It is very important that women are educated enough about proper ways to prevent pregnancy if they are sexually active.
From condoms to oral contraceptive pills, women must be armed with the knowledge to make decisions that are beneficial for their sexual lives and bodies.
This knowledge also includes talking about the good, bad and ugly sides of birth control. This is so that more equitable methods of birth control for women can be created and researched.
In our latest article, Urban Woman Magazine spoke to some women and asked them to share their experiences using birth control.
Read their responses below.
IL
Ahhhh.
I am a Birth Control OG. I use implanon. I know people have had issues using BC, but I haven’t experienced any bad. It’s been good, I have my period as it has always been.
NU
There’s no good abeg. E no Dey good for body😩
They threw Combination 3 at me when I was 18 because of PCOS, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea.
Periods were like clockwork for five months but na only God keep me alive. All the side effects, I had them. Nearly flunked out of school that semester. Worst result in my entire educational experience.
Right now, I’m very pro-condoms because contraceptives don’t help you much for STDs anyway. I’m also not big on penetrative sex so either way, I’m good.
I believe that the buck of birth control should fall on men. If I ever find a man I want to go raw with (maybe a long-term partner), he’s getting a vasectomy first.
A woman’s hormones are already crazy, so I won’t advise any form of hormonal contraceptive for myself or my girls.
IZ
I use BCPs to stop PCOS bleeding 😂. My doctor put me on it in December last year and I had to stop in September. It’s been a crazy experience.
It stops the bleeding but I am the biggest I have ever been; almost 10kgs more than before I got on it. It also has crazy side effects and affects appetite, weight, hormonal balance, and overall health.
I do not recommend. Never will.
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.