2024-07-18 18:24:03
Magdalena Urbanková has been taking contraception since she was 15 years old. After six years, she wanted to drop her off, but she was afraid of what would happen to her body. She found out that other girls have the same fear, so she started the Instagram account Bez Hormonu, where she provides relevant information to women. “I’m not discouraging its use, I’m just pointing out that it should be a conscious and informed decision,” he says in an interview.
Why did you decide to create an Instagram account without hormones?
I started it half a year after I stopped hormonal contraception myself. Even my friends stopped taking it and I started to find out how it actually works. However, I was still afraid. I didn’t know what could happen. At that time, one of my acquaintances was diagnosed with PCOS after stopping contraception (Polycystic ovary syndrome, editor’s note), which, among other things, causes irregular menstruation, pain and acne. Symptoms for which hormonal contraception is often prescribed to girls. That was the moment that kicked me off the contraceptive pill. I told myself that if I have any problems after stopping it, I want to solve them naturally, not hide them behind hormonal contraception.
What followed?
Other friends subsequently started to ask me how I experienced the suspension, thanks to which I found out that there was no place on the Internet where relevant information was available. So I thought of starting an Instagram, where I will publish the experiences of girls who stopped using contraception. Today I have 320 on my account and more than two hundred unpublished reports in the online questionnaire.
Do you often encounter women’s fear of stopping contraception?
Yes, they are often afraid of what will happen after stopping, if they will gain weight, how they will experience the return of menstruation, if it will be irregular, if they will ovulate, if they will have acne… These are often girls like me who started taking contraception at 15 and they don’t really know life without her. They don’t know how their body and cycle works.
What do you think this fear and nervousness says about the contraceptive prescribing system?
That there is a lack of education. Girls start using hormonal contraception without much knowledge of how it works. Gynecologists do not emphasize that when young women use birth control, their natural cycle will not work. They won’t ovulate and the period that comes isn’t real. It is artificially created, the natural cycle is suppressed and replaced by an artificial cycle. When the girls find out what is actually happening to their bodies, they get scared of how their bodies actually work.
Do you think birth control makes them feel in control of their bodies?
Exactly. With birth control, they know exactly when their period will come, so they feel that everything is fine.
“The Natural Women”
Why did you start taking contraception?
For protection. I had it in my head that hormonal contraception was the only reliable way to prevent pregnancy.
Does it follow from the experience of female readers who write to you that gynecologists still recommend the use of contraception in order to improve acne or regulate the menstrual cycle?
The latest data says that women are using hormonal contraception less, but it will be more due to the fact that they are no longer interested in it. They still often write to me about the fact that when they want to stop, the doctor discourages them from their decision. One girl even described to me that the doctor told her not to go to her with a request for an abortion. Doctors persuade patients and often reject their decision by saying that “this is the best option”. They consider dropping out to be a fashion trend committed by “those natural women”.
I want to know how my body works
Does such an approach show an underestimation of the menstrual cycle and ovulation?
Yes. Ovulation is the main phase of the cycle when progesterone is formed in our body, it is its biggest source. Hormones communicate with our brain, which affects bone quality, libido, but also psychological well-being. It’s not just about fertility and the possibility of having children, but about functioning in real life, which we often forget. When a woman wants to perceive her cycle, she is perceived as a crazy, ezo, eco, bio woman who automatically rejects Western medicine. But it’s not like that at all. I appreciate knowing how my cycle works and knowing when I have more strength and when I’m more sensitive. With hormonal birth control, you have the same level of hormones throughout your cycle, which is not natural for women.
Do the experiences of women you have collected agree in some aspects?
Girls often describe psychological discomfort, apathy, decreased libido and vaginal infections.
You note on your account that your goal is not to discourage women from using contraception, but to make them think consciously about how they treat their bodies…
Exactly. I think it’s perfectly fine for women to use birth control, but it’s important that they have information about how it works. There is nothing wrong with a woman deciding to use birth control even for irregular periods because she is going through a difficult period. For example, she is studying politics, moving, or doing extreme sports, and she tells herself that it is more acceptable for her now, and when the situation settles down, she starts to deal with her body. A conscious decision is important.
You are not a doctor, do you encounter criticism?
I used to come across comments more often, but lately it’s been very sporadic. I openly present that I am not a doctor, but an ordinary woman who began to deal with the functioning of her body in order to know herself. That’s also why I present my engineering degree everywhere. I’m not bragging about it, but I want to show that I have a college degree, which means I know how to work with resources. I review studies, compare them, and consult with industry experts.
I’m definitely not against gynecologists, you just have to realize that a doctor is not a god and just like you have a good and a bad saleswoman, you can also come across a better and a worse doctor. For example, one girl wrote to me that she had irregular periods at the age of 13, and her doctor prescribed birth control because of it. At the same time, studies clearly show that it can take up to seven years before menstruation stabilizes in girls.
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