Samantha Johnson

Research Proposal
ENG 1201
24 March 2019

Modern contraceptives: the health risks and benefits to each method (the pill, IUD,
patch, shot, implant, and condoms)

I have been on birth control since I was in eighth grade. I began taking the pill in

order to hopefully decrease the excessive bleeding I was having when I would

menstruate. After being on the pill for a couple of years and also being a forgetful teen, I

would forget to take it. This would then throw off my cycle and make me spot until I

remembered to take it again. After being tired of trying to remember to take it, I spoke to

my doctor about other birth control options for me. The one that I decided would be best

for me and my lifestyle would be the intrauterine device (IUD). I have been on the IUD

for 11 months now and for the most part, it has been a positive experience, but I still

have my concerns. I didn’t have a period at all until about a month ago, but now the

bleeding won't stop. Although it is light, it is still a concern. I have experienced some

painful cramps during that time too, but they haven't been consistent, so as far as I

know, everything down there should be alright. I have also noticed since have the IUD

inserted, I have has an increase in infections such as UTIs and yeast infections.

Although I know about most of the options of birth control available, I would like to know

more about each and the overall risk it can be on a woman’s body and if it has any long

term adverse health effects.

 To begin, I would like to state I fully support birth control and it being easily

accessible to all women. I am not going to lie, another reason why I decided on this

method of birth control is because I don't have to replace it for another 3 years and I

really have no clue what kind of laws could be put in place in the future that could make

birth control not as accessible to me.This way, I do not have to worry if laws do change

and I have some time to figure out my options. My argument is more about does birth

control have long term side effects and which form of birth control is truly the safest on

the body and most effective at preventing pregnancy. I know research has been done

and they say that birth control should not affect infertility, but in recent years, I feel like

more and more women are coming forward with fertility issues, ans is that because they

were on a certain type of birth control or on birth control for a prolonged time? Or is it

because the talk about infertility is less stigmatized in today’s society? I feel like birth

control needs to be a more honest and upfront topic. I believe most women get

embarrassed when talking about it and dont express the side effects they feel from it at

times. I am very open with how my birth control makes me feel and would like to know if

I am the only one who has the feelings or if others are experiencing it as well. I already

know most of the benefits and risks to the pill and the IUD since I have personally been

on both, but I hope to find out more not only about these methods, but about the other

ones as well.

I am interested to find out the preferred method of birth control and if there have

been studies on the health of women who have been on it for long periods of time. I

plan on doing my research through scientific studies, databases, and going to talk to
healthcare professionals at planned parenthood. Some questions that I hope to answer

through my research are: What are the long term effects of using contraception on

fertility, cancer and miscarriage? What are the risks or benefits to using hormonal

contraception to stop or reduce periods? Why are there so many methods of birth

control? Is there a method for men's birth control in the works and if there isn't why not?

Why is birth control not 100% effective? (The IUD which is said to be the most effective

is only effective 99.1% of the time, what happens during the other .9% of the time)