6 Things I'd tell my 14 year old self before she started on the Pill.
- Rachel Havill
- Mar 21
- 2 min read
And I think you might like to hear it too.
The oral contraceptive pill (OCP) isn’t my arch nemesis but I’m not a huge fan of how flippantly it’s prescribed and touted as a ‘hormone regulator’.
The pill came on the scene in the 1950s and there’s no doubt that the right to birth control was a step in the right direction for women’s rights. However, not too much has changed in the OCP space over the past 70 years, it hasn’t modernised along with women's health care and continues to shut down the hormones of girls and women all over the world.
There’s no doubt that in some instances, hormonal birth control is the right option. For cases of severe reproductive conditions or for people in vulnerable home or social environments, the OCP can be life altering.
My main gripe with the OCP is that it is often prescribed to balance hormones (it stops, not balances them) and usually without necessary education around how it works, how it affects your body and what side effects you may experience. It’s prescribed so frequently and flippantly that when I ask my clients if they take any medication, many don’t register the pill as one.
Like many of you, I was prescribed the pill for some very inconsequential acne at a young age and truly had NO idea how it worked or affected my body.
These are the 6 things I would tell my 14 year old self before she started the pill.
So she could make a well informed decision (even if it was to go on the pill!)
The pill does not balance your hormones, it suppresses them and does not allow them to cycle as they naturally should.
The bleed you have on the pill is not a ‘period’. It is a withdrawal bleed from the medication and does not have anything to do with the cycling of your hormones (as your true period does).
The pill may suppress your symptoms, but it’s not going to fix the cause of them and they’ll likely return when you stop taking the pill.
The hormones in the pill are not the same as your natural hormones and therefore they have different effects on your body. Your sex hormones have so many benefits other than fertility, for your skin, thyroid, hair, hair, bones and metabolism. It would be such a shame to miss out on them.
Your period is a sign of wellness and any changes to your period can give you an insight into your general health. When it’s suppressed, you miss out on these clues!
Common side effects of the pill include mood disturbances, weight gain, decreased libido, headaches and tender breasts - to name a few!
The pill isn’t right for everyone and it certainly isn’t a ‘fix all’ as it’s often touted. Hopefully you don’t feel like hormonal contraception is your only option to regulate your cycle, reduce your premenstrual symptoms, clear your acne or prevent pregnancy, because it absolutely isn’t.
Whether you decide the pill is your best option or not the right fit for you, the most important thing is that you’re well informed, you ask questions and feel supported in your decision.
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