Gynecologists, at least women with stable relationships, prescribe hormonal contraceptives. The Global Model of Contraception, developed by the United Nations in 2013, estimates that 13.5% of women who have children of childbearing age take hormonal contraceptives, the three most commonly used types of contraceptives. In sporadic relationships, on the contrary, condoms are still recommended.

There are several types of hormonal contraceptives for women: pills, patches, rings, and an UBG intrauterine device (better known as IUD). But what collateral damage do these contraceptives have that are used to prevent pregnancy? Is there an alternative? Why are hormonal contraceptives only made for women?

Although in the Spanish and French states there are few complaints against the pharmaceutical industries, in the United States there are many women who report the damage caused by hormonal contraceptives. In the article Hormonal contraception: What they sell to us and they don't tell us that the pharmaceutical industry has paid millions of dollars for users' complaints to avoid trials. Among the reported contraceptive methods, Yaz, Yasmin, Diane35, of the Bayer brand, and NuvaRing, of which Yaz is a witness. One of the collateral damages is the formation of blood clots in the veins.

In 2014, the German pharmaceutical industry Bayer acknowledged that it paid $1.8 million in the United States for the 8,999 complaints accumulated by the brands Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and Gianvi, and that it still has more than 4,000 complaints to pay.

Miguel Jara is a Madrid journalist who is engaged in research on health and ecology issues, as well as medical laboratories, among others. Travel within medicine and the pharmaceutical industry (Peninsula, 2011). He denounces the effort of the pharmaceutical industry to hide information through its work: “They tell us what they want to be able to sell. They fear truthful information, because they can lose customers.”

Meritxell Guàrdia i Serentille refers to some data that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave in 2012 in Pikara Magazine. Among them, he notes that between 2004 and 2008 hormonal contraceptives had to do with the death of 50 people.

On the other hand, it should be taken into account that many of the women who take them do not take them to avoid pregnancy, but to deal with other health problems such as acne or baldness. Several medical associations have denounced that other alternatives should not be prioritized.

The NuvaRing ring has also received over a thousand complaints. This method of contraception is the most recommended by gynecologists between the rings. On the other hand, the Diane35 contraceptive method was withdrawn from the market in 2013 by a French pharmaceutical industry for safety reasons.

How do contraceptives affect women's bodies?

The pills, patches and rings cause a feedback between the pituitary and the ovary, thus preventing the formation of eggs. Using combined and sequential formulas, the ovary becomes incapable. Basically, hormonal contraceptives deceive themselves.

It is claimed that these contraceptives also have health benefits. They include: reducing trumpet infections, protecting endometriosis, reducing ovarian cysts and reducing the chances of ovarian cancer.

On the contrary, the complaints of female users also say the opposite. On the emotional level, many of them talk about depression, lack of sex or emotional imbalances, among other issues. The endocrinologist Carmen Valls cites in the journal Mujer y Salud a series of short-term conclusions: taking weight, nausea, breast pain, reduction of menstrual cycles, metrorrhagia and edema. Other consequences are long-term: causing damage to the endroquine system or reducing the chances of pregnancy. However, the most serious consequence would be arterial thromboembolism, that is, the formation of blood clots in the veins.

Altenatives

Guàrdia i Serentille refers to alternatives to hormonal contraceptives, including diaphragm, and natural methods to prevent pregnancy. These choices require a great understanding of the body and menstruation. The reason why organizations reject these methods is their lack of effectiveness, although, according to the World Health Organization, efficiency ranges from 95% to 97%.

The diaphragm is a thin and flexible record contraceptive method that aims to construct a barrier. It gets on its way to the uterus and prevents sperm from entering. It will be placed between two and six hours before sexual practice and will be removed after six hours. As for natural contraceptives, it is vitally important to know oneself and the cycles in detail. Sexual intercourse on fertile days is ruled out.

Most organizations recommend hormonal contraceptive methods, considered the most effective contraceptive to prevent pregnancy, and according to the state agency for medicines and medical devices (AEMPS), the benefits outweigh the damage. A few years ago, on behalf of the same agency, the prospects for hormonal contraceptives were updated, requesting the appearance of real collateral damage. However, there are groups that call for further research, because it is not clear what consequences they may have in the long term.

Much progress has been made in the last 30 years in terms of hormonal contraceptives. Three decades ago, hormonal contraceptives had very high hormone doses: 50 micrograms. It harmed many women and affected sugar metabolism, fatty tissue build-up and liver disease. 25 years ago it was possible to reduce the number of doses to 30-35 micrograms, without losing efficiency, and less collateral damage was caused to women, according to the study. Finally, 15 years ago, the dose was reduced from 15 to 20 micrograms, thinking that most women would work well. However, there are those who think that reducing hormonal doses does not always have to be beneficial. The website on Critical Tropic Gynecology uses a number of arguments to defend this hypothesis. First, he explains that the number of estrogen can vary greatly from woman to woman, even depending on the day of menstruation. When you take hormonal contraceptives, the ovary stops working. During this time, the female hormones present in the body will be limited to contraceptives. However, she explains that hormonal contraceptives usually cause several collateral damage during the first three months, so it is recommended that if they continue, the contraceptive method be modified.

Why not men?

In recent years, various research has been carried out with the aim of creating hormonal contraceptives for men, although they have not yet been placed on the market. Currently, there are two types of contraception for men: condoms and vasectomy.

Condoms have several advantages: they are cheap and serve to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Vasectomy, on the other hand, is almost entirely effective. The deferent tubes that bind the testes with the seminal vesicle should be cut off and then used a contraceptive for a while. It is very difficult to go back after the vasectomy is performed.

It is significant that the development of female contraceptives in recent years and the multiple possibilities they have generated have made this field so little developed in men. Currently, there are several lines of research, including the method to stop producing sperm for a time using synthetic hormones, and in the case of non-hormonal modes, the techniques to prevent sperm entry into the vagina.

The University of Illinois researcher Jalees Rehman has explained that male volunteers who participate in clinical trials suffer less collateral damage than women. So why are hormonal contraceptives not marketed for men? The pharmaceutical industries have not been particularly interested in this, for example, the number of female hormonal contraceptives and the scarce male hormonal contraceptive methods that have been placed on the market in recent years.

However, other difficulties are also mentioned, such as the formation of one egg per month by women and the destruction of millions of sperm in the case of men. Research is underway and results have been achieved, but it seems that the pharmaceutical industries do not want to invest in hormonal contraceptives for men.