Why are we still struggling to get contraception right?

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2023

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As the pill becomes available over the counter and free of charge in England, Madeleine Finlay talks to science correspondent Nicola Davis about the problems women in the UK face in getting access to appropriate contraception, and how unwanted side-effects and lack of support have led to a rise in the popularity of fertility awareness-based methods. She also hears from Katie about her own journey trying to find the right contraception for her body. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the Guardian. this episode has a reference to suicidal thoughts.
0:14.0	More than 70 years since it was first invented,
0:19.0	the pill is reaching another milestone.
0:22.0	Starting this month in England, it will be available for free
0:26.2	from your local pharmacy without needing to see a GP or nurse. The change follows expert warnings that access to
0:35.9	contraceptives has been dropping, leading to a rise in unplanned
0:40.2	pregnancies. But that's not the only thing that's been making women
0:45.5	feel disillusioned with hormonal contraceptives. The main reason that I got off birth
0:52.1	control, there were so many, like so many reasons,
0:55.9	hormoneally unstable, did not feel like myself, but the main reason that really pushed
1:00.9	me to the edge was the fact that I completely lost my sex drive.
1:05.0	My doctor told me that my symptoms had nothing to do with my birth control.
1:08.7	Made me question my intuition and I was just so dismissed. And while social media gives people a chance to share their experiences, there are a lot of
1:19.3	scare stories.
1:20.5	Ladies, if you are on birth control every time you kiss him or have sex with him he gets the hormone you are passing it to him
1:26.4	Taking birth control pills can actually shrink your clitoris by up to 20%
1:31.6	Birth control is the devil.
1:35.0	All leading to arise in the popularity of so-called natural birth control methods.
1:41.0	I have never been on birth control.
1:43.0	Never have been, don't plan to be.
1:45.5	Contrary to what the mainstream would have you believe,
1:47.9	it is not that hard to prevent pregnancy naturally.
	...

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