Dr Sarah E Hill: ‘We have a blind spot about how the pill influences women’s brains’

The social psychologist ’s new book tackles the tricky subject of how oral contraceptives may affect women’s mindsAt a time when women ’s reproductive freedoms are under attack, any suggestion that the birth control pill could be problematic feels explosive. But Sarah E Hill, a professor of social psychology at the Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas argues we need to talk about how oral contraceptives are affecting w omen’s thinking, emotions and behaviour.How the Pill Changes Everything: Your Brain on Birth Control is her new book about the science behind a delicate subject.Some US states have recently made it harder to get an abortion and the Trump administration is doing its best tochisel away at access to birth control. Is your book trying to dissuade women from using the pill?My institution was founded as a Christian school, but it doesn ’t have a particular religious bent now. My goal with this book is not to take the pill away or alarm women. It is to give them information they haven’t had up until now so they can make informed decisions. The pill, along with safe, legalised abortions, are the two biggest keys to women’s rig hts. But we also have a blind spot when it comes to thinking about how changing women’s sex hormones – which is what the pill does – influences their brains. For a long time, women have been experiencing “psychological” side-effects on the pill but nobody was telling them why.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Contraception and family planning Health Mental health Science Psychology Society Women Life and style Feminism World news Neuroscience Medical research Source Type: news