Birth Control: The Hidden Conversation
I've been on birth control since I was 14 years old. I was put on the pill because my body was progressing much faster than the girls around me; I needed it to help with hormonal acne, heavy periods &; other menstrual cycle symptoms. The pill helped in many ways, but I could have cared less about the benefits when the struggles I endured from it were as suffocating as they were.
For years and years, women have suffered from mood swings, depression, anxiety, nausea, weight gain, and more, all caused by their birth control. Not to mention the many cases of death caused by certain contraceptives for women of all ages.
My personal experience with birth control has never been pleasant. I remember having to run out of junior year English class at least once a day to get sick in a trash can because of the pill. I remember the mood swings, the depression, the anxiety, the weight gain.
I was angry all the time and mean to the people around me when I didn't want to be. I ate more than I wanted, I criticized myself more than ever before. It felt like I had completely lost control of my emotions. I remember how negatively that affected my self-esteem & lifestyle. It has always been a painful experience for me and is something I'm still not fully comfortable with today.
There is an unnecessary burden put on women when they start birth control. The list of negative symptoms is endless and doubles the number of positives. Birth control is a great option for so many, but why does the responsibility only fall on the woman?
A woman can only be impregnated about once a year, but a man can impregnate 9 women every day for nine months. That's 2,430 pregnancies in the time it takes to birth just one baby. The responsibilities and symptoms of birth control fall solely on women, yet men are capable of creating 2,430 unwanted pregnancies in less than one year. Because there is very little research that has gone into male birth control as well as a lack of normalization around vasectomies.
In 2016, Audie Cornish conducted a male birth control study. They gave shots to 320 different men all over the world, every eight weeks. The study was showing success until a few men dropped out of the study due to uncomfortable side effects, acne & mood swings. The study ended shortly after, and according to Cornish, scientists are "...gonna keep trying, but they're still a decade away from coming up with something for men."
Despite the introduction of male birth control being years & years away from us, what about the alternative option for men? A vasectomy is a surgical sterilization for men that cuts the supply of sperm to your semen. And guess what? It's all reversible. Serious complications are extremely rare, and there are zero side effects. So why isn't this a more popular option for couples? Vasectomies are not talked about enough in sex education. The lack of discussion leads to men being frightened of surgery that 99.9% of does no harm to them and is non-permanent. In America, vasectomies aren't even considered preventive services by ACA- compliant plans, meaning the surgery cannot be covered by insurance like female Contraceptives are. Our lack of education and healthcare standards lead to the dismissal of vasectomies as a liable contraceptive for couples everywhere.
Not including men in the conversation of contraceptives not only hurts our healthcare resources, future medication development but their romantic relationships as well. My own experience and so many others are proof enough that we must find a better resource for women &; men when it comes to birth control. Having responsible and protected sex is important but should never come at the cost of a partner's emotional and physical wellbeing. Creating a balanced weight of responsibility for birth control will help so many.