This week, Dr Louise is once again joined by journalist and activist Kate Muir, who made the Davina McCall documentary Sex, Myths and the Menopause. In Kate’s new book, Everything You Need to Know About the Pill (but were too afraid to ask), she turns her attention to the hormones commonly used in the contraceptive pill.

Kate shares personal stories of how women have been negatively affected by synthetic hormones and uncovers the bad science and patriarchy that have had such an impact on women’s health. She also offers hope that women have options and can demand change.

Finally, Kate shares three things every women should know about hormones and the pill:

Progestins are not all the same. Some of them are androgenic and some of them are oestrogenic, and they have very different effects. So, women can be on the wrong pill for them.

You can always take a pill holiday. There's nothing wrong with taking a few months off and seeing how you feel. And you may be a different person, or there may be other reasons for why you are in that state of mental health.

There needs to be more research into every bit of what synthetic hormones do in our bodies, and particularly in our minds.

You can follow Kate on Instagram at @muirka and on @pillscandal

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