Is Hormonal Birth Control Affecting Your Health More Than You Realize?

Hormonal birth control has been widely used for decades. It is praised for giving women freedom, family planning options, and relief from painful periods or acne. But over the years, a growing number of women and healthcare providers are starting to ask a deeper question: What is the long-term impact of hormonal contraceptives on women’s health?

This blog post isn’t here to create fear, but to offer awareness and insight into how synthetic hormones interact with the body’s natural systems, especially in areas like mood, metabolism, libido, and nutrient balance.

Let’s look at what the research and thousands of women’s experiences are telling us.

How Hormonal Birth Control Works

Most hormonal contraceptives (like the pill, patch, IUD, or injection) work by delivering synthetic versions of estrogen and/or progestin. These override your natural hormone production to:

• Suppress ovulation

• Thin the uterine lining

• Alter cervical mucus

It’s an effective system for preventing pregnancy. But it also affects your body’s own hormonal rhythm and with that comes trade-offs.

1. Disruption of the Natural Hormone Cycle

When you're on hormonal birth control, your body no longer follows its natural monthly fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone. Ovulation is suppressed, which means you're not producing your own progesterone, a hormone essential for sleep, mood stability and metabolism.

Many women report changes in: Emotional regulation, libido, energy levels, and menstrual patterns after stopping birth control. It’s not just what synthetic hormones add, it’s also what they suppress.

2. How Birth Control May Affect Your Mood

A growing number of studies link hormonal birth control to mood changes, especially in adolescents and women sensitive to hormone shifts.

Research has shown:

• Increased risk of depression in teens starting hormonal birth control

• Higher rates of anxiety in users of certain progestin-based methods

• Changes in emotional reactivity and reward processing in the brain

While not every woman experiences these effects, it's important to be aware that for some, mood-related side effects are real and disruptive.

STUDY: Association of Hormonal Contraceptives with Depression

3. Your Birth Control Might Be Draining Key Nutrients

Hormonal contraceptives have been shown to reduce levels of several important nutrients, including:

• B vitamins (especially B6, B12, folate)

• Magnesium

• Zinc

• Vitamin C

• Selenium

These nutrients are essential for mood regulation, detoxification, immune function, and energy production. Long-term depletion can lead to symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, and PMS-like issues, even while on the pill.

STUDY: Oral contraceptives and changes in nutrition requirements

4. Gut and Liver Health

The liver plays a key role in detoxifying synthetic hormones. Over time, this constant load can affect liver function, bile production, and even estrogen clearance. The gut microbiome also plays a role in hormone metabolism.

Some research suggests hormonal birth control can alter gut flora, contributing to:

• Bloating and digestive changes

• Nutrient malabsorption

• Increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut)

STUDY: Altered gut microbiota in women taking oral contraceptives

5. Sex Drive and Libido

Many women report a reduction in libido while on hormonal birth control. This may be due to lowered testosterone levels (which are naturally suppressed when ovulation is turned off), increase in sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) or changes in vaginal lubrication and sensation.

SHBG is a protein that bind free testosterone. Even after stopping the pill, SHBG levels can remain elevated for years in some women, leading to persistently low libido, energy, and muscle tone. Many women think post-pill fatigue or low sex drive is just "aging", but it may be residual hormonal suppression.

STUDY: SHBG and androgen levels in women on oral contraceptives

6. Coming Off the Pill: Post-Birth Control Syndrome

When women stop hormonal contraception, some experience a temporary wave of symptoms, such as:

• Irregular or missing periods

• Acne

• Hair loss

• Mood swings

• Blood sugar issues

This is sometimes called Post-Birth Control Syndrome, not a formal diagnosis, but a collection of symptoms caused by the body recalibrating after years of hormonal suppression. Supporting liver health, nutrient repletion, stress regulation, and blood sugar balance can ease this transition.

7. Blood Clots, Stroke & Cardiovascular Health

Hormonal birth control, particularly combination methods that include both estrogen and progestin, is associated with an increased risk of blood clots. This is due to how synthetic estrogen influences the body’s clotting factors.

The research shows:

• All hormonal birth control methods carry some risk, but oral contraceptives with estrogen tend to have the highest.

• The risk of developing a venous thromboembolism (VTE), a serious condition where blood clots form in the deep veins (usually legs) is about 3–5 times higher for women using estrogen-containing birth control compared to non-users.

• While still rare in healthy women, the risk increases significantly in those with other factors like:

  • Smoking

  • Age over 35

  • Obesity

  • A history of blood clots or clotting disorders

  • Genetic mutations (like Factor V Leiden)

Stroke risk is slightly elevated, especially in smokers or women with high blood pressure, migraines, or other cardiovascular risk factors.

High blood pressure and altered lipid profiles (like increased triglycerides) can also be side effects over time.

8. Thyroid Function Interactions

Some research and clinical observations suggest that hormonal birth control may influence thyroid hormone binding (raising total T4 but lowering free T3/T4), or exacerbate existing thyroid issues, especially Hashimoto’s.

9. Effect on Metabolism & Insulin Sensitivity

Some hormonal contraceptives may affect glucose metabolism or insulin sensitivity, particularly in women with PCOS, a family history of diabetes, or existing metabolic concerns. This can make weight management more difficult, increase cravings, or contribute to insulin resistance over time.

So, Should You Stop Taking It?

That’s a personal decision, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

What matters is informed choice. Many women are not fully educated on the possible side effects of hormonal birth control beyond pregnancy prevention. It’s not “anti-pill” to ask deeper questions about your body, your hormones, and your long-term health.

If you're experiencing symptoms like low energy, mood swings, anxiety, or low libido, and you're using hormonal birth control, it may be worth exploring how your contraceptive method could be contributing.

You can always:

• Talk to a practitioner who specializes in women’s hormonal health

• Get your hormone levels and nutrient status tested

• Explore non-hormonal contraceptive options

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

• Are there non-hormonal birth control options that would work for me?

• Can we test my hormone levels, thyroid function, and nutrient status?

• Do I have any risk factors that make hormonal contraceptives less safe?

• How might hormonal birth control be affecting my mood, energy, or libido?

• What steps can I take to support my body if I choose to stop using hormonal birth control?

Hormonal birth control is a powerful tool, but it’s not a neutral one. Like any medication, it comes with potential benefits and trade-offs. Women deserve more than a quick prescription. They deserve informed, respectful conversations about how birth control may affect their brain, body, and future.