The Patriot Post® · Women, Depression, and Birth Control

In our modern culture, we immediately turn to drugs to fix our health problems. Medical science is a modern miracle, but some drugs and “science” actually end up doing more harm than good to our bodies and minds.

Birth control pills (BCP), or oral contraceptives, are one of those go-to quick fixes for women. Birth control is often prescribed to young women (usually teens) who have painful menstrual cycles. For others, it helps “regulate” their cycles. Its most common use, however, is to prevent pregnancies and control the reproductive cycle. On birth control, women have come to expect that 91% of the time, their oral contraceptives will prevent pregnancy after engaging in unprotected sex.

However, mood-altering side effects and higher instances of depression have also long been reported with birth control.

This was the premise for a new study published by Cambridge University Press. It is made clear from the introduction that this study is coming at the depression-and-birth-control connection from modern sexual liberation sensibilities. The study starts by saying, “An estimated 151 million women of reproductive age use oral hormonal contraceptives of which many women benefit in terms of avoiding abortions and unwanted pregnancies, as well as menstrual bleeding and pain disturbance.” This UK study collected data from 264,557 women. Of the respondents, 80.6% had used BCP at some point in their lives.

The study found that women were at significant risk of developing depression after two years of using BCPs. If a women started taking BCPs at or before the age of 20, they were at 130% more risk of developing depression symptoms compared to women who never took the pills. Women who began taking BCPs as adults were at a 92% higher rate of developing depression than women who had never taken BCPs at all.

Not the Bee had this hilarious quip about the findings: “I’m sure our Roman Catholic friends are feeling a little extra vindicated right now.” It’s not just Roman Catholics generally opposed to birth control who should feel vindicated, but also those who advocate for more natural medicine and healthy lifestyle choices.

The way the conclusion of the study is phrased is telling. It assures: “Our findings support that OC [oral contraceptive] use is causally associated with an increased risk of depression in adolescents as well as in adults, especially shortly after the initiation. It is important to emphasize that most women tolerate OCs well without experiencing adverse mood effects, making them a great option for many.” They want to make women aware of the medical risks but are clearly okay with them continuing to use BCPs to “avoid abortions or unwanted pregnancies.” The study writers are loath to say that perhaps BCPs are a bad idea.

“Causally associated.” Indeed, being 130% more at risk of depression for women under the ago of 20 because of taking oral contraceptives does seem pretty significant. Especially when one considers that many young women are suffering from mental health crises.

What exactly is in BCPs? It’s usually one or two particular hormones, estrogen and/or progestin. These hormones are produced naturally in the female body; however, the pills increase one or both of those hormones and manipulates women’s natural production to prevent pregnancy or regulate periods. Increasing the levels of these hormones messes with other bodily functions. On Medline Plus, some of the expected side effects listed are: Changes in menstrual cycles, no menstrual cycles, extra bleeding, nausea, mood changes, worsening of migraines (mostly due to estrogens), breast tenderness, and weight gain. In rare cases, BCPs can cause blood clots, heart attack, high blood pressure, or stroke.

It’s an unnatural solution to a natural process of the human body.

But it is a popular solution that has fueled the sexual revolution and supposedly given women “empowerment” over their bodies. According to the Washington Examiner: “If inhibiting women’s natural biological functions has consequences, we might question its popularity in our progressive world. Progressivism seeks to control nature. It advertises sex as a ‘natural’ function and encourages it on those grounds. However, this is only insofar as sex performs for pleasure and not its actual biological (or natural) purpose. Birth control, like other contraceptives, enables this mentality. It allows us to bend nature to our will and have as much sex as we want, without the consequences.”

The Examiner goes on to list other examples of progressivism-inspired ideologies to other medical “interventions” that cause harm — and yet are promoted as good — such as the treatments used for “gender-affirming” care in people who have declared they are “transgender.” Another example that would fit this mold is the “body positivity” activists. The idea behind all of these movements is that people can and should do what they want with their bodies. Science can make up the moral deficit.

In reality, pharmaceuticals sometimes make the problems worse.