Sometimes a change in your life can be so seamless that it takes you a while to fully register that it has happened. Like when the crushing unhappiness you felt from a break-up very slowly lifts and, one day, you notice you’re smiling again. This was how I felt after going back on the contraceptive pill.
I began taking desogestrel – the generic name for a progestogen-only pill (the mini pill) in February 2022. A few months later, I recognised that the premenstrual stress I had grown so accustomed to had lifted. The uninvited symptoms that so often gatecrashed my body in the lead-up to menstruating – tender breasts, visceral anxiety and intense hyperactivity – were dialled right back. My mood felt calmer, steadier. Ironically, the very thing I had spent so many years feeling terrified of taking, because of its potential impact on my mental health, appeared to be working wonders for exactly that.
Why had I been so afraid of what the pill would do to me? Where had this mistrust come from? And why are there so many others, like me, turning their backs on this form of contraception?
So many side effects
Utter the word ‘Microgynon’ and it’s likely to illicit a shudder. It’s one of the most commonly prescribed contraceptive pills in the UK and often a first port of call for doctors. It was the first one I was prescribed, aged 18, and the side effects I personally experienced were so bad, they turned me off the pill for more than a decade. Instead I opted for the copper coil, also known as an IUD (intrauterine device) – a non-hormonal form of contraception.
It’s hard to know for certain what was driving the low mood that followed my introduction to Microgynon. Was it part and parcel of a coming-of-age malaise and the raging hormones adolescence is famed for, or was it directly linked to taking the pill? Mood changes are one of the side effects (alongside ‘headaches, nausea, breast tenderness and weight gain’, explains Dr Janet Barter, president of the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare) but, in hindsight, my negative perception of the pill in the years that followed was not solely down to my experience. I had also inadvertently, and to some extent subconsciously, absorbed the widespread mistrust that colours so many people’s view of the contraceptive pill – and hormonal contraception more broadly – nowadays.
When first conceived in the 1950s, the pill was synonymous with a new era of women’s liberation. But since then, criticism and scepticism has swelled and in 2025 it has reached fever pitch. Researchers found the proportion of women using hormonal contraception decreased from 19% in 2018 to 11% in 2023. And in January, it was revealed that there has been an increase in the proportion of women in England and Wales seeking abortions despite using ‘natural’ contraceptive methods, such as fertility tracking apps.
The study, which was published in BMJ Sexual And Reproductive Health, discovered that far more women said they use no contraception in 2023 than in 2018 – with the percentage rising from 56% to 70%.
Exactly why so many of us are saying ‘no, thanks’ to the pill is hard to track. But the side effects I experienced could certainly be one reason. The 2023 Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall’s Pill Revolution took a long, hard look at contraception in the UK and ignited an avalanche of women sharing their experiences, relaying the havoc it had wreaked on both their sex drive and their mental health. The show’s survey of more than 4,000 women and people assigned female at birth revealed that 77% reported side effects while taking the pill and 36% experienced anxiety, depression or low mood.
Yet there remains a lack of research exploring the side effects. ‘We have lots of different [types of] pills, yet we don’t have evidence to say: this pill is better for this person, or this pill is better for that person,’ Dr Barter explains. She attributes this dearth of research to the fact that very large, expensive studies would be required. ‘And it is safe to say women’s health research is not prioritised.’
Dr Barter also explains the element of trial and error involved in finding the right contraceptive pill. ‘Some women take one [brand of] pill and have a negative experience and give up on the pill entirely. But it can take a while to find a pill that suits you,’ she adds.
Sarah Salkeld, deputy medical director at MSI Reproductive Choices UK, explains that there are both pros and cons to being on the pill, saying that some pills can reduce the risk of certain cancers, help those with painful or heavy periods, or those who have endometriosis or adenomyosis, as well as PMS.
But how many contraceptive pills do you try before you call it a day? Is it any wonder we can feel like guinea pigs in our quest for the ‘right’ contraception?
A sinister influence?
When I search the hashtag ‘naturalbirthcontrol’ on Instagram and TikTok, the results are plentiful. In an age when medication is often seen as a first step rather than a last resort, climate change and pollution make headlines daily, and our day-to-day lives are more dominated by blue light from screens than blue skies from time spent in nature, it’s perhaps no surprise many of us are looking for a different, simpler way of living. And when so much is out of our control, removing hormonal contraception from our bodies can, understandably, feel like an ‘easy’ change to make, along with switching to eco-friendly sanitary products and reusable water bottles.
On the surface, much of this #naturalbirthcontrol content appears well-meaning (or, for the more cynical, a money grab – after all, many of these influencers’ pages contain links selling a huge range of products). But, when I dig a little deeper, there is a darker and far more political agenda at play.
‘Many anti-abortion activists in the UK are opposed to what they call “artificial” means of contraception and this can include the pill,’ explains Dr Pam Lowe, a senior lecturer in sociology and policy at Aston University, who specialises in anti-abortion activism in the UK. Indeed, it was my own abortion that led me to going back on the pill. My experience accessing that abortion helped me realise just how overstretched these services are in the UK, and how they could be under attack here.
Since millions of women in the US lost their legal right to have an abortion there in 2022, the backlash against contraception has been coming from a range of sources, from right-leaning politicians and celebrities, to ‘wellness’ influencers. Kristen Louelle Gaffney, a former Sports Illustrated model, influencer and Trump supporter, has made her views about contraception very clear, saying that she has ‘never met an attractive, happy, healthy liberal woman’ and they would be ‘happier’ and ‘healthier’ if they, among other things, ditched ‘the birth control that’s making them psychotic’.
Dr Stephanie Alice Baker, deputy head of the Sociology and Criminology department at City St George’s in London, says that while she understands the impulse behind a desire to reject products considered ‘unnatural’ or ‘synthetic’, including the pill, this approach can be reductive and over-simplistic.
‘The idea that one needs to keep one’s body free of “impurities” overlaps with far- right ideas about infecting or polluting the race and nation,’ adds Sian Norris, an investigative journalist who wrote Bodies Under Siege: How The Far-Right Attack On Reproductive Rights Went Global. ‘We are seeing that push for “purity” applied to contraception and abortion. This is incredibly concerning.’ She explains that ‘we know for women, wellness messaging and “health” conspiracy theories are a gateway into far-right politics’.
We may like to think that we could easily spot when we’re being influenced, or swayed into thinking a certain way, but can we, really? Especially when 30% of young adults turn to platforms like TikTok and Instagram for health information, per 2024 polling from AXA Health (which also saw 48% of respondents self-diagnosing using health information online).
‘It’s not always obvious when posts are funded, directly or indirectly, by organisations with an ideological agenda,’ says Louise McCudden, who also works at MSI Reproductive Choices UK. ‘We notice social media influencers pushing out messages which certainly align very closely wit the global anti-rights movement. We know that the global anti-rights movement is not just opposed to abortion, but to contraception as well.’
Crucially, someone’s choice of contraception is a profoundly personal decision. Two things can be true at once: the side effects experienced are real, and need to be talked about; but also, not everyone highlighting these has the best interests of women at heart. There are nefarious forces capitalising on a lack of research into contraception to exploit fear and propagate misinformation.
Ultimately, your body is your own; your experience may differ to mine – and that’s okay. It’s having autonomy over our bodies – including how we protect against pregnancy – that truly matters here. So, as scientists develop options with fewer side effects – and progress is finally made on male contraceptives – it’s about weighing up the pros and cons with the help of a health professional and trusting what feels best for you. Oh, and remembering that only condoms protect against STIs.
Myths about the pill explained
‘It messes with your fertility’
Dr Janet Barter, president of the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, states unequivocally there is zero evidence that taking the pill affects your fertility when you stop taking it. ‘It is purely misinformation.’
‘It stops you wanting sex’
Dr Barter explains the pill can lower some people’s libido, but changing your pill can make it return to its normal level. ‘Other things can affect your sex drive – depression and anxiety, being on antidepressants, being unhappy in your relationship or having anxieties about sex in general. It is always worth talking to a healthcare professional if you are worried.’
‘It makes your mental health worse’
Research on this is very conflicting and there’s a lack of medical agreement, Dr Barter explains. Some of the newer pills may be better for your mental health, but she says there is no research that compares one pill to another. ‘Some people do find their mental health might get worse, but changing pill can definitely make a difference in this case. There are lots of things which affect your mental health and it’s likely to be more than just your contraception.’ Many women find that taking the contraceptive pill may even improve their mental health – particularly if they have PMS, she adds.
This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Maya Oppenheim is a freelance journalist and author. Maya is the author of The Pocket Guide to the Patriarchy - a 22-chapter book that has been endorsed by the UK Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, actor Olivia Colman, and Amnesty International UK, among others. Her book explores abortion, policing, domestic abuse, men and the far right, mental health, sexual violence, intersectional feminism, transphobia, sex work, toxic masculinity, women’s sexual pleasure, the criminal justice system and more. Maya is the former Women's Correspondent at The Independent and was the first and only person to have this job title at a UK news outlet.
