So, did you watch Davina McCall’s Pill Revolution on Channel 4?
It told the stories of the many women and girls who have negative experiences with the pill, and how there needs to be more research and better information.
This is very welcome. Too many women, and girls, are put on the pill with very little information about its potential impacts. We need to do better.
It told the stories of the many women and girls who have negative experiences with the pill, and how there needs to be more research and better information.
This is very welcome. Too many women, and girls, are put on the pill with very little information about its potential impacts. We need to do better.
But I don't think this is what a revolution looks like.
I groaned when a reheated version of the rhythm method joke was wheeled out “What do you call people who use fertility awareness as contraception? Parents.”
I groaned again at the room of yoga mums who’d all got pregnant while using the contraception app Natural Cycles.
If you want to use fertility awareness as contraception, I don’t recommend Natural Cycles. I think you're better off following NHS advice and learning how to interpret your own data. Your waking temperature, and other information, can be powerful tools.
But I don't condemn Natural Cycles either. I think it's a reasonable option for those who want to avoid the pill and don't mind a slightly less effective approach. Sometimes people have other priorities.
A revolutionary programme would have considered fertility awareness in more depth.
We might have heard some success stories, and why it's increasingly popular, rather than experts implying that it's just silly women being led astray by social media.
We could have heard about how it can be highly effective, when it's done right, rather than hearing dismissive jokes about how it always fails.
The programme could have investigated period and ovulation tracking apps, the ones that issue over-confident messages about fertile days, and those that fail to protect personal data.
There could also have been discussions about the lack of NHS funding, and research funding, and how women are basically doing this for themselves. Working out how to use the method with the help of massive Facebook groups, apps like the low-cost Read Your Body and people like me.
It also seemed odd to give the IUD (copper coil, Mirena etc) such an easy ride.
The main concern was how long it takes to get one fitted. A valid concern, those waiting lists and service cuts are real, but the process is a pretty big story as well.
Many have highlighted the the need for better pain relief during IUD insertion, so it rankled seeing Davina having one fitted in a private clinic by a very skilled practitioner with plenty of pain relief.
She did say this was an ideal scenario so maybe I should let that one go but it still felt like a hard sell for a pretty intrusive method.
But perhaps least revolutionary of all was how men were completely let off the hook when it comes to contraception. Condoms weren’t mentioned at all! Or vasectomies!
Contraception shouldn’t just be women’s work. Condoms, ideally backed up with emergency contraception if needed, are a great method of contraception and as popular as the pill.
They also help people avoid sexually transmitted infections, which are on the rise – especially among women aged 15 to 24.
Still, it was good to see contraception and women's health getting some airtime. And Davina is very watchable. Maybe there’s another programme brewing.
In the meantime, if you want to know more about the history of the pill. I suggest the book Sweetening The Pill by Holly Grigg-Spall or Megan Murphy’s podcast about The Business of Birth Control film.
And if you want to start your own personal revolution, check out the NHS website.
I groaned when a reheated version of the rhythm method joke was wheeled out “What do you call people who use fertility awareness as contraception? Parents.”
I groaned again at the room of yoga mums who’d all got pregnant while using the contraception app Natural Cycles.
If you want to use fertility awareness as contraception, I don’t recommend Natural Cycles. I think you're better off following NHS advice and learning how to interpret your own data. Your waking temperature, and other information, can be powerful tools.
But I don't condemn Natural Cycles either. I think it's a reasonable option for those who want to avoid the pill and don't mind a slightly less effective approach. Sometimes people have other priorities.
A revolutionary programme would have considered fertility awareness in more depth.
We might have heard some success stories, and why it's increasingly popular, rather than experts implying that it's just silly women being led astray by social media.
We could have heard about how it can be highly effective, when it's done right, rather than hearing dismissive jokes about how it always fails.
The programme could have investigated period and ovulation tracking apps, the ones that issue over-confident messages about fertile days, and those that fail to protect personal data.
There could also have been discussions about the lack of NHS funding, and research funding, and how women are basically doing this for themselves. Working out how to use the method with the help of massive Facebook groups, apps like the low-cost Read Your Body and people like me.
It also seemed odd to give the IUD (copper coil, Mirena etc) such an easy ride.
The main concern was how long it takes to get one fitted. A valid concern, those waiting lists and service cuts are real, but the process is a pretty big story as well.
Many have highlighted the the need for better pain relief during IUD insertion, so it rankled seeing Davina having one fitted in a private clinic by a very skilled practitioner with plenty of pain relief.
She did say this was an ideal scenario so maybe I should let that one go but it still felt like a hard sell for a pretty intrusive method.
But perhaps least revolutionary of all was how men were completely let off the hook when it comes to contraception. Condoms weren’t mentioned at all! Or vasectomies!
Contraception shouldn’t just be women’s work. Condoms, ideally backed up with emergency contraception if needed, are a great method of contraception and as popular as the pill.
They also help people avoid sexually transmitted infections, which are on the rise – especially among women aged 15 to 24.
Still, it was good to see contraception and women's health getting some airtime. And Davina is very watchable. Maybe there’s another programme brewing.
In the meantime, if you want to know more about the history of the pill. I suggest the book Sweetening The Pill by Holly Grigg-Spall or Megan Murphy’s podcast about The Business of Birth Control film.
And if you want to start your own personal revolution, check out the NHS website.