One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Five women’s experiences with various forms of birth control
By Alison Stecker, Online Editorial Assistant
There are several forms of birth control, varying from the pill to a patch to a vaginal ring; the list goes on and on. Not every form of birth control is appropriate for every person who menstruates, and not every person who menstruates has the same experience with birth control. Contraception is not a one size fits all situation.
For this article, I interviewed five students to learn about the multiple ways birth control could impact the body and mind. Some experienced little to no side effects while others spent months or years switching what type of birth control they were on to find the one that suited them the best. Every interviewee had a unique story to share regarding their contraception journey, and it’s important to read about these various experiences to fully understand the implications of birth control.
This article has been edited for clarity and brevity.
How long have you been on birth control for?
Dani Csaszar: About four years, since my junior year of high school. I did go off of it for about eight months at one point.
Jessica Katz: I’ve been on birth control for around four years, I believe. I started on the pill, and now I have an IUD.
Jewel Lindwall: 3.5 years.
Mia Pearce: I started birth control at the end of my junior year of high school, around May 2019. That was a little under four years ago now. It was about one year ago that I switched to the Nexplanon arm implant. I was on the pill and the patch before that.
Izzy Bierbach: I went on the pill in July 2021 and switched to a copper IUD in November.
Why did you choose the form of birth control you are on?
Dani Csaszar: I chose the pill as my first form of birth control because in high school the pill was what everyone tried for the first time, and I just ended up staying on it. It was simple.
Jessica Katz: I’m not entirely sure why I chose the IUD over other options, but I was slightly persuaded by my close friends who had the IUD and loved it.
Jewel Lindwall: My doctor chose it for me based on what issues I had and wanted to fix.
Mia Pearce: I chose the implant because my doctor recommended switching to a form of birth control that was not user-dependent. Birth control’s percent effectiveness is based on perfect use, not average use. With forms like IUDs and the Nexplanon implant, average use and perfect use is the same. Additionally, the effectiveness of Nexplanon is higher than of other forms.
Izzy Bierbach: I didn’t want anything hormonal anymore and IUDs have really good effectiveness.
Have you ever switched or considered switching the type of birth control you are on?
Dani Csaszar: I have considered other options, but all I’ve ever been on is the pill, so I’m most comfortable with that. I have started researching the patch though.
Jessica Katz: I decided to switch from the pill to the Mirena IUD a few years ago. My friends had the IUD and said really good things about it. I was bad at taking my pill on time, so I thought it would be less work to have an IUD. Although, I have thought about going back to the pill.
Jewel Lindwall: Technically my doctor 'switched' mine but it's been the same the whole time. The reason I considered switching was to help with my migraines. I switched to continual cycles (ex. taking three packs without the placebo week, so I only get my period once every three cycles). This seems to have helped with my migraine symptoms a lot.
Mia Pearce: I started on the pill and then switched to the patch because of raised cholesterol and mood swings. After the patch, I switched to the Nexplanon implant because I wanted a more effective form of birth control. Since going on Nexplanon I have not had the desire to switch methods of birth control. Perhaps if I was more paranoid about pregnancy, the lack of bleeding would stress me out and be motivated to switch, but luckily that has not been the case for me. I am really happy with the implant and do not anticipate looking to switch soon.
Izzy Bierbach: I didn’t want anything hormonal anymore and IUDs have really good effectiveness.
What was your experience with birth control?
Dani Csaszar: One thing my birth control helped me with was less cramping and it helped clear bad hormonal acne. Unfortunately, I’ve always had issues with it because I think it might affect my mental health. I’ve always been a little weird about putting all the hormones in my body and I know there are so many side effects of birth control that I could be experiencing and have no idea. I think it impacted my weight at the beginning, and at first, I was experimenting with many different pills because my period still would not follow a proper cycle. It comes pretty regularly now, but I will admit that sometimes I forget to take a pill a couple of times a month, and I don’t think I understand the extremity of what I’m doing to my body by even missing them. Sometimes that means I’ll bleed for a day or two irregularly, which can be on me but it stresses me out to think that these pills hold a lot of control over my body.
Jessica Katz: I have had a lot of issues with my IUD. The insertion was extremely painful. To some extent, I knew it would be painful, but it was horrible. The insertion hurt, but soon after I got the worst cramps. It was the worst pain I have been in my entire life, so much so that I nearly fainted. Soon after I got my IUD, I had an ovarian cyst rupture; I’m not entirely sure if they are related but the timing was suspicious. That was also extremely painful. For months after I got my IUD, I bled nonstop. I know that after you get one you bleed consistently for a few weeks, but I bled for much longer. I had to go on antibiotics to stop the bleeding. I also got yeast infections like once a month, which have not been confirmed to be related to the IUD, but the timing was also suspicious. Lastly, my periods are very inconsistent. I never know what to expect: when I’ll get my period, if I'll get my period, how bad cramps will be, if I’ll bleed. One month it’ll last two days and the next it’ll last eight. Overall, the IUD is nice because you don’t have to worry about remembering to take a pill and it stays in for years. But for the reasons I’ve described, I would not recommend it to anyone.
Jewel Lindwall: My experience with birth control is pretty positive. I went on it in high school to help with acne and it cleared up within a few months of being on the pill. I continue to only have one or two pimples pop up with my periods. Before birth control, I also had an extremely heavy flow and severe cramping. The pill helped level out these symptoms and lighten up my flow, which was extremely helpful in allowing me to enjoy my life while on my period compared to being on my deathbed.
Mia Pearce: I have been lucky enough to have no issues with birth control aside from the pill increasing my cholesterol. I had issues with irregular periods on the pill and the patch. However, with Nexplanon, I do not bleed on my cycle which has been nice. Overall, my experience has been as pleasant as experience with birth control can be. The greatest, most obvious pro has been protected sex. Knowing I use a form of birth control with a very high percentage of effectiveness is comforting in approaching any sexual encounter. It puts me at ease that I use that layer of protection because I know I could not adequately support a child at this point in my life. Additionally, I have found not having a period to be a great pro as well. The greatest challenge has been navigating mood changes and determining when birth control is the cause. Struggles with acne have come up at different points while using birth control, and that has been a big con as well.
Izzy Bierbach: While the pill was easy to access and made my periods easy, I had really bad mental issues stemming from the hormonal pill. I was depressed and my anxiety skyrocketed. Overall, I love my copper IUD. I didn’t think the insertion was as painful as it’s hyped up to be, but it made my period horrible. My flow is really heavy now and my cramps are worse. I’d rather deal with the periods, so I prefer the IUD by a mile. It’s also nice that I don't need to remember to take a pill every day.
Have you ever wondered how you would feel if you went off of birth control?
Dani Csaszar: Honestly the eight months that I went off of it, I felt a lot better mentally. This is why I think there’s some correlation between mental health and taking the pill. I went back on it for normal reasons and was just not experiencing a normal cycle pattern. To be honest I didn’t wanna go back on the pill as a form of birth control but it’s what my doctor recommended most.
Jessica Katz: I honestly have been thinking about getting off birth control or switching. I struggle a lot with mental health and feeling low energy, and I’m curious if going off the pill would help at all with that.
Jewel Lindwall: Not really. I feel like I could go off of birth control and my acne would stay on the low because I’m older and not as prone to acne. It could either help my migraines or make them a lot worse, which makes me nervous. I'm also nervous about what my cramps would be like without the pill but none of this would stop me from not taking the pill or continuing to take it.
Mia Pearce: I’ve wondered what may change if I went off of birth control, however, I know that right now birth control is the best option for me. It puts my mind at ease a bit and the method I use has caused me very minimal issues. I’m also grateful to have a great gynecologist to help me navigate birth control and the form that is best for me. I do wonder what may change emotionally for me if I went off of birth control, but I don’t think I will be experimenting with going off of birth control any time soon.
Izzy Bierbach: I have anxiety so I think sex would just stress me out a lot.
How do you feel about male birth control?
Dani Csaszar: I think at this point men deserve it and it should be a two-sided option for both partners. I feel like there are constant debates about this but I don’t understand why when it’s already so hard for women to obtain contraception and have contraception that works well for them. I know that male birth control has been in the works so I have high hopes about it and I hope men can become more open to this opportunity because if they’re being sexually active, they should be proactive towards safer sex.
Jessica Katz: I’m 100% onboard for male birth control. It’s frustrating that responsibility is entirely on us. If there are safe, effective, tested forms of male birth control, I think it’s very reasonable to talk with your partner about that option.
Jewel Lindwall: I don't think male birth control exists (besides for condoms and vasectomies). I think it would be cool if it did, but I still think birth control should be available for women because, for many people, including myself, the reason for taking the pill may be for reasons other than preventing pregnancy. It helps balance hormones, which can help with mood swings, acne, flow, etc. If I didn't have access to this, my periods over the past few years probably would have been a lot worse.
Mia Pearce: I think that male birth control is a neat concept and it’s appealing that men may have another way to take more responsibility for unwanted pregnancy prevention. That said, I’m not sure how much I would trust it at the moment as I believe most male birth control is still in earlier stages of development or testing. Additionally, it is difficult to entrust pregnancy prevention with a partner who is not affected the same way by pregnancy. In pregnancy, the fetus will inhabit my body, not my partner’s, and with that, I feel slightly more comfortable with birth control in my hands. There are also many horror stories of male partners being dishonest about condom use or taking it off mid-intercourse and this makes the notion of male birth control feel less reliable to me. Of course, you ideally know and trust your partner enough for this not to be a concern, but that may not always be the case. I just may be appreciative of the control birth control gives me.
Izzy Bierbach: We need to make this a widespread thing as soon as possible. It is not on women-only to prevent pregnancy.