The Pill

Maria Hermosillo || Final Project, SOC 438 || Spring 2017

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Women constitute half of humanity; empower women, and we double our productivity, our intellectual capacity, and hence our ability to preserve and enhance the world we inhabit.

Eve Espey, MD 2015

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it’s pill o’clock!

The topic for this final project is the history and effects of oral contraceptives or most commonly known as “the pill.” The FDA first approved Envoid in the sixties, the first birth control pill. It has been more than fifty years since it first went on the market and we have seen how much it has changed. Since the sixties, this little pill has given women more freedom socially, economically, and sexually.

I chose this topic because it is personal and to let people know that the pill is much more than preventing pregnancy. I was put on the pill without much information by my dermatologist to control my acne, had struggled with it, and recently have changed to a different pill. I also wanted to explore it to because though I am currently taking it, I did not know much about it, and I wanted this process to be a learning and teaching experience to me.  

The project is focused on the two different types of pills, why women use the pill, the social aspect of it, and history. My Tumblr also has a couple of videos and news articles that I found interesting. I hope y’all like it. 

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(Buzzfeed, 2017)

Men experience taking “birth control pills” (tic-tacs) and following the medication rules for twenty-one days. 

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Image from:  Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine

History of the Pill

Article: “History of oral contraceptive drugs and their use worldwide”

The first hormonal pill was called Enovid. It was approved by the FDA in 1960. Over the years, the pill has had a lowering of Ethinyl estradiol and many different progestins.

The standard pill pack is for twenty-one days and seven days without the drugs, usually, sugar pills or they have iron to help with the blood loss.

Due to estrogen creating a high cardiovascular risk of the pill, the amount of estrogen in the pill had fifty to thirty milligrams in the sixties to an average of seventeen milligrams now. Progestin is different combined pills available nowadays, the progestin component decreases estradiol production, which thickens cervical mucus.

The initial pill was monophasic but biphasic and triphasic pills were introduced in the 1980s. They were created to decrease side effects, nausea, headaches and to mimic a women's natural cycle.

COC were first used as emergency contraception, as advised by Dr. Albert Yuzpe, obstetrician/gynecologist in 1974. In 1999 it was replaced by progestin-only emergency contraception.

Progestin-only pills been available since 1973 and are currently proposed to women who do not react well from estrogen.

In 2009, COC represented about nine percent of contraceptive use. More than 100 million women 
used COCs. 


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Take a look back through the history of the birth control pill.

An easy and simple timeline for the pill

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A visual explanation of how birth control pills work, by Covenant Health. 

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Why do Women Use Contraceptives?

Article:  “Reasons for using contraception: perspectives of US women seeking care at specialized family planning clinics”

Study: 

This study looks beyond the benefits of contraceptive use to examine the individual-level benefits and reasons for using contraception. 2,094 women receiving services at 22 family planning clinics located throughout the United States were surveyed.

Results: 

Economic analyses have found clear associations between the availability and diffusion of oral contraceptives, particularly among young women, and increases in US women's education, labor force participation, and average earnings, coupled with a narrowing of the wage gap between women and men (Frost, Lindberg 2012).

About 69% of women reported that being unable to take on the financial responsibility of a baby was a very important reason for using birth control. 63% reported not being ready to have children, 57% said that having a child would interrupt their goals, 60% reported that using birth control gave them better control over their lives, and 60% expressed a desire to wait until their life was more stable to have a baby.49% of women responded that their lack of partner was a very important factor in the decision to use birth control. 45% of women said that caring for the children they already have was a very important reason to use birth control.

Conclusion:

The majority of women saw that using birth control allows them to better care for themselves and their families, either directly or indirectly through facilitating their education, career, and parenthood.

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If you miss a pill flow chart

Article:  “Oral contraception: properties and side-Effects of COCs and POPs” 

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Feminism and the Pill

Arictle: “Feminism and the Moral Imperative for Contraception”

Women are half the people in this world.

By 1965, 40% of young married women were on the birth control pill and a few years later, single women became a consumer. The pill was needed by women as recognition of the effects of unintended pregnancy. The pill created the opportunity for women separate sex and having children.

Sexually active women were now not limited by restrictive social commitments, like getting married or the stigma of being a single mother. Now women had the ability push back marriage and having children, with that women were going to college in higher numbers than before. It gave women the opportunity to enjoy sex.

It is estimated that in 2008, of maternal deaths were prevented in over 150 developing countries by use of contraceptives.

The moral imperative extends beyond contraception, family planning, or any particular sphere of feminist engagement. Rather, it is feminism itself that deserves our commitment, for moral reasons and from self- interest (Espey, 2015).

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The Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives on Female Sexuality

Article: “The Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives on Female Sexuality: A Review.”

Study: The article focuses on studying if hormonal contraceptives can have an influence on female sexuality and what can be the effects of taking them. The primary research question is how can Combined Oral Contraceptives (COCs) effect a woman sexually?

Results:

Pros:

COCs eliminate the fear of unwanted pregnancies and gave a more relaxed and happier sexual experience overall. It was also found that there are three different birth control pills that are focused on reducing acne. Effects like reducing acne can boost a women’s self-esteem which could help how she sees herself and her sexuality.

Cons:

The authors also found that women using COCs were more likely to report decreased vaginal lubrication. Several studies have also found that COCs increase the risk of developing pain in the vulvar vestibule, the part of the vulva between the labia minora where the urethral opening and the vagina open.

After researching articles, the authors did not find a consistent relationship between libido and COCs. Due to every women’s body being different, the article could not state if there was a correlation or not.

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No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.

Margaret Sanger, the founder of the American Birth Control League, now known as Planned Parenthood 

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If Buying Condoms Was Like Buying Birth Control

(Buzzfeed, 2014)

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Male Birth Control Study Killed After Men Report Side Effects

Science has failed yet again to come up with hormonal birth control for men. The most recent study was stopped because the men reported problems with side effects like mood swings and acne.

“A birth control pill for men remains an elusive dream”

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Progestogen-only pills

Articles: “Oral contraception: properties and side-Effects of COCs and POPs” and “Progestin-Only contraceptive pill use among women in the United States”

Image: kaiserpermanente

How it works and info:

Progestogen-only pills (POPs) contain the progestogens desogestrel, levonorgestrel (Norgeston) or norethisterone. Unlike COC that prevent the release of the egg, traditional POPs thicken cervical mucus and prevents the sperm from penetrating.

Benefits and Risks: They are taken every day, without a break. is taken primarily by women who smoke, in postpartum, who have a higher risk of venous thromboembolism, or are aware of the bad effects estrogen has on breast milk supply

The main cause of failure is missed pills. If a traditional POP is taken more than 27 hours after the last dose, contraceptive protection is reduced. Breakthrough bleeding to missing periods are common and a few women develop functional ovarian cysts. An ectopic pregnancy is more likely with these pills if the eggs if fertilized and stay in the fallopian tube.

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Combined Oral Contraceptives

Article: “Combined hormonal contraceptives: prescribing patterns, compliance, and benefits versus risks”

Images: WebMD, WebMD

How it Works and Info: Traditional COCs consist of 21 active pills with the same dose of estrogen/progestin, i.e. a monophasic pill followed by a 7-day pill-free interval, so called 21/7 pills. Triphasic pills were introduced in order to mimic ‘natural cycles.’ The 24/4 regimen has better ovarian suppression with less follicular growth and higher efficacy. Also, the 24/4 reduces menstrual blood loss and to stop symptoms like headaches, bloating and breast tenderness. There is a huge number of different combinations of COCs concerning both compounds and doses.

Benefits and Risks:

Also, the 24/4 reduces menstrual blood loss and to stop symptoms like headaches, bloating and breast tenderness. There is a huge number of different combinations of COCs concerning both compounds and doses. Despite the popular belief, there are no “real” effects of COC use on weight. COC use also has a significant impact on the occurrence and severity of cramps. No matter which different type of COCs a woman uses, it will improve acne.

Venous thromboembolism VTE is the most common serious complication associated with COC use, known since the end of the 1960s. COC use should be avoided in women with hypertension.  A significantly increased risk for cervical cancer has been reported in association with COC use of more than five years. Recent studies have not shown a relationship between COC use and cervical cancer. The risk is related to the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus, due to COC not protecting against STIs.

[fatalrecluse]

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The impact of COC on female sexuality, it is reasonable to consider that improved appearance would promote self-confidence and increase self-esteem, thereby having a positive effect on sexual function

Burrows, Basha, and Goldstein 2012