Is the Pill Changing How You Think?
As inventions go, that small tablet you pop each day is among the most revolutionary. Five decades ago, the introduction of the contraceptive pill gave women control over pregnancy timing, paved the way for a new method of cramp management (by reducing the amount of pain-inducing prostaglandins) and offered a fresh defence against disease (research has linked oral contraceptives with a lower risk of endometrial and ovarian cancers). Fast forward to 2019 and, of the 70 per cent of women in Oz using contraception, Family Planning NSW reports up to 34 per cent take the pill. But that’s not the massive news, this is: experts are now uncovering the pill’s effect on our brains ... and it’s stuff that’ll blow your mind.
Most of us know the pill drill: it uses the hormones you naturally release when you’re pregnant to fool your body into thinking a new roomie has moved into your uterus. Progesterones block.
