Birth Control Pill Turns 50: The Drastic Ways it has Progressed Women

Ironically, the 50th anniversary of birth control pills landed on Mother's Day, May 9th. The pill has completely changed women's reproductive lives and in doing so affected many other aspects. Since, I believe it's important to talk about. Previous generations of women had larger families, typically five or more kids. Today, families usually have one or two. Further, more babies today are born to women over 35 than to teenagers. This shows that the pill has taken great effect.

The pill has increased a woman's earning potential. By enabling women to delay childbearing, the pill appears to have made women more financially secure. The reason is fairly obvious. Women who get their careers going before having kids are more likely to get the education and work experience needed to get and keep better-paid positions, even if they later take time off to raise kids.

The pill made infertility into an epidemic. Oral contraceptives don't cause infertility; ovulation usually resumes within a month or two after going off the pill. However, the trend toward shifting reproduction from a woman's early 20s (when she's most fertile) to her late 30s or early 40s (when fertility is on the wane) has dramatically increased since the pill became widespread, to the extent that 20 percent of couples contend with the issue.

The pill alleviated many menstrual problems. The pill helps many menstrual cycle problems, like sever cramps, migraines, and excessive bleeding. That's because the pill's withdrawal bleed is actually a fake period, much lighter and fueled by a smaller hormonal dip than normal periods triggered by the ovulation cycle. Pill users actually tend to have less trouble with endometriosis, and they have lower rates of ovarian cancer. However, the risk of blood clots and strokes increase with use of the pill, especially for those who smoke.

The pill opened the door for other hormonal birth control options. Hormonal contraceptives have come a long way in the past 50 years, even the pill today is hardly recognizable to a pharmacist from 1960. The doses of estrogen have declined and the synthetic progesterone component has also changed. Now, there are even pill options that aren't required to be taken daily: patches, vaginal rings, shots and more.

The pill lowered likelihood of unplanned pregnancies and abortions. When used right, the pill's effectiveness rate is about 99 percent. That's far better than older barrier methods. This has eliminated many surprises by allowing women to plan their lives a lot better and be much more prepared for a bundle a joy.

The pill altered women's sex drives and sex lives. Some say that the pill and other hormonal contraceptives quash a woman's natural sexual urges by lowering levels of the 'libido' hormone, testosterone. But, that has never been proven. Some say the opposite. However, the pill is credited for ushering in the secular revolution of the 60s. Without fear of pregnancy, women may have been more ' in the mood.'

The pill inspired the idea for a male pill. Lately, there has been a lot of emphasis on the creation of a male pill. There may be a pill someday, but at this point nothing has made it beyond clinical trials.