Why are women turning to TikTok for advice about the pill? Because doctors won’t listen to us | Kate Muir

To counter social-media conspiracy theories, we need more honest information about contraception and its side-effects

Birth control is this generation's cigarettes," says a woman on TikTok. When women start taking the pill they get massively depressed," says another. It's a class-one carcinogen," continues the feed. It was 99.9% effective in ruining my life." Then there's the meme of a woman unfolding a contraceptive pill side-effects warning leaflet, as large as a bath towel. Meanwhile those who have come off hormonal contraception and turned to fertility awareness apps give the impression of a world of joy and rainbows - and no accidents.

There's a seismic shift going on in contraception, and health professionals are scrambling to catch up. The TikTok health claims above are wildly exaggerated and often incorrect, but that's not stopping a generation of women, trans and non-binary people binning their pills. The latest abortion rate in England and Wales is 19 per 1,000 women and growing, the highest it has been since legalisation in 1967 - and in Scotland it is 16 per 1,000, but terminations are up 19% year on year there, with a rise among teenagers too. Some doctors have suggested that social media is to blame for the rise in abortions, as women turn away from the pill.

Kate Muir's book Everything You Need to Know About the Pill is published next year

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