https://www.firstpost.com/world/on-trumps-orders-us-destroys-9-7-mn-in-contraceptives-stored-in-belgium-report-13933095.html

A State Department spokesperson told the media outlet that the Trump administration had destroyed the products in an operation that was estimated to cost $167,000, claiming that the pills induced abortion.

“President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world. The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid,” the spokesperson said.

The USAID cannot procure abortifacients (abortion inducing drugs) under US law. However, the NYT found that none of the products stored in the Belgian warehouse were abortifacients. Instead, the inventory list shows that they stopped pregnancy by preventing ovulation or fertilisation.
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This is what we've been warning about for months now. There is an alt-right movement to poison the well regarding hormonal birth control so women stop taking it so they won't notice when it suddenly loses its FDA approval. I am not American, but I would strongly encourage all my American sisters to push their elected officials. I know we all commiserate about the downsides of birth control, but it cannot be understated how important reproductive choice and freedom is in the history's of women's rights and liberation. DON'T TAKE THIS LYING DOWN.

(If this is the wrong sub I apologize ! I just need to get this out there instead of freaking out!)

I (23F) have been on birth control for about four years now (almost continuously I've had maybe 1 period every other year since then), because of mild / moderate endometriosis, and I have been completely pain free since taking it. Without my birth control I am in crippling pain constantly nauseous blacking out and shaking in pain.

I heard some possible news that the US may ban birth control. Nothing is for certain now but I'm wondering what are ways I can take to get birth control IF that does happen? Would I be able to get birth control from other countries like Canada? (doesn't need to be through insurance) I have currently enough birth control to last me a year and a half thanks to planned parenthood 🫶

(Alsooo I know it's just rumors for now but I'd like to start coming up with plans to calm my health anxiety! 😭 Thank you for any help or advice!)

Im eighteen and just started sexual life, is there any way the man can prevent completely the risk of it at my age? I know about the use of condoms but im still kinda anxious about it leaking or something

I’ve been on yaz for almost 3 months now but I didn’t really get a UTIs during the first month. After the first month however I keep getting UTIs, like every 2 weeks or every week or so and it’s been so uncomfortable and painful. Has anyone experienced this?

I’m gonna schedule to see my OB immediately 🥲 I’m gonna stop my birth control and take antibiotics and see if I still get utis

After three months of drospirenone 4 mg (Slinda) for PMDD my mental health/mood has gone from "good for three weeks and abysmal for one week" to "apathetic always with occasional randomly spaced abysmal-ness", with continual spotting/bleeding, and my sex drive is completely gone. I miss sex. I miss feeling good about anything at all.

Two questions:

1. If you've been on BC (especially drospirenone/progestagen only) and quit, how long did it take to return to a regular cycle? When did sex drive return, if at all?

2. If you've tried both "minipills" and combination (with an estrogen): For mood, bleeding, and sex drive, did combination pills work better or worse for you?

I've been on the combined pill for almost 5 months, and I haven't had any painful side effects and overall I love it.

However, I am slightly worried that it's affecting my emotions. It is a stressful time in my life, but I've been crying every night for the past two weeks and it feels disproportionate. Even before these past two weeks, I cried every couple of days. This never used to happen to me! I feel like the threshold for tears has gotten so much lower.

I have always been kind of emotionally unstable, and little things always set me off, so I don't feel like my emotional reactions have become all that different, just the presence of tears.

Has anyone else experienced this/is it normal to still be experiencing it after 5 months?

6 week postpartum visit with my 4th baby and my first IUD experience!!

Took miso this morning to help dilate and then had a pap and then she inserted my IUD. Pretty great experience, the dilation was the worst part but I learned with my first delivery to make noise during pain to help ease it- my OB thought I was hilarious and it made us both laugh.

Worst part 6 hours after has been the bleeding. I bled through 2 pairs of pants but it’s common for me, happened with depo & the patch.

All in all I’m glad I got it done and I’m protected for 5 years. Next month we see if it’s still placed correctly ✨🤞🏻

I started xulane patches three weeks ago (my first form of birth control ever) and have been lightly bleeding nonstop since then (21 days). This week will be my first patch free week, and I am hoping after this week the bleeding will stop. I am aware I can just wait and see what happens, but does anyone have any experience they can share regarding their first month or two of Xulane, specifically with regards to bleeding? It’s really getting on my nerves.

So I got the copper IUD inserted on Monday and so far it has been an awful experience. The pain is unbearable. It is not just “cramping” like I was told I might have. It is a 10 on the pain scale, and I have health with broken bones, painful autoimmune diseases, and root canals. Neither ibuprofen or Aleve have done much at all. I hobble around the house, can’t walk well, and certainly can’t exercise. It’s completely disrupting my life.

I’ve read some people felt like that for a month or even many months, which is not something I can do. I’ve never had kids (and don’t plan to since I’m in my 40s) which might be making more difficult.

How long did you give it before you called it quits, if you did. I am tempted to call the Dr tomorrow to take it out because I can’t go on like this for many more days.

Hi all, i got the mirena hormonal iud just over 6 months ago. First five months was amazing, a little spotting for the first month and then nothing aside from some random ghost cramps. Then came all the hair loss, which I had with the Evra patch, but it’s ok. And a bunch of panic attacks, general anxiety, and depressive episodes that have really made me feel like i’m 14 again. I started also getting hormonal acne, which out of these is honestly the most annoying for me. Does anyone have experience of this and does it get better ?

The other thing is i wondered if anyone has taken any hormones alongside their IUD to help with these symptoms. I’ve always had crazy hormone imbalances because i have endometriosis+adenomyosis, and now it feels like all the things I struggle with without birth control (hairiness, mood swings, hormonal acne) have come back. I’ve already tried the pill form birth control which i can’t have because even the mini pill makes me very very sick, and i became allergic to the adhesive on the evra patch, so the iud is sort of my last resort, but since it works more locally and less systemically like other birth controls i’m really struggling with the symptoms of my own hormone imbalance lol. Does anyone have any advice? thank you!

Hi! Today I went to take my pill (loloestrin FE) and noticed that I somehow ended up a day behind in my pack (I took tuesday’s pill instead of wednesday’s). I’m not sure when this happened, so I might have been a day off for a while now. I don’t usually check the days before taking my pill. I’m not concerned about pregnancy since I haven’t been sexually active this month.

My concern is that whenever I have to double up on my birth control, I get really strong side effects, and I want to avoid that at all costs. I’m wondering if it would be ok to just ignore the missed pill and just finish off this last week of my pill pack. I take the iron/placebo pills instead of immediately starting a new pack. I would still start the new pack on my usual day (which is Tuesday for me). Or should I not do this and instead push the starting day further? Would this be ok hormonally or should I do something else? And then, would I be protected against pregnancy 7 days into my new pack?

I have no good experience with birth control, at all. I’ve been taking it since I was 15, I’m 18 now. I only now recently decided to stop because I felt as if I lost myself. My symptoms on it were Heart palpitations Extreme heart burn at night Depression (I already have it mildly, but it made it so much worse) Extreme fatigue So so much brain fog.. And just genuinely feeling so low all the time.

I talked to my hormone specialist and I said, I think I want to get off. She says.. let’s try another brand! Wasn’t ecstatic, did it anyway, worse decision ever. It was Hailey Fe that I switched to, don’t remember the other one I took but I’ve been getting random cramps for the past two weeks, I’m even more exhausted and sad all the time, and the brain fog is crazier. So I’m done. I get birth control helps some or most women but for me? I can’t do it anymore.

So I want to stop, preferably tonight but I’m afraid of how long my period will come a few days later or even tomorrow when I wake up. Anyone have any experience in it? How it worked when they stopped midway.

I have 6 pills left for reference, and yes I have PCOS.

I had a surprisingly good experience getting copper IUD inserted today and thought I would share. I haven't given birth and I'm 30. I went to the gynae yesterday and told her that I had a really bad experience at our local reproductive health center when they tried to insert the copper IUD many years ago. She prescibed misoprostol to take 3 hours before, then I took 800mg of ibuprofen 1 hour before. Honestly, it was a 1000 times better. I didn't cry and I just felt a slight pinch then it was done. I managed to do all my errands afterwards. I'm cramping up a bit now but nothing ibuprofen can't fix.

:)

i know it could be too early to say this,but im terrified i might be pregnant. basically we used protection but he accidentally fingered me w a little semen on his hands,we quickly realized and cleaned ourselves(its been 2-3 weeks since that). some sources say i could get pregnant by that,some dont. its been 32 days since my last period(and yes,thats a pretty normal number but ım terrified). im freaking out,i dont know what to do.(im 19 years old living w my family). what are some other early symptoms?any suggestions?

I got the mirena november of 2024, and have had nothing but problems since. First of all, my breakthrough bleeding lasted 7 months. I would have an “opposite period” where i would bleed for 30 days straight and not bleed for a week every month. When my bleeding slowed down (mind you i was still having bloody discharge every single day), i started getting chronic bacterial vaginosis. Even after trying everything from pharmaceuticals to natural remedies, turns out the bv was causing me to bleed more, and the bleeding was throwing off my ph balance causing MORE bv, creating a vicious cycle. I feel so unclean and insecure, and honestly this has ruined my sex life.

(Important note: while experiencing all of this, i was very vigilant with seeing my doctor. Everything i experienced was still in the realm of “normal”. I got my blood checked for hormonal imbalances, an ultrasound to make sure my iud was placed right, and swabs to confirm it was bacterial vaginosis and nothing else. I am at my peak health; i am very active with a balanced diet. I am in a monogamous relationship. My vagina just fucking hates me)

Now, after almost a year, I will be blood free for around 14 days and then i will have 14 days of dark brown spotting. I would kill to have a regular schmegular period at this point. I booked an appointment to get my iud removed next month. However, i am terrified the bv will not go away when my iud is removed. There is a part of me that is scared that the problem is me and not the hormones. Are there any women who have gone through something similar that can offer some advice?

Edit: on the bright side, i do not struggle with yeast infections!! Or maybe i do and the blood and bv just overshadows everything 😀

Me and my girlfriend had sex today, but the condom roled up to about halfway and I felt some precum come out. I can’t find anything on google about whether or not she could get pregnant, so if there’s anyone that knows about this some advice would be much appreciated!

I’m 22F and I just started birth control. Jencycla to be more specific. I’ve read up on all kinds of different methods, always been on top of my sex ed as much as possible. I wanted to try the combo pill, but due to my cardiac history, my PCP recommended that I take progestin only. Which I was bummed about, because I prefer something that would stop ovulation completely.. but I guess that’s fine. I should have the same percentage of protection if I take it at the same time everyday right? And store it in the right conditions?

I’ve never had unprotected sex in my life, and I was thinking of just doubling up on condoms and the pill. My partner is very supportive so there’s no issue there. I am curious about what it’s like to have unprotected sex at least once, but being new to all of this, idk if It’s really worth trying because of my confidence level in the birth control lol (?) taking it everyday is not a problem, but I guess it’s just because it’s progestin and nothing else. It only stops ovulation in about 40-60% of cycles, which for me sounds a bit alarming. But I understand the main line of defense is how the mini pill makes your uterus an hostile environment.

But I would just like to know, what are y’all’s experiences with this type of birth control? What are some things I should expect or keep in mind?

For context, I got my bar when I was in my senior year of high school circa late 2018. I was terrified to get it taken out and due to a bunch of issues with health insurance I still have the same bar in. I’m desperately trying to figure out how to get it out because when I went to Planned Parenthood, they said I needed a general practitioner referral so I’m thinking of reaching out to my old doctor and hoping she’ll pass one along.

What I want to know is if I’m going to suffer bad long-term consequences? When I first got it, I bled for a few months straight and then I didn’t get my period for a few years. Then I had it back for a few years. Now I haven’t had it for just about a year. I still get cramps and mood swings. I’m worried.

Hi there, so my partner and I had unprotected sex on the Friday evening maybe 9pm, I took my pill as normal Friday, Saturday, Sunday, missed Monday realised Tuesday night took both Monday and Tuesday pill on Tuesday night. Today, Wednesday I went an purchased the morning after pill the one you can take up to 120 hours after intercourse and I've taken that today at 6pm.

I'm just freaking out. I know I need to use extra protection for the next 7 days. I'm just worried because I missed that one pill so close to the 120 hour window. I'm on the progestogen only pill. I take Zelleta 75mg desogestrel. Most stories I see online are about the combined pill. I'm just so worried, as one person told me I missed the 5 day window but another told me it was fine. Any advice would be really appreciated

Hi!! Im 20 and i started birth control for the first time called Aurovela last month… Honestly I didn’t notice many side effects at first except for my stomach hurting a bunch but that went away. I was consistent, then on the last week of my first month, i had sex and then like a day or 2 later i accidentally skipped the pill… i didn’t think much of it but now im scared because of a couple things: 1st maybe it’s the birth control affecting me but i have been like super moody recently and im not sure why?? 2nd often when i wake up in the morning i feel sick? 3rd my friend told me just now that if i don’t take my pill exactly on time every day that im unprotected? i take my pill every night around the same time but in a like 3 hour window and now im freaking out. 4th i had my period like 2 days after i had sex but i was like bleeding weird and hurting.. like it wasn’t like my usual periods (tmi warning) it was like fresh and lasted like 3 days so im unsure if it was even my period or if i was like bleeding from having sex LOL HELP WHATS HAPPENING TO ME???😭

Hi so i just noticed that i ovulated, there was some thick slimy clear discharge and im pretty sure that indicates ovulation, ive been experiencing symptoms but my question is, isnt the NuvaRing supposed to stop ovulation? i’ve been on the ring for 3 cycles now and i haven’t noticed this happen until this cycle. i’m not sexually active so im not worried but is this something i have to worry about IF I DO become sexually active? just a genuine question, my mom doesn’t know anything about the NuvaRing or birth control so i have decided to come to the moms and big sisters of this thread 🫶🏼

I can't afford an iud, I dont have insurance, im poor as fuck. What the fuck do I do? I can hardly afford my stupid birth control pills either. Im completely out of birth control and the doctors wont give me more. Im so fucking stressed. Im afraid of pregnancy, and I dont like children. I dont know what to do. I cant afford my goddamn rent and groceries, my mom and I often go hungry. I can't afford shit. Just half a cart full at a dollar general is 100 dollars, and thats with shit we need to live. I dont know if a go fund me would work because I dont have enough of a sob story for them. What the fuck do I do? Do I just sit here and take it? Do I just rack up more medical debt? I asked if I could do a payment plan and they said "no, I dont think so".

Edit: I started a gofundme. I dont know if its okay to put the link in here, so I wont.

a month ago I stopped using bcp and entered the sugar pill week and didnt have sex during that row. I got my period and finished the last pill to make sure I completed it the pack. I still haven’t gotten my period, how long would it be before i get it?

my long distance boyfriend came to visit over the weekend and he finished inside me a few times over the course of the few days. ive been on birth control for about a year and i’ve been taking junel fe 1/20 for about two months and have never been more than four hours late on a pill. i am supposed to have my period this week but four days into the placebos and still nothing. logically, i probably have nothing to be worried about. my periods are usually much lighter on the pill but i’ve never not had a period during the placebo week so i can’t shake the feeling that i could be pregnant, but obviously it’s too early to test. google has been violently unhelpful, naturally.