Birth control as medication must be discussed more openly

I’ve struggled with chronic pain my whole life. Fortunately, I’ve had access to medications and procedures to address my pain. Fluctuating hormone levels exacerbated my pain every month. It was horrible. I just lived with that for a while.

After a lot of frustration and appointments, I started taking hormonal birth control pills when I was 15. Birth control became just another part of my treatment. Immediately, my health improved. While the pill helped, it wasn’t the perfect option for me, so at 17, I went off the pill and got a Mirena IUD that has truly changed my life. 

Birth control is medicine: It can prevent cramps, migraines, acne, anxiety, depression, pregnancy and countless other medical concerns. The problem is that birth control isn’t perceived as regular medication. Instead, birth control options are stigmatized, misrepresented and restricted.

Young people are often told that menstrual pain is just something they have to learn to manage, that side effects should be expected, and that talking about birth control should make them uncomfortable. However, this just isn’t true: periods don’t have to be debilitating. In fact, many people can safely stop their periods altogether; if a certain method of birth control causes disruptive side effects, doctors can and should work with patients to find an option that meets all of their needs. Talking openly about birth control is the only way to make sure these basic facts are known. Needless taboos are putting people in avoidable pain.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, approximately 1 in 10 females between the ages of 14 and 20 miss school or work every month because of debilitating menstrual symptoms, and many more show significantly reduced engagement with their responsibilities. However, this prevalent struggle is often not addressed. Many people feel uncomfortable discussing their pain and never get treatment or even realize their pain is abnormal. When people do speak up, their concerns are frequently dismissed by doctors.

Along with the baseline medical benefits of birth control, birth control is also crucially one of the most effective ways to prevent pregnancy. Awareness about different birth control options and their benefits has proven to drastically reduce the chances of unwanted pregnancies, especially for adolescents. The medical consequences of pregnancy can be severe, long-lasting and in some cases fatal, not to mention the impact of actually having and needing to support a child. 

Given the life-changing impacts of birth control, it is ridiculous that conversations around birth control are so shrouded by stigma, a stigma that exists at U-High. Because we avoid talking about birth control, people suffer with unnecessary pain. So share your personal stories. Ask your doctors and friends questions.