Pros and Cons of the Birth Control Pill

June 25, 2012 1:00 pm     Posted in Body, Health, Homepage Exclusive, Sex  Garnet Henderson g+ page


The pill. You know about its most obvious benefit – keeping you out of the cast of Teen Mom. (Or maybe College Mom, I wouldn’t put it past MTV.) There are other benefits to the pill, too. But with recent news stories about risks and recalls of certain brands, how do you know if it’s safe? And how do you know if it’s the right form of birth control for you? As with any medical decision, you should always consult your doctor, but we’ve put together a list of pros and cons to help you along.


By Garnet Henderson

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    • Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. When she’s not dancing or writing, she can be found exploring the city, and let’s be honest, spending way too much time on the internet. Follow her @garnethenderson.

    7 Comments on "Pros and Cons of the Birth Control Pill"

    1. Melinda says:
      Mon, 25th Jun 20121:46 pm 

      Thank you so much for this! I'm considering going on the pill and I'm honestly quite nervous about it because I don't know that much about it.

    2. Abby says:
      Mon, 25th Jun 20122:30 pm 

      The pros definitely outway the cons!
      http://www.onestilettoatatime.com

    3. Michelle says:
      Tue, 26th Jun 20123:19 pm 

      Just so everyone knows, some birth control pills actually cause insane cystic acne. I'd always had oily skin, but when I started taking Quasense about two years ago, I went through a YEAR of the worst cystic acne I'd ever had – like 2-4 huge, red pimples on my face at a time. So… not all birth controls help with acne and if you have a delicate hormonal balance, it might actually make yours worse, even if they bcp advertises itself as helping acne!

    4. Jade19 says:
      Wed, 27th Jun 201211:33 am 

      I am surprised nothing about mood swings and depression (mild or major) was mentioned. I was on Nuva ring and the mood swings and crying fits became so unbearable I stopped using it. Perhaps a lower dose hormonal contraceptive would have been more appropriate, but I cannot use oral contraception due to my Crohn's Disease, and the non-hormonal IUD Paragaurd would not fit inside me. I do not want to use anything hormonal at this point because the side effects of the Nuva ring were too disruptive to my life.

    5. Sam says:
      Mon, 2nd Jul 20123:27 pm 

      Some girls don't tolerate the pill well – I'm one of them. I've been on loads of different hormone combinations, and all of them have caused severe anxiety, depression, and total loss of libido. My ob-gyn said she'd probably never put me back on any kind of hormonal birth control. I turn into a crazy person who never wants sex, crying all the time and having crazy panic attacks… I'm miserable. The only pill I didn't have emotional side effects from was Yaz, but it caused exercise-induced asthma and a lot of other scary respiratory problems in me (which all went away after I stopped taking Yaz). Thank goodness the guy I'm with seriously doesn't seem to mind condoms, so I guess I'm a lucky duck.

    6. a4472785 says:
      Thu, 13th Dec 20129:49 pm 

      I’ve said that least 4472785 times. SKC was here…

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