Doctors warn about social media link to abortion rise

[lavender2023]

Very interesting (and worrying!) documentary on BBC and also an article..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66671765
Disclosure, Should I Quit My Birth Control?: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0g8bqv4 via @bbciplayer

Apparently a lot of influencers have been promoting 'natural contraception ' on social media and even peddling complete mistruths like the pill contains carcinogens and causes infertility! This has been linked to a corresponding increase in abortions (partly, could also be due to cost of living). But sexual health experts are worried that these videos would dissuade women from getting on contraception or persuade them to stop using contraception with bad repercussions

And meanwhile in the states, we can also see this trend (when I look on tiktok under the #naturalbirthcontrol hashtag, most of the influencers propagating this are American) but it is a lot more sinister.
https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/uc-berkeley-investigation-reveals-birth-control-disinformation-campaign
A collaboration between Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, Mother Jones, the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program have published a two-part investigation showing a disturbing landscape of birth control disinformation that actively targets women searching for functional contraception options in the United States. Part One was published as a longform article with Mother Jones: Inside Anti-Abortion Groups’ Campaign to Sell Women on Unreliable Birth Control “Alternatives.”(link is external) Part Two was broadcast as an hour-long podcast with Reveal: The Long Campaign to Turn Birth Control Into the New Abortion(link is external)

AIBU to be worried that this is a worrying trend. I say this as someone who has used natural contraceptive methods for the past 8-9 years. But I was either engaged or married throughout the entire period (married at the age of 22) and it did work well for me (and it wouldn't have been a disaster if I got pregnant). Now on the cusp of TTC and I don't think we are very fertile! But I look at those young girls on tiktok who are using the birth control apps and I doubt most of them are married or in secure long term relationships because let's face it, it's quite unusual to settle down so young

I saw this but it made me wonder - is teen pregnancy also on the rise? or is it stable, but abortions are rising? the article never addresses this and doesn't really explain why it's pointing the finger at social media and not the numerous other factors at play

it DOES say that abortions have gone up amongst all people of reproductive age, not just teens, which to me indicates the cost of living is probably the culprit more than anything else. I imagine education and decreased stigma towards termination also contributes, which social media will help to push

I don't trust social media influencers OR pharmaceutical companies.

The copper coil was invented in 1967, and there's still little else for women who don't want to disrupt their natural hormones!

I expect that there is far less money to be made from non-hormonal methods compared to a daily pill. And that's probably why there's little progress in developing them.

I will never go on hormonal contraception ever again due to the side effects (I've tried so many different pills and I'm only in my 20s). However, condoms exist.

Why is abortions on the rise even a problem? Would people rather there were hundreds of thousands of unplanned teen pregnancies, and all the social problems that go with that?

I was put on the pill by my step mother at 14. I didn’t question it and realised when I came off it at 26 that it had completely ruined my life in terms of who it made me into and how it made me feel. I thought it was normal. It isn’t bad that these hormonal contraceptives and their side effects are being questioned publicly.
However I agree with you that “natural” methods shouldn’t be promoted. I’m not sure what the answer is but personally I’ve used condoms since although of course that places the onus on a man which is tricky.

I think it's time for women to be able to question the side effects of hormonal contraception but not like this.

For me the mini pill absolutely ruined my life and ended my relationship due to me not being able to tolerate the hormones but not realising it at the time.

I'd never ever discourage anyone from trying the mini pill though because I recognise what might work for one person doesn't mean it works for the other, everyone is different and reacts a different way.

Yeah copper coil ain't always the nice thing its made out to be.

I had it taken out in January after 8 years.

My period were 2 weeks long of flooding.

I had pmt 2 weeks before.

When I had it taken out I lost 3 inch from my stomach in a month. After years of dieting and exercise it was the coil causing the bloat.

But I wanted to get pregnant so...

I dont know what I will use after the pregnancy as I dont want to go back to that but I dont want hormones either.

We used the much maligned withdrawal/ natural planning methods between children - so the stakes weren't particularly high - without any problems. And I got pregnant with a month or two when we did decide to go for it so we weren't sub-fertile. After that, dh got the snip.

I couldn't abide hormonal contraception. Until I got to my family building phase of life I made-do with condoms. It was riskier in terms of pregnancy but it seemed a reasonable price not to be tethered to the pill.

If doctors are worried about the rise in abortions they should petition government to reconsider the cap on benefits with two children. The increase from 2016 was jaw dropping.

I don’t understand why anti abortion groups would want to cause more unwanted pregnancies, seems a bit of an own goal?

Because they were never really about abortion/babies, they’re about controlling women.

You’re right. So both of these things are very new. What evidence is there to say it’s best for society that women put their careers first, for instance? What’s the argument in favour of women having casual sex?

OK but contraception helps to prevent unintended pregnancy and thereby the need for an abortion. A woman may need to seek an abortion for a number of reasons but I would argue that no woman wants to be put in the position where they need an abortion.

Abortions should be the last resort. They shouldn't be used as a form of birth control. If you have regular period then you might be able to predict ovulation and not have sex that week. Condoms are non-hormonal. There are ways to prevent pregnancy.

Of course given the choice of having an unwanted pregnancy and not having an unwanted pregnancy, the latter is preferable. The clue is in the word ‘unwanted’.

But a rise in the number of abortions, in and of itself, is a complete non-issue.

Thank goodness we live in a time where safe technology exists to deal with unwanted pregnancies (be it morning after pill, abortion pill or surgical abortion). The rate of use of said technology is neither here nor there.

The world has changed so much that it is very difficult to have a decent life and raise a family without two professional incomes (expectations have also changed and this is global). This does often mean building a career and buying a home before having a child. Also the divorce rate is 50% and the courts are also changing the laws so that women don't automatically get 50% of the family assets and would be expected to work even if they had been stay at home parents for years. Even if you want to turn uk back in time to the 1950s, that ship has sailed. Men are going to cheat, opt out of relationships. People are going to live long into their 90s and we don't know if we would have a state pension. The best way to protect yourself as a woman is to earn your own living and have a decent career.

Even the ultra-orthodox Jews (in Israel) are realising that their lifestyle of 7 kids and poverty living and getting married at 18 with no qualifications is unworkable long term with the skyrocketing house prices so the men (who were the ones who traditionally didn't work) are learning coding and even they would be dual income (the women have always worked, at least part time). 20 years ago, it was more viable than it is now. There are probably areas in the UK where it is still possible to live on one modest income. I doubt that would stay the case for long, if the ultra orthodox can't hack it, i doubt many people can.

As for casual sex, according to record, 25% of brides were pregnant on their wedding day. I argue casual sex probably always did happen at least in Europe but brides married the men whose baby they were pregnant with. There was very heavy pressure by society to do it. Now we can't even get divorced men to pay their maintenance payments, never mind about forcing men to marry and take responsibility for their wife and child.

I used hormonal contraceptives for 15 years. When I stopped, as did all the ‘female health’ issues I’d been having for most of that time. Severe bleeding between periods, daily pain, extreme mood swings, etc. No GP or gynae ever thought to suggest stopping, only to move onto a different brand.

But medical advice on social media should be a huge no no if not from a medical professional, how you police it though I don’t know. Why don’t people just use condoms?

YABU

Why do you want to control women and not men?

Ejaculation is voluntary, ovulation isn't.

@Moltenpink men who refuse to use condoms is a real issue and you are right to say men should take their share of responsibility.

Yeah there are problems with the pill, but no one should be getting health advice from tiktok.

Agreed - it isn't going to be a great platform for any health advice but I have some doubts about how legitimate the claims in having a significant company on abortion rates, which seem to land on...

1. Claims about the side effects of hormonal contraception are being over-egged on tiktok
2. Some teen mentioned it to some doctor at some point and
3. the rates of abortions being accessed by teens has increased between increased from 1,480 in 2021 to 1,899 in 2022. Now, given the change in personal freedom due to covid restrictions between these two years I would be bloody amazed if there wasn't a difference.