Birth Control: Finding What Works for You
By: Juliana Wilhelmy
In the United States’ “Post Roe” climate, following the landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court that overturned Roe v Wade, birth control has become a contentious topic, given that a women’s right to choose has been stripped on a national level. In some ways, birth control is one of the few measures women have left to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancies and to protect their own liberty and social mobility.
Growing up, speaking about periods has always been taboo, but “at least one in four women experiences distressing menstrual pain characterized by a need for medication and absenteeism from study or social activities” (Grandi et al, 2012, p. 1). A hush trip in high school or college to the gynecologist is usually how most girls are prescribed their first pack of birth control pills. What most young girls and women do not understand is that the tiny pill that you take at the same time every day holds much more significance than we are led to believe; plus, taking the pill is expected of women, while for a man, using a condom is deemed as optional. This social responsibility expected of women is another key example of institutionalized patriarchal norms we have normalized.
As a female college student, being on birth control is an expectation. The tiny reminder that plagues phones daily, at the same time for virtually every girl I know, is almost a universal experience. In my own experience, I can count the number of girls on my fingers who are not currently on the pill or have not previously taken the pill in the past. But what if the pill doesn’t seem right for you?
In the new digital age, period tracking apps are becoming increasingly popular, especially as a way to track your cycle if you are not on the pill. The Symptothermal Method is a combination of three fertility awareness methods (FAMs) to track your fertility signs. These include: The Temperature Method, where you take your temperature in the morning every day before you get out of bed, The Cervical Mucus Method, where you check your cervical mucus every day, and the Calendar Method, where you chart your menstrual cycle on a calendar (Planned Parenthood). While FAMs are not as effective as other types of birth control, they are about 78-88% effective (Planned Parenthood). There are now apps catered to helping women track their period and fertility where all of this information can be logged to find longer-term trends for yourself. They essentially act like a diary for your period. They include functions such as the dates of your cycles, the heaviness, your symptoms, your food intake, your temperature and many more. These apps are not bulletproof ways to prevent pregnancy, but are a great option to understand your own reproductive health. Combining these methods of tracking with other birth control methods is necessary to make necessary precautions and prevent pregnancy.
In this post-Roe climate in the United States, some apps are better than others to use because of the risk that data may be sold to the government or other organizations. This is harmful because these apps “now have access to new tools that give them crucial evidence of what is going through a pregnant person’s mind in the weeks and months before their pregnancy ends” (Conti-Cook, 2020, p. 560). This invasion of privacy impacts women around the United States because the government is able to access extremely personal data about a woman’s reproductive health. In states where abortion is a crime, prosecutors could potentially subpoena apps and use the data to convict women of abortion-related crimes. It is important to be aware of the possible political impact on bodily autonomy and women’s rights. Ultimately, this overreach into such personal matters among women is detrimental to women's health because women no longer have an option to self track their menstrual data on apps to help understand their own reproductive health better.
Here are some safe apps to consider to track your periods that keep your data on your phone or tablet, avoid using third party trackers, and do not share transparency reports (Consumer Reports, 2022):
Birth control is a serious decision to consider, but so is unplanned pregnancy: so consult with your healthcare provider about what options are the best fit for you. Combining birth control pills or other methods of pregnancy prevention with period tracking is a useful way to learn about how your body works during different phases of your menstrual cycle. Learning about your own reproductive health is more important now than ever with women’s bodily autonomy on the line in this post-Roe world so that you can do what is best for your body.
Reference List:
Conti-Cook, C. (2020). Surveilling the Digital Abortion Diary: A Preview of how Anti-Abortion Prosecutors Will Weaponize Commonly-Used Digital Devices as Criminal Evidence Against Pregnant People and Abortion Providers in a Post-Roe America [SSRN Scholarly Paper]. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3666305
Fertility Awareness Methods | Natural Birth Control. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/fertility-awareness
Grandi, G., Ferrari, Xholli, Cannoletta, Palma, Volpe, & Cagnacci, A. (2012). Prevalence of Menstrual Pain in Young Women: What is Dysmenorrhea? Journal of Pain Research, 169. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S30602
Period tracker apps and privacy. (2022). Consumer Reports. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.consumerreports.org/health-privacy/period-tracker-apps-privacy-a2278134145/