GirlsWho: Take Birth Control
By: Michelle Huang
As the media becomes increasingly polarized over the topic of sexual and reproductive rights, topics like abortion and contraceptives have become even more stigmatized than they were before. However, although oral birth control and other hormone treatments are often lumped into one group, it should be known that birth control is more than just a pill used to prevent pregnancy, and many people take it for alternative treatment methods as well. I know I personally started the pill to treat my irregular periods, then continued taking them to treat my PCOS. Here are some reasons people take birth control other than contraceptive purposes:
1. It helps regulate your cycle
Hormonal birth control can help you regulate the hormones that run throughout your body during menstruation, allowing your body to find a pattern. It can help lighten your period and make it more consistent, helping people like athletes manage and anticipate their periods.
That’s right! Some types of hormonal birth control can stop your period completely, and many people choose to do so for a multitude of reasons. One major patient group who take birth control to stop menstruation is transgender men, in which stopping their periods helps them with body dismorphia and gender identity. Athletes with vaginas also take birth control to stop their periods before sporting events or important games.
3. It can help you manage your pain
Taking birth control can help you manage your period pain. Painful periods, also known as Dysmenorrhea, is something that affects over ½ the female population, and there is a point where hot compresses and chocolate just don’t cut it. With lighter and more regular bleeding with birth control, cramps and menstrual pains decrease with its use as well.
4, It reduces your risk of uterine cancer
Women who take the pill are 50% less likely to get uterine cancer, likely because of the hormone regulation the pills provide. The effects of this cancer reduction can last up to 20 years even after stopping the pill.
5. It can help reduce body hair and acne
Acne breakouts and irregular hair growths generally attributed to hormone imbalances in your body’s system. Taking birth control can help manage your hormonal acne and body hair, allowing you to take control of your body.
No matter the reason, birth control is a right a person should be allowed to access. Even if the pill is just used for contraception, there is no wrong reason to want to go on birth control.