this article, I’d never heard of anyone in my age group using one. No one ever suggested one to me as a viable form of birth control: not my mom or my doctor or anyone I’ve ever spoken to about reproductive health. But diaphragms were a hugely popular form of birth control from the time Margaret Sanger introduced them to the U.S. in 1916 until just a few decades ago. Why aren’t we using them today? More »

Essure, IUDs, And More: Long-Term Birth Control That Doesn’t Involve Hormones

Essure, IUDs, And More: Long-Term Birth Control That Doesn't Involve Hormones

Whether you’re finished having children, you’re not ready to have any yet, or you don’t want to have any at all, you most likely need some form of birth control. There’s a dizzying array of options out there, from hormonal pills, patches and rings to Essure and other permanent or long-term birth control options. Since we recently wrote about what happens to your body when you go off of hormonal birth control, we thought we’d research a few of the other long-term options for non-hormonal contraceptive protection. More »

Birth Control Handouts Threaten To Lower High Teen Pregnancy Rates In UK; I Don’t See The Problem

Birth Control Handouts Threaten To Lower High Teen Pregnancy Rates In UK; I Don't See The Problem

Teenage girls in Bristol, England (a city with one of the UK’s highest rates of teen pregnancy) have received contraceptive shots and implants at school, courtesy of the National Health Service. Although there’s an uproar about whether or not their parents were informed of the administration of birth control, I can’t see anything wrong with preventing teenage girls from getting pregnant. More »

What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Taking (Hormonal) Birth Control

What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Taking (Hormonal) Birth Control

I’ve been taking some form of hormonal birth control for the last eight years. While I have no intention of stopping anytime soon (no babies for me just yet!), I’ve started to wonder what will happen to my body when I do. Lots of my friends have ceased taking birth control, either because they want to get pregnant or because they want their bodies to return to a natural cycle. I talked to a few doctors for a refresher course in the science of birth control, and learned what really happens to your body once the hormones leave. More »

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