Know Your Hormonal Contraception

Under Article 35 of the Human Rights Act 1998 everyone has the right to healthcare while Article 14 of the Human Rights Act 1998 protects your rights and states that there should not be any discrimination that leads to a negative impact of another right.

One area that massively affects women and healthcare is hormones and the contraceptive pill. It is very common for women at university to use contraception. There is a variety of reasons that someone could use contraceptives, including preventing pregnancy, managing period pains and regulating their menstrual cycle. Female hormonal contraceptives often centre around preventing pregnancy, while this can be the case, hormones play a crucial role in women’s health and hormonal imbalance can impact every aspect of women’s health.

Forms of Hormonal contraception

• The contraceptive implant is a flexible plastic rod that is placed under the skin in your arm and releases the hormone progestogen and lasts for three years.
• The coil is a T-shaped plastic or copper device that is placed in your womb and releases copper and provides protection against pregnancy for 5-10 years.
• You can also have an injection every three months called Depo-Provera which contains the hormone progestin. 
• The contraception patch sticks to your arm, releases hormones and must be replaced weekly.
• The most common form of hormonal contraception is the oral contraceptive pill. The oral contraceptive pill is taken daily and contains hormones that change the way your body works. There are two main types of contraceptive pills: the combined pill which contains estrogen and progestin and the mini pill which only contains progestin.

Even though there are a variety of reasons to use contraception, hormones in general can lead to side effects that affect both your mental and physical health. So, by increasing your hormone levels these become a lot more common. Physical side effects include headaches, irregular menstrual cycles, fatigue, weight gain, weight loss or nausea. While mental side effects include mood swings, depression, insomnia, anxiety or irritability.

Whether you are using contraception or not, unexplained side effects of hormones are completely normal and something that everyone experiences. Contraceptives should be discussed more and not something that we should be afraid to speak about as hormones are a massive part of women’s health. There are a lot of negative connotations that surround women, their menstrual cycle and their hormones. If I had a pound for every time I have been asked ‘Are you on your period?’ I would be rich. Whatever you experience is completely normal!

If you feel like you need any help surrounding your hormones you can book in to speak to your GP and they will be able to advise you on what they think the best step forward for you is. Contraception is also FREE through the NHS!