Which is Worse? – Old Forms of Contraception or New Forms of Contraception

By: Allyson Wiggs

Many years ago, women did not have the convenience of taking a daily pill to keep them from getting pregnant. Women had to experiment and make their own forms of contraception. One of the most popular forms of contraception came from a papaya. A papaya is a fruit that has chemicals that interfere with sperm and can keep a woman from getting pregnant. This fruit will work if a man eats the seeds before having sexual intercourse with a woman. Another interesting form of contraception that was used many years ago, is mercury. Years ago, mercury was thought to cause an abortion if it was consumed while hot.[1] Now, we are well aware that mercury can poison the body and people would never touch it much less drink it. Papaya is also something that is no longer thought of as a birth control option. People do not use these remedies now that there are more reliable prevention methods.

Now that technology and medicine has improved, people no longer have to use remedies for contraception because now we have birth control. Birth control can come in many forms such as a taking a pill, getting a shot, or inserting a ring. These methods seem very good because of the way society raves about them. Not only does birth control prevent pregnancy, but it also weakens and regulates periods, controls cramps, and reduces acne.[2] While these side effects make birth control seem like the perfect medicine, it can easily full you. The main issue with the pill is that it isn’t actually the hormones your body needs. The pill is made of different chemicals that are actually harmful to your body and not helpful.[3] These chemicals can cause many different issues in the body that the doctor never warns patients about. Birth control can cause blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, and bone loss. [4]These are serious issues that are never brought up because the pill is always praised since it prevents pregnancies.

Many people do not believe that a small pill can cause such big issues for a person. I will admit that I was even a bit skeptical when it came to believing this until reading a story about a woman who had some of these exact issues with her birth control.  This woman was taking the pill form of birth control when she noticed pains in her legs. These pains in her leg were not minor problems as it turned out to be a blood clot. The clot spread all the way up to her lungs and was difficult to remove. It took almost twice as long to remove the blood clot as it took for the blood clot to form.  After getting many shots and getting her blood thinned many times, the clot finally went away. While this occurrence is somewhat rare, it does happen enough for the issue to be told to patients in the warning labels. It is also very difficult to catch the blood clots before they cause serious damage to an individual.[5]

Overall, I do not believe there is not a completely effective form of birth control. Personally, I would never use the remedies that were used many years ago because they cannot be trusted and even though the pill does what it is supposed to, it comes with many dangerous side effects. I would never want any of these things to happen to my body because of a pill that I am taking. Birth control is not a pill that I feel is necessary to take when I could potentially cause so much harm. To me, it seems like the logical solution would be for partners to practice safe intercourse so that these problems will not occur. Anyone can be affected by the pill, and for me personally, it will take a lot of modifications before I use it.

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[1] “10 Ancient Methods of Birth Control,” last modified November 14, 2010, http://listverse.com/2010/11/14/10-ancient-methods-of-birth-control/.

 

[2] “Other Reasons to Take the Pill,” accessed January 30, 2014, http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/features/other-reasons-to-take-the-pill.

 

[3] “The Dangers Every Woman Needs to Know About the Birth Control Pill,” accessed January 30, 2014, http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.

 

[4] “The Problem with the Pill,” accessed January 30, 2014, http://www.sensible-alternative.com.au/female-hormones/the-problem-with-the-pill.

 

[5] Hergenradar, Jamie. "The Dangerous Side of Birth Control." Huffington Post Women, United States edition, sec. The Blog, 07 31, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-hergenrader/the-dangerous-side-of-birth-control_b_3667093.html (accessed January 30, 2014).