Jolene Brighten, NMD, is a naturopathic medical doctor, a leading expert in post-birth-control syndrome, the author of the new book Beyond the Pill, and a member of the mbg Collective. After struggling with post-birth-control symptoms like cystic acne and amenorrhea—and hearing her doctor say she was the only person ever to experience it—she decided to make women's health her life's work. Now, she has patients reaching out to her every single day saying "You're the doctor who believes women's birth control stories." This week on the mbg podcast, I sat down with Jolene to talk about how we should be addressing the rarely talked about but long-term side effects of taking hormonal birth control. She explains the science behind what the pill is doing to our health and the implications it could have on future fertility. We also discussed why women are starting to look for other options, beyond just oral contraception. "While 100 million women are using oral contraceptives currently in the world, we are seeing a decline in the number of the new generation that is coming of age," says Jolene. We talk about why we are seeing this trend, and it comes down to people listening to what their bodies are saying. In this episode you'll hear about:The cases for which she believes the pill is necessaryHow our thyroid affects our overall health and the test women should get yearlyThe tests she recommends for those trying to conceive in the next six monthsThe gene mutation to get tested for before going on the pillSo whether you're on hormonal birth control or not, this episode is for you. Jolene is an advocate for women's health and wants you to have the full story—before you make big decisions about your health. To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices