Have you read Part 1 of my No-Panic Guide to the Birth Control Pill? If not, please do so before scrolling down.
I’ll continue in the same line of thought with the second (and last) part: my goal is to make you UNDERSTAND the risks associated with the Pill so that you can look at what you read and hear from a different angle.
I won’t tell you what to do: what I hope is to offer you a place to start and give you the necessary tools to promote enlightened reflection.
While deciding on what to incorporate, I took into account the myriad comments and suggestions I received after the publication of Part 1. Obviously, I couldn’t cover everything. I would’ve gladly added a section dedicated to cancer and depression, discussed the alternatives to hormonal contraception, provided more practical examples… but I decided to limit the scope of the last comic in order to keep everything “digestible”.
I don’t expect everyone to be engrossed by the topic, let alone read it in its entirety. Without doubt, it’s the longest comic I’ve produced so far and it’s quite stuffy… I tried to shorten it as much as possible, but under no circumstances would I cut corners on such a serious and complex topic. My goal was to give women the necessary information for them to do their own critical thinking (such as being wary of allegations made by the media) and encourage open discussion with their doctors in all matters concerning the contraceptive pill.
If you manage to read the entire thing, you automatically win a bag of 1000 gummy bears that you can claim if you ever meet me in person.
In order to make sure that my comic is accurate, I asked for the help of Lyne Massicotte, a clinical biochemist. Lyne, whose work I greatly admire, is the cofounder – with her partner Mathieu – of Nasci Biologie Médicale, a medical lab specializing in male fertility. Thanks Lyne!
Translated by Qian Li (Pharm.D. candidate), proofread by Stéphanie Alcaraz-Robinson.
Posted in Comics
Tagged 1960s, 35 years old, acne, age of 35, alesse, artery, benefits, benign liver tumors, birth control pill, blood clots, blood disorders, breast cancer, cancer, cervical cancer, cholesterol, cigarettes, contraception, deaths, decision, deep vein thrombosis, delivery, diabetes, Diane-35, doctor, dose, DVT, endometrial cancer, estrogens, family history, favorable, first choice, follow-ups, gall bladder stones, generation, giving birth, headache, healthcare professional, hypertension, intervention, last resort, leg, libido, Linessa, lung, Marvelon, media, menstrual cramps, menstrual cycle, mood swings, nausea, Nuvaring, oral contraceptives, outweigh, ovarian cancer, physician, PMS, postpartum, pregnancy, premenstrual syndrome, progestin, pulmonary embolism, rare, risk factors, risk-benefit ratio, risks, safe, Seasonale, sex drive, side effects, smoke, smoking, stroke, The Pill, thromboembolism, Triquilar, trivial, unfavorable, vein, water retention, weight gain, women, Yasmin, Yaz
