Questions about hormonal contraception? Here’s a quick reference guide.

Live Action News has extensively covered the risks associated with hormonal contraceptive use by teen girls and young women, as well as the benefits of promoting body literacy through teaching fertility awareness. Below, we’ve compiled an index of past stories on hormonal birth control for easy reference.

Birth Control Side Effects

Hormonal methods of birth control have been linked to decreased bone density leading to increased risk of bone fractures, blood clots potentially leading to death, new onset depression even leading to suicidal ideation, and much more.

NOTE: All hormonal methods of birth control are potentially abortifacient — meaning they can, according to their manufacturers, prevent an already fertilized new human life to fail to implant in the wall of the uterus. This causes the death of that new human life.

Summary: Hormonal birth control can come at a terrible cost for teenage girls

Individual stories:

Bone Density Loss

Elite female runner: ‘I was emotionally and physically abused’ in Nike’s program

Blood Clots

$9 million awarded to family of student who died from birth control complications

College student gets blood clot from hormonal birth control, warns it ‘can happen to anyone’

21-year-old dies after taking birth control pill

Depression

Study finds birth control pill linked to higher depression rates in teen girls

College student says contraceptive implant made her suicidal

And More

Shock: Mom learns teen’s health issues caused by birth control implanted at school without parental knowledge

Ex-Planned Parenthood nurse says clinic coerced teen into birth control injection

Shocking: Nation’s leading gynecologists recommend semi-permanent birth control for teens

Catholic hospital: We may refer pre-teens for IUDs without parental notice

Marie Stopes International gives young African girls long-term birth control without parental consent

Is taking hormonal birth control to get rid of acne really worth it?

Teens encouraged to take hormonal contraception and morning-after pill, despite risks – Part 1

Teens encouraged to take hormonal contraception and morning-after pill, despite risks – Part 2

Teens encouraged to take hormonal contraception and morning-after pill, despite risks – Part 3

Positive Outcomes from Teaching Body Literacy

As the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists noted in a 2015 bulletin titled, “Menstruation in Girls and Adolescents: Using the Menstrual Cycle as a Vital Sign,” a young woman’s menstrual cycle is actually an indicator of her overall health.

Unfortunately, birth control often functions as a band-aid to get rid of symptoms, patching over the indicators that something’s wrong, without addressing the underlying causes of various issues like abnormal bleeding, irregular or painful periods, etc. Those same unaddressed issues can impact multiple body systems down the road, causing infertility and much more. Knowing what’s normal and what their own individual menstrual cycle patterns are can empower young women to seek medical help proactively if they notes abnormalities or changes in their cycles.

READ: Beyond birth control: Natural family planning is a whole lifestyle worth embracing

One young woman interviewed by Live Action News said charting her cycle showed her that she had low hormone levels — which explained years of severe Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) symptoms. After starting hormonal supplementation that boosted her progesterone and estrogen levels to normal, her PMS symptoms completely resolved. Without supplementation, those same low hormone levels had predisposed her to infertility or to miscarriage if she was able to conceive. Several years down the road, her OB/GYN was able to use that information to start her on progesterone pills during her first trimester, and she carried her baby to term.

Teaching a teen or college-age young woman what’s going on in her own body doesn’t just help her identify reproductive and other problems. Looking around us, we see a majority of girls and women of all ages who appear acutely uncomfortable in their own skin. Teaching women and girls body literacy invites them to embrace their fertility as a “gift,” as an authentic and good part of themselves, not something that “enslaves” them or “holds them back” from reaching personal or professional success.

Read more here: Why understanding the body’s cycles empowers women and girls

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