All About Hormonal Birth Control
Purpose, Types, Side Effects, Hormone Imbalances, and Depleted Nutrients
Hormonal birth control has revolutionized women’s lives. Birth control gave women the freedom to choose when and if they want to have children. It has allowed women to enter the workforce at higher rates and gain more control over their lives and reproductivity.
Approximately 80% of women have used synthetic hormonal birth control at least once in their lifetime, and I truly believe all women should have access to birth control. (1) However, I also believe that women should be fully informed about the different options, potential risks, and side effects of using hormonal contraceptives.
In this blog, we will cover the purpose of using hormonal birth control, the different types, the hormone fluctuations on and off birth control, potential side effects and risk, how birth control affects hormone balance, and the vitamins and minerals depleted when using hormonal birth control.
I want to first preface by stating that if you're currently using synthetic hormonal birth control now, I respect your right to choose.
I believe every woman makes decisions concerning conception and contraception for herself.
But, I also want to share the potential downsides that are often not discussed with doctors prescribing these medications. Doctors often don’t give women the whole story on how synthetic hormones work and their potential harmful effects.
What is the Purpose of Taking Birth Control?
First, the primary purpose of birth control is, of course, to prevent unwanted pregnancies. However, many women are prescribed birth control for other reasons unrelated to pregnancy, such as painful periods, irregular periods, acne, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, or other hormonal symptoms. All of these issues stem from hormonal imbalances. Birth control doesn't actually alleviate the root cause of these imbalances.
Contrary to what most doctors likely believe, birth control does not fix your period symptoms or regulate your cycle.
Birth control simply masks the symptoms, and once you get off your birth control, most of these symptoms come flooding back, often worse than before.
If you truly want to get rid of the root cause of your hormone imbalances, check out my online course, Restore Your Hormones, to better understand how to support your body naturally and nutritionally to help you put your hormones back in balance.
Restore Your Hormones
Learn how to finally balance your hormones naturally with nutrition, supplement, and lifestyle changes in this online course.
What are the Different Types of Hormonal Birth Control?
All forms of hormonal contraception contain some type of synthetic hormones, impacting every organ, tissue, and cell in the body. Just like natural hormones, synthetic hormones attach to receptors in your cells and can elicit changes within your body.
Here are some of the most common forms of hormonal birth control.
Birth Control Pill (BCP)
Also known as “the pill”, this form of birth control contains synthetic estrogen, ethinyl estradiol, and a synthetic form of progesterone, called progestin. These synthetic hormones are in no way identical to those naturally made in your body, and these lab-made hormones do not have the same benefits as the hormones naturally produced by our female bodies. The pill works by turning off the signal from the brain to the ovaries, which prevents ovulation, therefore hinders the ability to conceive. The pill is about 91% effective at preventing pregnancy with typical use and with perfect use, it's 99% effective. It works but at what long-term cost to reproductive health.
Progestin-Only Pill (Mini-pill)
The mini-pill only contains progestin. These pills are recommended to women with an underlying medical condition preventing them from taking synthetic estrogen. The mini pill works by thickening the cervical fluid and preventing sperm from reaching the egg, while also suppressing ovulation, but not consistently. This pill is about 91% to 99% effective at preventing pregnancy, depending on how consistently you take it.
Intrauterine Device (IUD)
The IUD is a small, plastic, T-shaped device that's only inserted into and removed from the cervix by a medical physician. Hormonal IUDs like Mirena, Kyleena, Skyla, and Liletta all contain progestin, which prevents ovulation and sperm from reaching the egg. There is also a non-hormonal copper IUD, called Paragard, which comes with its own issues. All IUDs are 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.
Birth Control Implant (Nexplanon)
The implant is a rod that's inserted into the inside of the upper arm. The rod must be inserted and removed by a medical physician. It works by continually releasing progestin, which prevents ovulation, and thickens the cervical mucus so sperm cannot freely swim to meet the egg. The implant is 99% effective.
Birth Control Shot (Depo-Provera)
The birth control shot is injected into the belly or upper thigh every three months. The shot can be performed by a physician or by yourself at home. It works by releasing progestin, which inhibits ovulation, and prevents sperm from reaching the egg. With typical use, the shot is about 94% effective.
Birth Control Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing)
The ring is inserted into the vagina for three weeks then removed for a week. The ring contains both synthetic estrogen and progestin and works by preventing ovulation. Vaginal rings are about 91% effective.
Birth Control Patch
The patch is a small bandage-like square that contains synthetic estrogen and progestin. It can be placed on the belly, butt, upper arm, or back and works by preventing ovulation. The patch is 91% effective at preventing pregnancy.
It's crucial to note that none of these forms of birth control prevent transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Should We Really Suppress Ovulation?
Most of these forms of birth control work by suppressing ovulation. However, most women don't realize the power and benefits of ovulating. Ovulating is not just essential for fertility, but ovulation is the only way for our bodies to produce progesterone. Progesterone is a powerful hormone that helps us feel calm, relaxed, lowers stress, improves sleep, increases libido, regulates blood sugar, lowers PMS, and even protects us from some cancers.
Our hormones should be functioning throughout our cycle. This fluctuation of hormones is what makes us innately women. However, in our male-dominated linear society, we often try to fix and fit women into the linear paradigm instead of honoring a woman’s cyclical nature.
When we turn off our natural reproductive cycle with synthetic hormonal birth control, we often start to see unwanted symptoms pop up, and we become more disconnected from our feminine bodies.
Here's a graphic of what your cycle looks like naturally versus using hormonal birth control.
Why are we suppressing our innate hormone fluctuations just to simply avoid pregnancy? To learn more about living in alignment with your cycle, check out this Nourish with Bella blog post.
Also, did you know that you can only get pregnant six days out of the month?
The day of ovulation is the most fertile day, but sperm can survive for up to five days in the womb. After ovulation, the egg is no longer viable, and you can no longer get pregnant until your next menstrual cycle.
If we can only get pregnant 6 days out of the month, why are we suppressing our entire cycle with synthetic hormonal birth control? There are alternatives to avoiding pregnancy that don't involve suppressing our biological rhythms and natural hormonal cycle. We review and discuss non-hormonal birth control options in the next blog post.
Symptoms & Side Effects of Hormonal Birth Control
All types of hormonal birth control come with symptoms and side effects. If you're currently taking hormonal birth control or thinking about it, I want you to fully understand the potential negative side effects and risks to your health.
Synthetic birth control prescriptions all come with warnings of possible side effects when using hormonal contraceptives:
no true, natural menstrual bleeding, a withdrawal bleed (bleeding due to withdrawal from the medication)
heavy, light, or missing withdrawal bleeds
spotting between periods
long or short cycles
fatigue
hair loss
acne, dry skin, melasma (dark spots due to excess melanin)
depression
anxiety
headaches or migraines
digestive issues, like dysbiosis, leaky gut, bloating, constipation
low libido
chronic yeast infections
painful intercourse
vaginal dryness
nausea
vomiting
increased or decreased appetite
weight gain or weight loss
poor thyroid function
vitamin & mineral depletion
Plus, recent peer-reviewed studies conclude hormonal birth control methods may increase your risk for the following:
Informed consent is essential in making the right choices in life.
Unfortunately, most women are not fully informed of all these potential side effects when prescribed hormonal birth control. If you still decide to use synthetic birth control methods after understanding all the potential risks, own your personal decision to turn off your naturally-endowed power to create your own estrogen and progesterone and rely on synthetic forms of estrogen and/or progesterone prescribed by a doctor and delivered by a pharmacist.
How Birth Control Leads to Hormonal Imbalances
Along with the numerous potential side effects of using hormonal birth control, another negative effect caused by synthetic contraceptives is hormone imbalances. The most common hormonal imbalances among women using birth control or who just got off birth control are suppressed thyroid hormones, high stress hormones, estrogen dominance, and low progesterone. Let’s look at each of these and understand how hormonal birth control affects these hormones.
Birth control increases thyroid-binding globulin (TBG). TBG binds to free thyroid hormone, making it unable to be used by your cells. To learn more about the importance of thyroid hormone, read this blog here.
Using hormonal birth control can also increase resting cortisol levels, often leading to depressive and anxious feelings, while also directly suppressing thyroid function. To better understand how to lower your stress hormones, download this free guide.
Some forms of hormonal birth control are filled with synthetic estrogen. We already live in an extremely estrogenic environment and don't need to add more synthetic estrogen to our bodies. Excess estrogen in the body often leads to estrogen dominance symptoms. Learn more about estrogen dominance here.
Since hormonal birth control suppresses ovulation, and ovulation is the only way to produce progesterone, if we're on birth control, we won't reap the numerous benefits of natural progesterone discussed earlier.
In our modern era, many women struggle with hormonal imbalances, and birth control often exacerbates these imbalances.
If you currently struggle with any type of hormonal imbalances, check out my self-paced online course, Restore Your Hormones. Learn how to get your hormones back in balance with the right nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
Birth Control Often Leads to Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies
The last major reason why I don't advocate for hormonal birth control is it depletes the body of numerous essential vitamins and minerals. These include vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin E, vitamin A, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and copper.
Obtaining enough of these vitamins and minerals through our food is hard enough due to our depleted soil and poor food system. When you add birth control to the mix, deficiencies become much more common. Birth control not only affects how well you absorb nutrients, but it also burdens your liver, which utilizes more nutrients in order to process the synthetic hormones. These imbalances and deficiencies are often a huge reason why so many women struggle with unwanted symptoms while using hormonal contraceptives.
In order to overcome these deficiencies, we must consciously replenish these vitamins and minerals, especially if we're currently on birth control, looking to get off birth control, or have been on birth control for a long period of time in the past.
Here are some food sources of each of the minerals and vitamins that hormonal birth control depletes.
Vitamins
vitamin C - citrus, peppers, tropical fruits, adrenal cocktails (juice, coconut water, salt)
vitamin Bs - liver, organ meats, shellfish, dairy, bee products
vitamin E - fruits, like mango & kiwi, avocados, bell peppers, soaked/sprouted nuts & seeds
vitamin A - liver, organ meats, butter, cream, egg yolks, fatty fish
Minerals
magnesium - bone broth, chocolate, dairy, cooked leafy greens, supplementation
zinc - oysters, shrimp, crab, other shellfish, beef, eggs
selenium - fish, shellfish, organ meats, eggs, pork
copper - liver, oysters, shellfish, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, bee pollen, citrus, dried fruits
You can lower your risk of deficiency by conscientiously eating these foods throughout the week. However, the best way to ensure you absorb enough nutrients and limit additional burdens to your body is by using alternatives to hormonal birth control.
Learn all about the alternatives to hormonal birth control in this blog post HERE.
If you’re currently on birth control, looking to come off birth control, or struggling with hormonal imbalances and nutritional deficiencies, my online course Restore Your Hormones gives you a step-by-step guide to help you reduce your symptoms and get your vibrant life back! Learn more about the course here.
I hope this post helps you better understand how synthetic hormonal birth control affects your body, hormones, and nutrients. If you have any questions or would like to share your experience with hormonal contraceptives, feel free to email me or ask below.
Bella
Additional Resources:
References
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Piparva KG, Buch JG. Deep vein thrombosis in a woman taking oral combined contraceptive pills. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2011 Jul;2(3):185-6. doi: 10.4103/0976-500X.83284. PMID: 21897713; PMCID: PMC3157129.
Roach RE.J., Helmerhorst FM, Lijfering WM., Stijnen T, Algra A, Dekkers OM. Combined oral contraceptives: the risk of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD011054. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011054.pub2
Cortés ME, Alfaro AA. The effects of hormonal contraceptives on glycemic regulation. Linacre Q. 2014 Aug;81(3):209-18. doi: 10.1179/2050854914Y.0000000023. PMID: 25249703; PMCID: PMC4135453.
Williams WV. Hormonal contraception and the development of autoimmunity: A review of the literature. Linacre Q. 2017 Aug;84(3):275-295. doi: 10.1080/00243639.2017.1360065. Epub 2017 Aug 18. PMID: 28912620; PMCID: PMC5592309.
Canadian Cancer Society. Does the pill increase your risk of cancer?