I HAVE been very open about my journey with contraception and, through my own experience, I have realised this was not just a problem that affected me or even that just involved contraception.
There were hundreds of women who messaged me saying they felt they didn’t have control of their own bodies, had been ignored and forgotten.
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There were messages from partners, friends and family members who were looking for advice as they felt they had nowhere to turn to support the women in their lives who were struggling.
That is when I decided I would do everything I could to not only start a conversation, but keep one going.
Our body is our choice, we mustn’t just “accept” that we have to grin and bear the side effects and we should know that there are so many other options. In research conducted by Superdrug, 30 per cent of women said they spent less than 30 minutes choosing their contraception.
But 85 per cent said they spent MORE than 30 minutes getting ready for a night out. This statistic did not surprise me at all – but it did make me think about how we let it sit at the bottom of the list.
TOO EMBARRASSED TO SPEAK TO THEIR GPs
And six out of ten women said they were not happy with their contraception choices.
Yesterday, I put on an event in partnership with Superdrug with an amazing panel and audience.
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The conversations we had were refreshingly honest and, scarily, close to home.
We spoke about how the majority of women were only aware of a few of the types of contraception available to them and some areas, due to budgeting, couldn’t even provide them.
We had women talking about being told to choose between polycystic ovary symptoms and constant bleeding.
Many were too embarrassed to speak openly to their GPs.
It made me realise that although our healthcare professionals should always be asking if we are happy with our choices and whether we know our options, it is also up to us as women to talk.
Talk to each other, talk to our children, use new resources like @gettheldown – the TripAdvisor of contraception.
With big brands realising that our choices around our bodies and health stretch far beyond our physical feelings, and are all wrapped up in our relationships, self-confidence and quality of life, I feel like maybe times are changing. I stood there yesterday and led a discussion with women from all walks of life and everyone had a story.
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Nobody was too shy and it felt good. We were advocating for ourselves and each other.
So I might be wrong, and I’m sure I’ll drive everyone mad, but I will keep looking for ways to talk about these things, to find the places that can help the ladies who are still filling my inbox.
And to talk about vaginas, periods and hormones until they don’t raise an eyebrow any more.
