Why we’ve all been doing contraception wrong: How to find the best birth control for you

Why is it that so many of us still pick our contraception based on our friends’ experiences (1)? We listen to horror stories about our pals who bled for a year on the implant, and still suffer PTSD-like symptoms from hearing about a school friend’s mum whose coil insertion didn’t exactly go to plan. 

The thing is, these stories are all well and good, but our hormones are beautifully, dramatically, brilliantly different from one woman to the next—and so it makes sense that our bodies react to different types of contraceptives in their own unique way. 

Stories like these have no doubt led to today’s situation—we live in a world where millions of women may be on the wrong contraceptive pill because of confusion about its use. What’s more, 3.3 million people(1) have experienced side effects due to their contraceptive pill, but one in three have not reported them.

One size definitely never ever fits all when it comes to methods of contraception

Ultimately, the way our hormones are different—and how they affect us as individuals—has never been fully understood. This lack of medical research has meant that so many of us have been forced to rely on hearsay as part of our decision-making process even though different types of contraception affect everyone… well, differently. 

To date, our experience with getting contraception often involves a rushed doctors appointment. We’ll share our blood pressure readings and diligently let our doctor know about any family conditions, including blood clots or cancer. Digging deeper to find out how we feel in ourselves and how our hormones are reacting to our chosen contraceptive choice is rarely up for debate.

It means that so far, without knowing exactly how different types of contraceptives affect us, we’ve all faced a bit of a contraceptive ‘gamble’. Of course, sometimes we hit the jackpot and we feel fabulous, but sometimes we’re dealt a bad hand and have to deal with the side effects (think anxiety, weight gain, irregular bleeding, and all that other lovely stuff we all put up with). The trial and error nature of something as serious as our health and well-being has made many of us lose trust in the system.

So, what can we do about it? 

We believe it’s time to truly understand our hormones and how they impact us as individuals. We need to stop treating our hormones the same way as everyone else’s and expecting them not to bite back. 

After all, our hormones are powerful. They affect everything about us—from how we look, to how we feel. They’re with us from before birth as estrogen is produced by the placenta in the womb to help babies develop, and throughout our life, fluctuations in our female sex hormones can bring on physical and emotional changes like puberty, menopause, and the regulation of our menstrual cycle. They even help to maintain our bone health. They may be small, but they’re seriously mighty—and they deserve to be treated with respect. We need to leverage them so we can feel our best. 

Okay, so which is the best contraceptive method for my hormones?

There are so many different types and the answer will be different for all of us. There are 238 hormonal contraceptives (2) in the world right now, each with different ingredients and dosages. 

And if you’re taking oral contraceptives, how do you know which is the best birth control pill for you? Many of us will have experienced being handed a new brand because our go-to is out of stock or discontinued. But different brands contain different hormone levels, and every time you switch, you don’t really know what’s going to happen next. 

That’s just the contraceptive methods themselves—there are also the myths, questions, and rumors in the space that can be tricky to navigate. Like, should you take your pill back to back or should you give yourself a break? How does the pill affect your mood and should you take it if you have a history of depression? What are the benefits of non-hormonal contraception? It’s a confusing field and everyone seems to have a different view—it can be difficult to know what (or who) to believe.

How we can help

We’re here to tell you the truth about contraception (even if it’s not exactly what you wanted to know). We’re rethinking the blanket approach where everyone is treated the same, instead offering you a personalized way of doing things so we understand what actually matters to you. 

For the past few years, we’ve been building a super-smart algorithm with the help of the world’s best gynecologists, geneticists, hormone specialists, and psychiatrists. This body of research will be the first of its kind, helping us to identify all the risks and get a full 360-degree view of your health. It’s seriously detailed, so we’ll be able to understand if there’s a specific dosage or ingredient in your previous contraception that’s been negatively affecting you—and make suggestions where you can make changes. 

We also ask you all the questions you’ve probably never even been asked about your contraception history so far. We’ll consider all the different types of contraceptives and make specific recommendations based on your unique genetic makeup. If you prefer oral contraceptives, we’ll help you find the best birth control for you. 

Picking the best birth control for us really shouldn’t be radical, but right now, it really is. At Tuune, we’re truly agnostic and look at all contraceptive types before recommending which is best for you. If it’s not right for you, we just won’t put it forward. We may suggest a contraceptive method you’ve never tried such as natural cycles or IUDs, or the same contraceptive you’ve been using for years, but an alternative brand with different ingredients or doses. 

After all, you’re unique, so let’s say a joint “bye” to the one-size-fits-all approach and finally work with our bodies (not against them) so we can feel our absolute best.

Written by

Hermione Wright (she/her)

An NCTJ-qualified journalist, Hermione writes for national and local publications in addition to creating thought leadership for brands with a purpose. Passionate about telling the stories that matter, she helps our community make their own clued-up choices about their healthcare.

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Arushee Prasad, GP, MBBS (she/her)

Dr Arushee Prasad is a GP for NHS England with an MBBS in Medicine and Surgery, and an MRCGP from the Royal College of General Practitioners. Passionate about digital health and algorithmic medicine, Arushee was previously an Algorithmic Medical Doctor for Docly.