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Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there’s been more of a spotlight on the availability of affordable, highly effective birth control for women. However, more and more women had been asking about nonhormonal birth control options – due to side effects and misinformation online.
Ned Place
Professor
Ned Place, professor in the department of population medicine and diagnostic sciences at Cornell University, studies reproductive aging and recently co-authored a commentary piece on the development of non-hormonal contraceptives for women.
Place says:
“As compared to our evolutionary Paleolithic ancestors and contemporary societies for which women practice natural fertility (i.e. no contraception) many women who reside in industrialized regions experience hundreds more ovulations and menstruations over their lifetimes. First menses at younger ages, first full-term pregnancies at older ages, fewer births, and reduced or absent lactation all contribute to the risks of ovarian, uterine, and breast cancers in present-day women.
“Hormonal contraceptives have non-contraceptive benefits that include reductions in ovarian and uterine cancer risks. They are also used to treat benign gynecological conditions such as endometriosis and painful/irregular/ heavy menses. However, hormonal contraceptives aren’t risk free and are contraindicated and/or poorly tolerated by a substantial proportion of women, which has been an impetus for the development of non-hormonal contraceptives (NHCs).
“The non-contraceptive benefits of hormonal contraceptives could be negated by a large-scale transition to NHCs for women.
“NHCs that block ovulation and are meant for continuous use will result in chronic anovulation and unopposed estrogen effects primarily on the uterine lining and increase the risk of uterine cancer. The higher progesterone concentrations that follow ovulation will be absent and fail to counteract persistent and prolonged exposure to estrogen.
“The design principles for new female contraceptives that block ovulation shouldn’t necessarily be strictly ‘non-hormonal’, and there needs to be an openness to hybrid contraceptive strategies that reduce the risk of ovarian cancer through anovulation and the risk of uterine cancer by replacing progesterone.
“Ideally, new female contraceptives should be designed for multiple purposes – provide reliable, reversible, and safe contraception through a woman’s fertile years while also reducing the risks of benign and malignant gynecological pathologies and breast cancer – whether they be hormonal, non-hormonal, or some combination thereof.”
