Fifty years since The Pill, why is contraception still so difficult?

by Melissa Summers (Subscribe to Melissa Summers's posts) Apr 22nd 2006 6:03PM

Categories: Just For Moms, Just For Dads, Safety

The author of this UK Times article has herself a Pill Baby, a surprise baby born after her progesteron-only pill failed to live up to it's promises. I am a Pill Baby and also the mother of my very own Pill Baby, so the article immediately caught my eye.

After the birth of her daughter the author heads out to find some sort of contraception and is depressed when she realizes how contraception is still "so ineffective, uncomfortable and inconvenient" even 50 years (this month) since the introduction of the birth control pill.

She goes on to discuss the slow process of contraception since the pill was first introduced and shares some light at the end of the tunnel.

My husband and I went the surgical route another .001% chance pregnancy (I'd had a procedure which burns out the lining of the uterus and was told it was extremely unlikely I would concieve - wrong). We didn't feel safe leaving it up to any medication any longer, although I'll be watching to see if the male birth control pill ever comes to fruition. Of course, we'll have to share our 'Pill Baby' history with our son.

What's your experience though? Have you found birth control to be an annoying issue or a simple choice? [Thanks for the link, Mary!]

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Comments (19)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Beth 4-22-2006 @ 6:46PM

I just had a baby (intentionally conceived) and afterward, I got the copper IUD. I'm in love with it. Neither one of us can feel it, I never have to think about it, and it's hormone-free. I will never use hormonal birth control ever again.

Lynn 4-22-2006 @ 7:10PM

I have been overwhelmingly satisfied with the Paraguard IUD. I am on my third -my first before my husband and I were married, second after first child, and third after last child. Have had great success without having to worry about side effects from hormones.

Lauren 4-22-2006 @ 7:45PM

I am extremely dissatisfied with the lack of non-hormonal birth control options. I'm not a good candidate for IUDs (I had one and it fell out). I use a diaphragm, which is fine and has been effective, but feel that other than condoms it's essentially my only option (I have a high incidence of breast cancer in my family and so avoid all hormonal birth control).

Caitlin 4-22-2006 @ 9:04PM

I've found birth control to be a huge headache. I've never wanted more than one child. Paul was a pill baby, which I'm pretty sure was a result of my insurance company forcing me to switch to a mini pill when they stopped covering the one I'd been using for 7 years. I have mirena, but it's really hard to trust it after having a pill baby.

I'm all for being permanently sterilized since I've had my one child. But it's just not an option for me. As a 25 year old woman with one child, I need to wait another decade and have two children before I'm taken seriously. My insurance company is happy to pay for the procedure, but none of their doctors are willing to consider it.

Belinda 4-22-2006 @ 9:18PM

My daugther was the result of a condom failing, and no it didn't pop. I made sure I personally put it on every night. They we get the surprise I am pregnant. I've been on the pill for almost a year now with only one mistake which was QUICKLY fixes and carefully dealt with. I am not ready for another baby just yet, maybe in a few years we will plan our next and final child. I only want two kids!

callistawolf 4-22-2006 @ 10:36PM

I'm a Diaphram Baby myself. :) I'd always thought we'd go the sterilization route when the time came, but seeing as how it's so darned hard for us to get pregnant anymore, I suppose we're "lucky" enough for it not to be an issue.

But I agree, contraception should be a LOT more advanced than it is. The pill is a pain in the arse, to say the least. ;)

punky 4-22-2006 @ 10:43PM

I can't say enough good things about the Mirena IUD. I've been evangelizing for it ever since I got it two years ago. You can have it while nursing since it's progesterone only, and it is more effective than both male and female steriliztion (except for a hysterectomy of course). It's completely reversible, you can't feel it, and you don't have to remember anything. Plus, for me, it was cheaper than the pill since I would have to pay a $10-20 copay monthly for a pill prescription, but all I have to pay for the IUD is the $20 to see my doctor to have it put in and then another $20 to see my doctor to have it taken out up to five years later. That makes my birth control costs a whopping total of $40 for FIVE YEARS of highly effective birth control.

Ok, I'll stop now. I could go on and on about how amazing it is. The most important thing for me is that I used to get very sick every single time I had my period, often with vomiting, always with debilitating cramps. None of the five different kinds of birth control pills I tried helped one bit, and none of them made my periods regular either. With the IUD, I barely have cramps anymore and don't ever get sick. They're long, about 11-14 days, but so light I rarely notice I'm on my period most of the time. Compared to 10 days of sickness and very heavy bleeding I used to have, these are by far the best periods of my life. And this is certainly the easiest birth control I've ever used.

Now when they come up with something that eliminates your periods altogether without making you sterile, I'll be onboard in a heartbeat.

ann adams 4-22-2006 @ 10:47PM

Which brings up a related issue. Why do doctors and insurance companies get to decide the size of our families?

We have to have x number of kids or be y years of age before someone else says okay, you've been a breeder long enough?

I'm way past this of course but I've seen enough of it in all the areas related to sex and reproduction to still make me furious.

Unless I'm abusing someone in there, stay out of my bedroom, stop patting me on the head, and give me credit for the intelligence to make my own reproductive choices. (Which should be as foolproof as possible, inexpensive, and readily available to all).

Alice 4-22-2006 @ 11:07PM

Birth control is a total issue for my husband and I. We are trying to figure out what to do and can't seem to come to any answers. Don't want to do anything surgical, we are probably done with kids, but not positive. Everything has a risk, everybody has a horror story, and nothing is completely effective. Except having a celibate marriage.

Hum...................

ann adams 4-22-2006 @ 11:16PM

I forgot to mention I was responding to commenter #4 and her problems with tubal ligation.

Missy 4-23-2006 @ 1:51AM

I have the Mirena IUD. I wouldn't mind it but I hate the effects of the hormones (yes, I'm that sensitive).

I'm lucky in I only got pregnant when I wasn't on the pill and we weren't being careful.

My sister hasn't been as lucky. She's obese (5'5" and probably 300 pounds). She was on the pill and got pregnant with her daughter. Then she was on the patch and got preggers with her son. Her husband had a vasectomy after the second baby.

I agree that we're really damned lucky to have birth control at all, as it frees us up to worry about other things and actually enjoy sex (god forbid!). However, I'm very sensitive to hormones and sometimes think they're not worth it. I would also get my tubes tied if I wasn't as young as I am (we're pretty sure we don't want anymore children but haven't decided to make it permanent just yet).

Razib Ahmed 4-23-2006 @ 5:00AM

More money, more research, more failures and more time- these are the things needed to find a perfect and healthy optiion for birth control. I wish we can get it sooner rather than later. 50 years is a long time and none of us want to wait for another 50 years.

Ms Sisyphus 4-23-2006 @ 9:46AM

Diva Girl is a pill baby. Zen Baby is a Depo baby.

Birth Control is way too much of a pain in the ass. espcially when you go through the hoops and it *still* fails.

I'm pretty happy with the Mirena coil. Not that I'm actually using it for anything--being a single mom of 2 seems to be birth control enough at the moment. But it's nice to know that if that should change I'm (theoretically) covered.

melinda 4-23-2006 @ 10:15AM

When I got pregnant with my little girl, I was on birth control Seasonale (http://www.seasonale.com/) to combat my endometriosis. I also was having difficulty with ovarian cysts, which birth control was also supposed to "fix". I loved the bc because it made me quit having a period, which, when I had them before the bc, were VERY painful and sickening EVERY time, but I guess it wasn't effective enough as BIRTH CONTROL.

I am on depo now and so far, so good, but there are horror stories for every type of BC so who knows how this could end up. I'm not very set against having another baby, so as long as I don't get those horrible periods again, I'm alright with my depo.

melinda 4-23-2006 @ 10:18AM

And a note on the IUD - my husband's friend was using the IUD. She got pregnant anyway, and when her baby was born, the IUD was in his arm and had to be removed.

Lynn 4-23-2006 @ 2:48PM

The reason I opt for the Paraguard IUD over the Mirena is that there is no hormones involved and it is good for 10 years! Did I mention before that I love it!!

Heather 4-24-2006 @ 8:53AM

I know this is sexist but it is because it ususally falls on the women. If the man was the one taking the pill I can gaurentee they would find one that doesn't have all the side effects. Just like if men had to do a manogram the way a woman has to do a mamogram there would be a new way to test for cancer within the year.

Amy 4-24-2006 @ 9:34AM

We're trying to figure out what to do birth control-wise right now. I started on Micronor (mini-pill) a few months ago; I missed my period last week and am currently waiting a few more days to take a pg test, although from what I've read, missed periods are a fairly common side effect. Would have been nice if someone had told me that before I started it. Personally, I don't mind getting my period, because it's the one sign that I'm not pregnant. My gyn recommended switching to Yasmin, but after reading about some of the terrible side effects (depression, anxiety), I'm going to skip it. I did Ortho-Tricyclin for 7 years during college/early marriage, and am willing to try it again, but I'm not crazy about the hormones. I thought about trying an IUD just so I wouldn't have to remember to take the pill every day, but one of my friends with an IUD hasn't had a period in four years---I would be freaking out every month thinking I was pregnant. Every options seems to have too many negatives.

Fly Daddy 4-25-2006 @ 1:45PM

"I know this is sexist but it is because it ususally falls on the women. If the man was the one taking the pill I can gaurentee they would find one that doesn't have all the side effects. Just like if men had to do a manogram the way a woman has to do a mamogram there would be a new way to test for cancer within the year."

I'm sure you're absolutely right. Because there are no women in the, whaddyacallit, MEDICAL FIELD today, right? Do you know a single thing about the science behind mammograms, and why they are done the way they are? Didn't think so, just easier to blame men as a group than to learn something, I guess.