‘I’ve been dismissed and ridiculed’ – why is birth control failing women

The contraceptive pill is often described as one of the most significant medical advances of the 20th century. So why is it still failing women?

Inextricably linked to the swinging 60s, free love and women’s liberation, the birth control pill was invented in the 1950s by the American biologist Dr Gregory Goodwin Pincus.

Despite its side effects, it was approved for release in 1960 and take-up was swift: within two years it was being used by 1.2 million American women.

Today, the pill is the most commonly prescribed form of contraception in the US, with approximately 25 per cent of women aged 15 to 44 who use contraception reporting using it as their method of choice.

But although its use has grown, women still have to put up with side effects, such as irregular bleeding, bloating, nausea, mood swings and headaches.

The normalisation of heavy periods and discomfort around menstrual health means that often they end up suffering in silence, says communications strategist and women’s health advocate, Hannah Wrathall from Wrapp Consulting.

“My personal experience discussing contraception with my GP has always focused on avoiding pregnancy or masking symptoms, never the impact on my overall health and wellbeing,” she tells Femtech World.

“When discussing non-hormonal options, I’ve been dismissed and ridiculed for questioning the safety of options like the pill and the coil.”

Hannah is not alone. Last year the women’s health strategy for England has revealed that 84 per cent of respondents recounted instances when they were not listened to by healthcare professionals, pointing to an urgent need to improve awareness, education and training among medical professionals.

“The stat speaks for itself. These are not isolated incidences but common occurrences for most women when they visit a GP or hospital.”

Alice Pelton, founder of the contraception review, advice and prescriptions platform, The Lowdown, agrees.

“Not being listened to by healthcare professionals is the everyday reality for millions of women worldwide.

“There’s a huge amount to cover in an eight-minute GP appointment and it’s almost impossible to talk a woman through everything in the right level of detail in that time.

“A Lowdown survey in 2021 showed that 87 per cent of The Lowdown community reported that they have not felt listened to by healthcare professionals, and of this, and 72 per cent of the instances were in relation to a reproductive or sexual health condition or treatment.

“The reasons behind this are a depressing smorgasbord of patriarchal nonsense, relentless underfunding and ignorance of women’s health issues, and double standards in the way we are treated by society and the medical establishment.”

Data shows little investment is put into large-scale clinical trials into new and existing forms of birth control.

Between 2017 and 2020, there were only 23 industry-funded clinical trials into contraceptives, compared to 600 for cardiovascular drugs and 140 for treatment relating to eye disorders.

Additionally, the pharma industry funnels only two per cent of annual revenue from contraceptives back into research and development.

“Side effects are notoriously difficult to track, study and solve, especially related to hormones, but we need more honesty on risks,” says Hannah.

“We hear from people that there is dissatisfaction with the current options so we need more research and investment to fill in those gaps and develop alternatives for all genders.

“I also think we need regular bias training for healthcare professionals to overcome their views on menstrual pain and women’s pain in general.”