re:Cycling readers may be interested in this story in the current issue of Macleans about the declining interest in oral contraceptives among Canadian women, particularly among women in their 20s who’ve been using The Pill for a decade.
[O]ral contraceptive prescriptions in Canada levelled off in 2008, reports pharmaceutical industry analyst IMS Health Canada. Health care workers are seeing a growing demand for non-hormonal methods. Spurred by concerns about their health, the environment, or even frustration with family doctors, who sometimes seem to push the pill as a modern-day cure-all, Canadian women are looking for other options.
The report echoes a couple of recent discussions here at re:Cycling, such as our guest post from Holly Grigg-Spall and Laura Wershler’s response, guest post from Moira Howe about the quiescent uterus, and discussion of risks of YAZ.
And Dr. Jerilynn Prior, scientific director of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (and past president of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research) is quoted in the article: “There’s an emotional identity attached to achieving your own menstrual cycle, and being able to read your body,” she says. “When you’re on the pill, it’s the doctor who’s controlling your cycle. You don’t own it.”
It’s good to see this issue getting some attention in mainstream media.
This bears repeating: The birth control pill, Yaz, has been linked to a number of adverse reactions, including strokes and lawsuits are growing over these issues. Here is some good information: https://www.yaz-may-cause-strokes.com/
Thanks, Cyn. I’ll check out that site.
We’ve written about Yaz before, back in September, and Holly Grigg-Spall mentioned it in her first guest post about the pill. It will be worth watching to see how these lawsuits play out; I may be going out on a limb, but I predict Yaz will soon be removed from the marketplace – one way or another.