With Davina McCall’s new documentary Pill Revolution set to air tomorrow on Channel 4, there’s been much debate online about women’s relationships with the contraceptive pill.
Having previously launched campaigns around menopause, McCall, 55, is now leading the charge on ‘the pill’, saying she felt “really, really f****** angry” while looking at the pill’s side effects, and says we need a research revolution.
I’ve had my own negative experiences with the pill over the years. From trying a number of different pills in my late teens to find one that didn’t make me majorly depressed to being told that my bad symptoms were completely normal.
I’m not alone. I ran a poll on Twitter to find out how my followers had experienced the pill and its symptoms.
Out of 80 people, 61.3% said they’d had a negative experience with them, and 20% said they were fine.
This lines up with McCall’s own study findings as part of the documentary: out of 4,000 people, 77% of contraceptive pill users say they experienced side effects while taking it and 57% said they were worried about the possible effects of hormonal contraception on their mental health.
What people say about taking the pill
My followers said they felt “significant changes in mood” when they were taking the pill and that it was “close to depression. It was awful”.
Iris Goldsztajn, 28, from London, said that she had to change contraceptive pills after her pharmacy said the one she had been using was out of stock due to shortages.
Her new one now gives her irregular periods with painful cramps, and her doctor can’t tell her why.
Another of my followers said that she experienced bleeding while taking the pill, which turned out to be something known as ‘cervical erosion’. While a normal condition caused by hormonal changes, it can be scary to find blood when you’re not on your period.
Why is there a lack of funding for women’s sexual health?
I spoke to Dr Bryony Henderson, lead GP at Livi, about why the pill is long overdue an overhaul: “When it comes to contraception, the options for women haven’t really moved on since the invention of the contraceptive pill in the 1950s.
“There has been a boom in ‘femtech’ in recent years, but these products often rely on existing contraceptive methods such as the rhythm method. There is a distinct lack of funding for female health research so innovation and our understanding has stalled,” she says.
Henderson explains that it’s essential women are given personalised, tailored advice and treatments when they’re seeking contraceptive methods.
“Education will help empower women to seek the help and advice that they deserve,” she says.
The spotlight on the pill comes alongside other issues surrounding women’s health, with Professor Lesley Regan, leading gynaecologist and women’s health ambassador for England, telling The Guardian that women are finding it harder to access contraception than a decade ago, resulting in more unplanned pregnancies.
She says that she hopes the £25m that the government has earmarked for women’s health strategy in England will help improve the availability of contraception in the future, including by replacing sexual health and family planning clinics, which have seen cuts due to austerity measures.
The positives of taking the pill
Despite the majority experiencing poor side effects of the pill, it can actually benefit some women, including those with hormonal issues.
Jacqueline Munro, who lives in Dundee, says that the pill helped her polycystic ovary syndrome symptoms: “The pill calmed down my PCOS symptoms such as excess hair growth. Something I didn’t realise until I came off of it!”
The pill also gives women sexual freedom: it brought about a revolution when it was launched in 1961, giving women the option to enjoy sex freely – yet safely – without the threat of becoming pregnant.
With pros and cons of both sides, it’s important for us to each weigh up what personally works best for us and to be fully informed on the contraceptives we’re taking.
If you’re interested in finding out more, tune in to Davina’s show tomorrow on Channel 4 at 9pm.