Birth control changes people’s lives. It allows us as women to be able to make our own reproductive choices, and to decide what happens to our own bodies. Since its introduction in the 1960’s, more women have received college educations, been able to have successful careers, and shattered the glass ceiling in many other ways. In fact, an estimated 100 million women worldwide are currently using birth control. There are various methods that women use such as the pill, the patch, the shot, the IUD and more. There are so many positive health aspects to birth control, yet there are still so many negative misconceptions to such a small pill that has changed your life and society as you know it.
One of the first common misconceptions about the birth control pill is that it makes you gain weight. That’s not true at all, and there have been absolutely no studies that have proven that any weight gain is due to taking the pill or using another form of birth control. In fact, most doctors aren’t even sure where this rumor came from. Another huge one that is often believed in some religions and cultures is that it is a form of stopping life. NO! That is not a thing! It PREVENTS ovulation from happening in your body BEFORE conception, and that is such an important thing to note and for people to understand.
Another misconception is that birth control is putting “too many hormones into your body.” Birth control has been proven to be completely safe and only providing healthy hormones that are necessary for your body. There are probably far more negative hormones and GMO’s in the food you eat on a daily basis than in any form of birth control. Additionally, many women think that if they take birth control for a long time, then they will not be able to get pregnant in the future. Although it may take a few months after getting off the pill to get pregnant, there are absolutely no medical studies that have found birth control causes infertility. In fact, fertility can increase even after one day of missing the pill.
Many people also think that birth control is only for pregnancy prevention. Birth control helps with so many other things though, such as clearing skin, reducing period cramps, and regulating your period if needed. Additionally, some women use it for medical reasons. It can help stop ovarian cysts and ovarian cancer. It can also help reduce anemia and pelvic inflammatory disease. So yes, it’s one very important pill. Birth control is amazing and life changing. It is so beyond important that we know accurate information about it!