The case summed up: Hormonal contraception has gotten a bad reputation on social media. Sofia Sandmo and Mathilde Leiråmo-Viksaas have both seen videos on TikTok that criticize hormonal contraception, but have different experiences and views on the matter. Doctor and author Ellen Støkken Dahl says that doctors see a negative measurement of hormonal contraception on social media, and that this can lead to unwanted pregnancies and increasing abortion rates. What many people do not know is that hormonal contraception can protect against cancer. Birth control pills can minimize the chance of bowel, endometrial and ovarian cancer. Doctor and author Ellen Støkken Dahl wants women to choose contraceptives based on a good and safe knowledge base, something you don’t get on TikTok. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. In the last year, hormonal contraception has gained a bad reputation in social media. In videos on Instagram or TikTok, warnings appear from influencers and ordinary people against “putting hormones in the body”. The message is that one gets better by being “natural” and ditching the birth control pill, the birth control stick, the IUD and other hormonal contraception. – I don’t think I’ve seen a positive video about contraception. That’s what Sofia Sandmo (18) from Bodø says about the videos she has seen on TikTok. The videos she has seen are about side effects such as stroke, blood clots and cancer. In some videos, people say that birth control pills don’t work. Preferably together with a picture of a baby and the comment “see how it went”. Screenshots of various tiktok profiles that all share videos of resistance to hormonal contraception Photo: Screenshot – This makes a bad first impression on younger people. If I had been very young and seen this on TikTok, I would have thought that “there is no point in going on p – pills. One gets pregnant anyway.” At the same time, Sofia Sandmo understands where some of the skepticism comes from. – I understand a little. Many experience side effects with hormonal contraception, says Sandmo. She herself stopped using hormonal contraception a year ago, and says that she got better. At the same time, she says that it also works for many people. And it does for 20-year-old Mathilde Leiråmo-Viksaas. She has been on the hormonal coil for a year and is satisfied with it. The student from Bodø has also seen the videos, and thinks they can be harmful. – You can’t always see where the sources come from. Mathilde Leiråmo-Viksaas has tried several types of contraception, and the hormonal IUD was Photo: Private – I have two friends who have stopped using hormonal contraception. They wanted to see how the body works without it. I think they may have been influenced by the TikTok videos, says Leiråmo-Viksaas. She is critical of what is spread on the platform. – This type of social medium has great influence. I think one should be a little careful with what one says to young girls. – A negative assessment Doctor and author Ellen Støkken Dahl agrees. She says doctors see a negative assessment of hormonal contraception on social media. – Where patients who, statistically speaking, would have been completely satisfied with using these preparations, avoid trying them because they fear consequences that are unusual, says Dahl. At the same time, the number of abortions in Norway rose for the first time since 2008. During the first half of spring in 2023, there has been a further increase of 6 per cent, according to figures from FHI. And the number of abortions increased most among women aged 20 to 29. This worries professionals. Figures from the Apotekforeininga show that pharmacies sell less contraceptives with hormones. Photo: Susanne Stubberud Rom / news – We who are doctors at Sex og Samfunn, and otherwise among doctors in Norway, see an increasing skepticism linked to hormonal contraception, which it is important to distance ourselves from, says Dahl. That is because the consequences of opting out on a basis that is perhaps a little misunderstood, will have serious consequences for the women concerned, according to the doctor. – There will be unwanted pregnancies, increasing numbers of abortions, and the burden of going through an abortion. But in all this negative publicity that hormonal contraception has received, there is a positive side effect that perhaps most people do not know about. Protects against cancer Hormonal contraception can protect against cancer. – These are things many people don’t know about. What has been seen, if one were to pull out simple studies, is that birth control pills can reduce the chance of cancer in the bowel, the endometrium and the ovaries, says Dahl. Using birth control pills over time will provide protection against these types of cancer that last up to 30 years after you have stopped using contraception, according to her. Hormonal contraception can protect against cancer. Photo: Susanne Stubberud Rom / news It is believed that birth control pills can prevent as many as 30,000 cases of ovarian cancer worldwide each year, according to Dahl. – It is an effect that you take with you further. Ovarian cancer is a fatal form of cancer. – Those who use hormonal contraception generally have around a halving of the risk of endometrial cancer. Shrinks the lining When the lining of the uterus becomes thick, it undergoes many cell changes, which can lead to cancer. This is how senior physician and gynecologist at Sørlandet Hospital in Arendal, Astrid Helene Liavaag, begins when she explains how a hormonal IUD can protect against uterine cancer. – What the hormone spiral does is that it shrinks the mucous membrane, which means that it did not develop into cancer, says Liavaag. Gynecologist and senior physician at Sørlandet hospital in Arendal, Astrid Helene Liavaag says contraceptives today are much better than in the 70s. Photo: Privat According to the gynecologist, the lining consists of two hormones: estrogen, which builds up the mucus inside the uterus, and progestin, which breaks down the mucus in the uterus. And hormonal coils contain progestagen. – So the prevention here is that the hormone spiral builds down the mucous membrane, so that it does not develop into cell changes or cancer, she says. This is uterine cancer. Uterine cancer is increasing in Norway. There were 817 new cases of uterine cancer registered in Norway in 2022, and ten years ago the number was 570. According to Astrid Helene Liavaag, senior physician and gynecologist at Sørlandet Hospital in Arendal, we have three main forms of cancer in the abdomen. There are uterine cancer, cervical cancer and ovarian cancer. And uterine cancer is what is increasing the most. The reason it is increasing is because uterine cancer occurs precisely when there is an increase in estrogen in the mucous membrane. It can come from a high BMI, it can be genetic, and old age in general, according to the gynaecologist. A slightly different view now Mathilde Leiråmo-Viksaas and Sofia Sandmo have not heard of this before. – I think there are probably very few who know this, says Sandmo and adds that this gives a slightly different view of hormonal contraception. She says that if one had heard more about all the positive things, it would have been more helpful. – I have a slightly different view of contraception now, says Sandmo. Leiråmo-Viksaas believes that if such information abounded on TikTok, it would have had something to say. – It’s strange that you don’t get any information about this. It is very good information to have, says Leiråmo-Viksaas. – Must have a good data basis The doctor at Sex and society says that there are many people who have stopped using contraception, and who are almost more afraid of the side effects than pregnancy. – The first positive side effect of hormonal contraception is that you don’t get pregnant. And it is almost a little forgotten, says doctor Ellen Støkken Dahl. Photo: Anne Valeur – I respect all women who have experienced something and who want an alternative. It is your own choice what you want to use. But one must bring as good a data base as possible into that conversation, says Dahl. She wants patients to choose contraceptives on a good and safe basis of knowledge. – You have to include the positive sides, the negative sides and the risks. And when you have all that on the table, you can choose freely. She thinks that you can’t get these little snippets on TikTok.
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Hormonal contraception protects against cancer – but receives criticism on TikTok – news Nordland
