for thinking the contraceptive pill is Not A Good Thing from a longterm health perspective

[SchrodingersSexKitten]

Background, I am a woo-hater, cannot stand astrology, crystal healing, homeopathy etc etc and like to think I make decisions for the health of my family and me on scientific evidence, not "feelings".

And yet, and yet...I just feel that being on the contraceptive pill is not a good idea.

"Pumping" your body with hormones to suppress ovulation...bleeding once a month to make you feel like your body still functions normally, when it is a fake period....side effects....

Recently was speaking to the doctor and was asked about birth control; I said I didn't want to take the pill as I wanted to have another baby soon(ish) and I thought it took the body a while to get back to normal after taking the pill for ages. The doctor laughed and said it only takes one month and it is a myth that long term pill-taking has an effect on fertility and ability to conceive.

Is doc right? Evidence, please!
And AIBU to "feel" like it's a bad idea?

I don't think it works like that! Menopause is determined by lots of factors, not just the number of eggs remaining. I imagine that menopause happens at the time it's going to happen either way and leftover eggs just get reabsorbed.

I didn't get on with the pill. I was depressive, moody, exhausted and unmotivated. It was an excellent contraceptive because I was totally disinterested in sex. 3 different pills were all the same for me.

I'm still a fat lunatic now but one that uses condoms

There's no such thing as a 'normal' state for your body or a perfect regime of what to do with your body that will guarantee you won't ever get side-effects or cancer - by the age of 70 almost everyone has some cancer somewhere anyway!

So it all comes down to what risks you're happiest with. As a general rule the pill has a protective effect against ovarian cancer which is hard to detect, but is associated with an increase in cervical cancer which is easy to screen for. And modern pills and other hormonal contraceptives have much lower levels of hormones in than the ones on the market in the 60s and 1970s, so if you look at 30-year follow-up that's not the same as what you might expect in 30 years time from modern pills.

For me, the pill for 15 years was way better than having periods so painful I'd be unconscious for much of the time. My aunt's solution back in the early 1960s (she had same period problem) was simply to try to stay pregnant until menopause, which worked great for her but I don't think I'd be up for 7 kids, certainly not starting at age 18!

'when i hear that the pill DEFINATELY gives you cancer, i'll stop.'

Surely nothing is that simple and side effects vary from person to person. And no way would this information ever be revealed to hoi polloi even if it were proven.

OP, I think on the whole YANBU - I never like to be on the pill for more than a few years but I use it at the moment as it is the only contraceptive I can be sure I won't get pregnant on and I seem to be very, very fertile so I can't take any chances at all. I suppose it comes down to risk/benefit ratio. If it would not be a total disaster to have a baby I probably wouldn't take it. I would not be happy to take it for years and years though...

electra: it wasnt really a serious statement, apologies there!

I thought, years ago when I was on the pill, not been on it for years, that it up'ed chances of getting breast cancer, whilst reducing the risk of getting cervical cancer - has anyone else heard of this?

Thats how I justified it to myself when I took it and I got on fine with it and conceived in first month after it after finding a brand that suited.

I don't want to go on it now though, just want to be 'natural' once I have stopped bf last baby, don't really want to 'pump' body etc like others have said, not really sure why.

I loved being on the pill it was so convienient to know when my period was going to be

alas after 4 months I developed 2 dvt's and have since discovered its a condition I get when pregnant as well so no more hormonal contraceptives for me!

I'm another one who dislikes the Pill. I personally can't understand the need for it when there are other options that don't require taking synthetic hormones. Why would I want my body to think it's having miscarriages every month (to go with the supposed fake pregnancy-like state it thinks it's in).

I don't get the "we're supposed to be pregnant all the time" argument either as though we are some kind of primitive life form. Periods and ovulation is our bodies' natural 'resting' state. Not everyone engages in relationships, not everyone is straight. We might be animals but we are animals that can say no.

Seen this?
Women who took Pill 'live longer'