Why Isn’t Birth Control Getting Better?
“We need better birth control. a 2004 survey found that 20 percent of women were not satisfied with the contraceptive method they were using. on average, women try four different types of contraception during their lifetime. studies continue to show that even low-dose hormonal contraception exacerbates depression and decreases libido. and last year, a study in the journal of family practice found that only 57 percent of women on the pill were happy with it.
fifty years after the invention of the birth-control pill, we are all so busy celebrating our contraceptive options—and defending our access to them—that we tend to forget how few we have. the basic science behind most contraception remains virtually unchanged since the 1950s, when researcher john rock discovered that a combination of estrogen and progesterone would allow a woman to control her fertility. sure, scientists have tweaked the hormone levels and delivery methods, but every single one of these innovations is still based on synthetic hormones.”
