Women Turning To Tiktok For Advice About Contraception Pills Cos Doctors Won't Hear

[RAMROD 90,614]

There’s a seismic shift going on in contraception, and health professionals are scrambling to catch up. The TikTok health claims above are wildly exaggerated and often incorrect, but that’s not stopping a generation of women, trans and non-binary people binning their pills. The latest abortion rate in England and Wales is 19 per 1,000 women and growing, the highest it has been since legalisation in 1967 – and in Scotland it is 16 per 1,000, but terminations are up 19% year on year there, with a rise among teenagers too. Some doctors have suggestedthat social media is to blame for the rise in abortions, as women turn away from the pill.

That’s dramatic, but it’s only part of the truth. Abortion providers such as MSI Reproductive Choices have told me that the cost of living crisis has meant more women in their 30s are having abortions, often those who already have children. Plus the public health grant to local councils used to fund sexual health services was slashed by more than £1bn – 24% – over five years up until 2021. Freedom of information requests reveal contraceptive coil-fitting waiting lists of months in the UK, and up to a year in parts of Devon and Northern Ireland.

So it’s a perfect storm – a crumbling contraceptive service, economic deprivation and growing social-media conspiracy theories around the pill. Over the last 60 years, the advent of reliable contraception has brought women into education and the workplace as never before, and rescued millions from debilitating period pain, gargantuan bleeds and other miserable conditions – as well as increasing the joy of sex.

Most people choosing to go on the pill or have an implant or injection are schoolgirls: 64% start hormonal contraception as teenagers, and TikTok is infinitely more powerful than a one-hour sex education class. They’re watching Love Island influencers using the Natural Cycles app, measuring their basal body temperatures every morning, and staying miraculously free of synthetic hormones and pregnancies.

Jennifer Takhar at the ISG International Business School in Paris recently published a paper on the reasons behind falling pill prescription rates in western Europe, and says: “Our research shows that peers on social media are influencing young women’s choices, and reshaping perceptions of risk and side-effects, and at the same time social media is delegitimising the authority of health professionals.”

But it is clear, as voices are amplified on TikTok and Instagram, that women feel they have been gaslighted about the side-effects and risks of hormonal contraception. They need somewhere to scream. While the medical textbooks give a fairly cursory mention to “mood swings” or “lowered libido”, a poll of 4,000 diverse women for the documentary Davina McCall’s Pill Revolution, which I produced this year, showed that 77% of pill users had experienced side-effects, 57% were worried about their mental health on hormonal contraception, and a third reported anxiety, depression or low mood on the pill – and that was the main reason for giving it up.

We need to make our voices heard and ask for better – and more honest – medical information about hormonal contraception and side-effects, or else TikTok will continue to drown out doctors. Surprisingly, the government would like to hear more, and Prof Lesley Regan – the gynaecologist and women’s health ambassador who is targeting gender inequalities in the system – is asking women to participate in a women’s reproductive health survey that is now open for comments. We have fought for period power – now we need pill power, too.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/11/women-tiktok-pill-doctors-social-media-contraception

[IWantYourLove 589]

Doctors are awful regarding contraceptive options and advice. I’m not saying social media/peer advice is better, but I have endometriosis and the only reason I was able to get treatment/support for it was because of one of my brilliant teachers when I was in school. She has endometriosis too, and I’m so thankful for her going out of her way to help me when she didn’t need to. The health system is in shambles. I was once told by a doctor that a diagnosis wouldn’t matter and that I shouldn’t push for one because it won’t change anything. I was also told that contraceptives would almost 100% solve the problems I was having. The hope I had shattered around me when I realised that, a year after starting the pill, nothing was going to change. We need more honesty, it’s vital to our physical and mental health. It is letting down people with periods everywhere. We need support, advice, and treatment without question. 
That being said, do not trust personal stories on TikTok thinking that they’re better than a professional opinion. Please trust your doctors above strangers on the internet. You could be doing more damage than good by ignoring medical professionals. If mistakes are made by them, at least there will be a medical record of it, instead of taking yourself off hormones/medication that you have been prescribed. Talk about it, don’t just assume you know better because of social media. I wish there were a better option than hoping somebody knows what they’re doing when they’re supposed to be a medical professional, but they’re still more trustworthy than the lady on your screen who didn’t go through medical school.

[IWantYourLove 589]

1 hour ago, RAMROD said:

We need to make our voices heard and ask for better – and more honest – medical information about hormonal contraception and side-effects, or else TikTok will continue to drown out doctors.

Exactly this. Misinformation on social media can be detrimental, especially to young people who will happily take the advice of a ‘specialist’ on the internet. And doctors need to be more honest with us too. It needs to be completely out in the open, instead of ‘this could happen’ and then not telling us what to do if it does or doesn’t. Hormonal treatment, whether it be contraceptive or other, should be taken seriously. Pregnancy risks, especially considering where the world is going, also need to be taken seriously by people. I’ve had friends tell me they’ll be fine because they’re in their ‘safe’ window, then fall pregnant. It’s dangerous, both physically and mentally.

[SharkmanthaC 97,571]

The should be more education on non-hormonal birth control as well. I think this is just part of a bigger picture where women's healthcare isn't taken seriously. Women's pain, medication effects, etc aren't taken seriously and it needs to continue to be something that is discussed to bring awareness. Hormones can mess with many things, sometimes it's wanted and sometimes they aren't. There is always a risk of hormonal medications.

[Healed My Heart 36,293]

22 minutes ago, SharkmanthaC said:

The should be more education on non-hormonal birth control as well. I think this is just part of a bigger picture where women's healthcare isn't taken seriously. Women's pain, medication effects, etc aren't taken seriously and it needs to continue to be something that is discussed to bring awareness. Hormones can mess with many things, sometimes it's wanted and sometimes they aren't. There is always a risk of hormonal medications.

THIS.

I think it's also important to note the shame our society places on young women who are sexually active and how that impacts this as well. Even though I was a teen long before tiktok, I too got all my information about sex and birth control from the internet bc I didn't feel I could talk to my parents or doctor or any "trusted adult" bc it was so taboo.

Planned Parenthood was the only reason I got decent healthcare and didn't end up pregnant. They gave me free exams and free birth control. But even there, I was terrified to ask the doctors questions or really talk about anything bc the shame was so strong.

Edited September 11 by Healed My Heart

[IWantYourLove 589]

50 minutes ago, SharkmanthaC said:

The should be more education on non-hormonal birth control as well. I think this is just part of a bigger picture where women's healthcare isn't taken seriously. Women's pain, medication effects, etc aren't taken seriously and it needs to continue to be something that is discussed to bring awareness. Hormones can mess with many things, sometimes it's wanted and sometimes they aren't. There is always a risk of hormonal medications.

This 100%. I had a 21 year old friend ask me ‘what the f*ck’ a female condom was. I was 18 at the time and was shocked she was never taught about it. She knew all about the pill and avoided it like the plague because of the side effects she’d heard about. She thought her only option was male condoms and was trusting men she’d never met before to use them during one night stands and was scared.

[Economy 42,962]

Getting medical advice on social media is definitely a dangerous slipery slope...

 

But at the same time i cant blame their frustration when when healthcare system is so slow, sometimes unaccessible or filled with doctors that dont care (and clearly do it just for money) and dont take the time to people

 

Despite the pedastal we put "proffessionals" in, they make mistakes too or brush things off. And even more so since healthcare around the world became more strained its gotten worse.

 

Im not saying im gonna trust tik tok or google or facebook over a doctor... but the doctors words will also be taken with a grain of salt from me as well. Rn u need a lot of second opinions and over-all research. I dont take a single persons word as infallable just cuz they have a degree

 

This issue with birth control is an example but its just 1 of many. You face these kinds of issues with any aspect to healthcare now. Any issue takes forever to figure out now or be taken seriously

Edited September 12 by Economy

[bionic 34,190]

1 hour ago, Economy said:

Getting medical advice on social media is definitely a dangerous slipery slope...

Yeah this will probably be fine for 99% of people but that 1% will see disaster happen 

[Economy 42,962]

15 minutes ago, bionic said:

Yeah this will probably be fine for 99% of people but that 1% will see disaster happen 

I mean, i think the ratio of ppl who get bad advice online is more than 1%. Most ppl ive met getting medical advise online or from posts say at least some stuff that sounds highly questionable. U gotta really scruitinize what u read or see online

 

My point was more just that doctors are hardly perfect either and i cant blame ppl for seeking out alternative sources for answers when they dont feel heard or like their problems arent being looked at seriously

 

The frequent rehtoric online about proffessionals almost seems to put them on a pedestal where because they have this piece of paper that makes them "experts" its like they always automatically know what they are talking about meanwhile anyone that questions them is the crazy lunatic

 

I think things are a bit more grey and nuanced than that. Its not as black and white as everything online = garbage and doctors = infalable

 

I still would never promote looking online as ur primary source of information. Just pointing out doctors are not infallable saints either and its ok to question what they say or seek second opinions, that doesnt make you anti science

Edited September 12 by Economy