The Emotional Effects Of Birth Control Pills

Many women in the world have reported that birth control pills have, in addition to the main one, negative emotional effects. The subject became almost anecdotal and it was even said that it was a myth.

The most problematic thing is that, despite the fact that many women speak of the negative emotional effects due to the pill, several studies have appeared with a very different conclusion. Some of them even claim to prove the opposite: that the pill improves mood.

More recently, however, there have also been several independent studies that seem to agree with those who speak of negative emotional effects as a result of regularly taking oral contraceptives. At least for the moment, there is no consensus on this.

Studies on the negative emotional effects of the pill

It should be noted, first of all, that not all women report  suffering or having suffered negative emotional effects from the use of the pill. However, the complaints have reached a sufficient volume that some investigators have taken them into account. There are at least four large studies on this topic.

In 2003, a study was done with 658 women who regularly ingested birth control pills. The conclusion was that there was no evidence that the pills altered his mood. They only found a slight increase in discomfort in those with a history of depression.

In 2007 another investigation was carried out in this regard, this time in Australia. This time a sample of 6,000 women was approached and a conclusion very similar to that found in the 2003 study was reached. They added only that women with a history of depression felt a slight increase in emotional distress, but that this faded over time.

Two other investigations were conducted in 2011 and 2013, in Finland and the United States, respectively. Again the same conclusion was reached. There was no evidence that hormonal contraceptives had  negative emotional effects. And, when these appeared, they were residual or insignificant.

The questions

Although all the aforementioned studies reach the same conclusion, there have also been voices that question this conclusion. The first refers to the difficulty in establishing stable parameters on what it is to “be well” and not to be well. The effect size of the significance found is also questioned.

To this is added the fact that in all the studies carried out it is mentioned that, for “the majority” of women, the use of oral contraceptives does not generate any undesirable emotional effects. This means that there is a minority that does have difficulties with the use of this type of contraceptive.

In the same way, there is a more than reasonable question: if contraceptives exert a modification in hormonal cycles and hormones affect mood, would it not be logical to think that in some organisms they generate negative emotional effects?

Other related research

Professor Angelica Linden Hirschberg, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, with the support of the Stockholm School of Economics, conducted a study using a different method. Their objective was to determine whether there was evidence of a connection between the ingestion of birth control pills and the physical or mental well-being of women.

For this they started from a group of 380 volunteers, between 24 and 35 years old. All of them were initially evaluated; Later, without their knowledge, they were divided into two groups. Some were given classic oral contraceptives, while the others were given a placebo. At the end of the study, those who had taken contraceptives reported having less self-control, energy and mood.

On the other hand, an article appeared in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience that spoke of another study in this regard. 42 women who were taking the pill and 53 who were not were followed.

All of them were tested to determine if they recognized complex facial expressions. Those who took the pill were on average 10% less accurate.

Scientists agree that there is still a lot to investigate. For now, the important thing is to review this debate so that women who use the pill have evidence to support their decision. It is also important that they have alternative methods if they think the pills are causing ill effects.