Then the combined pill is ethanol estradial which is again a synthetic estrogen and again the synthetic progestin

and it's so important to get these words right, you know, because by muddling up the words of the natural progesterone,

O-N-E, and the progestin ending in I- they are different things one is you know a drug and the other is a copy of your own

hormone and women don't understand that and I didn't understand that and that's what we should be going in and

focusing on making this safer.

Kate Muir is a brilliant documentary maker,

investigative journalist and women's health expert.

Her work arms us with the knowledge we need to make our own educated decisions.

This is the Lizzal Well-being show, the podcast helping us all have a better second half.

I'm Liz Earl and I'm on a bit of a mission to find ways for all of us to thrive in later life

by investing in our health and our well-being today.

Now were you on hormonal contraception at any point during your life?

Is it something you're navigating with the young people in your family?

When I was first married and we're talking around 40 years ago here, the

contraceptive pill was pretty much the only method of contraception offered. It was ubiquitous, taken without a thought, let alone a discussion. In fact, I was prescribed it from the age of 14 for heavy periods, something I wouldn't necessarily advocate now for my own daughters.

Well, as well as making documentaries, Kate Muir has written two books,

Everything You Need to Know about Menopause,

and Everything You Need to know about the pill which is out on the 11th of April.

She's also helped Louise Newsom set up the menopause charity of which I'm very proud to have been the first official ambassador.

Kate writes in her latest book that like me she had quote no idea until she started

researching what the synthetic hormones in the

contraceptive pill and other hormonal contraception could do to our moods, our

...