You probably remember her name from a popular 2000 film starring Julia Roberts. Erin Brockovich started as a legal researcher before she became an icon in the terms of environmental and medical advocacy. Recently, Brockovich’s attention has been focused on an issue most are blindsided by the effects of: women’s birth control. Specifically, the Mirena IUD.
According to drugwatch.com, it is estimated that 150 million women worldwide use the IUD as a form of birth control. The IUD, or intrauterine device, is a small T-shaped form of birth control inserted into the cervix.
While absurdly effective (Mirena has a failure rate of less than one percent), the side effects can be life threatening. Perforation of the uterus, pelvic inflammatory disease, anemia, ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cysts, missed periods, changes in bleeding, pelvic discomfort, acne, headache/migraines, nausea, nervousness, depression, anxiety, decreased libido, unusual hair growth/loss and weight gain are just a few of the side effects.
Regardless of the harmful side effects, the FDA approved Mirena in 2000. Numerous amounts of lawsuits have been made against Bayer Pharamaceuticals, the producer of Mirena, due to harmful side effects in which women were not made aware of beforehand.
Is this a fault of the physician who placed the highly effective, convenient form of birth control? Not necessarily. Is it the fault of our pharmaceutical industry, which averages a global worth of $300 billion? Who knows.
So who exactly is to blame for misinforming thousands of women across the world of the harmful effects of not only Mirena IUD, but thousands of other prescriptions or birth control options that pertain to women’s health?
Perhaps we will never know the exact answer to that question. What we can do, is begin with addressing the on-going romanticism between our doctors and the pharmaceutical companies.
Not only do some doctors receive a kickback from medications they prescribe (including Mirena and other forms of birth control), but it’s blatantly obvious that while the FDA is sleeping with big pharmaceutical companies (like Bayer), hundreds of thousands of women are paying the price.
We can point fingers for however long at whomever we want. We can point a big fat finger at Bayer Pharmaceuticals and companies alike for distributing potentially life-threatening forms of birth control to the world’s young women.
We could blame our doctors for prescribing us these potentially damaging birth controls without further examining our medical history. We could blame ourselves for not doing our own homework. Or, we could avoid making a solid attempt to avoid harmful scenarios at all costs. Scenarios that could severely damage our mental and physical well-being long term.
While many birth controls provide a convenience factor alongside putting our worries at ease, each has their negatives. There is no magic formula for a perfect birth control (with the exception of abstinence), but what we, as young women and young adults can do is research our options thoroughly before jumping into what may be the most convenient for us at the time.
Convenience is not synonymous with perfection.
