There are 18 forms of birth control?! Why do I only know of 5?

I’ve personally been on birth control since I was 13 years old. I was put on the pill because I started having two periods in one month, both lasting for 5-7 days. Yes, I was bleeding every other week and it sucked! So my doctor put me on the pill to help regulate my cycles and it’s worked pretty well.

That was until ha, I turned 30! You know shit really changes in this new decade of life…let me just tell you! Suddenly my normal form of birth control wasn’t working as well. I knew there was a chance I had to change my form of birth control or up the dosage so I decided to take the time to explore what else was out there other than “the pill.”

That’s also around the time I got to meet and work with Dr. Jessica Grossman, a doctor working in women’s health for 22 years and CEO of Medicines360 a non-profit pharmaceutical company finding new ways to expand access to medicines for women, one of these medicines being birth control.

Now I consider myself to be pretty aware of my health and my options but Dr. Grossman proved me wrong when she dropped a few bombshells on me.

There are 18 birth control methods[3] approved by the FDA. Yet, only 14 percent of women we surveyed know that!

Um excuse me what? There are 18 types of birth control? And my ass can only name like maybe 5. Freakin news flash to me! So naturally my question to this mic drop of a statistic was well what the hell are the other options?

Dr. Grossman kindly listed several options including barrier methods (diaphragm, sponge, condoms and spermicides), short acting hormonal methods (the pill, the patch, and the vaginal ring), contraceptive injection, LARCs (IUDs and implants), and permanent sterilization (tubal ligation in women and vasectomy in men). LARCs being some of the most effective– having been found to be 20 times more effective than short-acting hormonal methods. Hormonal IUDs like the one at Medicines360 can be a great option for women who want an effective, long-term contraceptive that can be removed at any time, which they describe as a “set it and forget it” method!

She also went on to tell me that it’s incredibly important for myself and everyone to conduct their own research and ask their doctor about the options they have.

Many women (36%) are looking to sources other than their healthcare practitioners (HCP) for birth control information. After their HCP (64%), the internet (54%) and friends (28%) are the leading sources of information for women when it comes to birth control.[4] Doing research on your own is a great way to start looking into birth control, but it is essential that women have a conversation with their HCP.

So pretty much don’t let webMD get you confused just take your thoughts and concerns to a professional.

It’s also important to NOT feel ashamed about your own reproductive health, it’s 2020 own it! In the words of Dr. Grossman, “women’s health is not awkward!” So feel free to try different methods and if one doesn’t work don’t feel bad because in 2008, four in ten women reported not being satisfied with the form they are using, and in 2013 it was reported that 30 percent of women have used five or more different methods.[5],[6]

Conversations about birth control can be tough to have and it would be a lie to not think there is a certain type of stigma around these conversations, not only in the U.S. but throughout the world. To try and change the stigma around this “taboo” discussion Medicines360 launched a social media campaign entitled #NotAwkward to encourage other women to share their own stories when it comes to birth control, their struggles, trials, and wins because, “Women’s health is not and should not be awkward, so let’s talk about it.”

As for me and my birth control journey, I truly believe knowledge is power. So after conducting my own research, asking friends what they use and like, I took my findings to my doctor. After talking through my research, my wants, needs, and lifestyle we both came to the conclusion that I would stick to the pill because it was what I was comfortable using. She increased the dosage to work with my changing hormones and made sure to tell me that we can always try something else if this doesn’t work, however so far so good!