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I'm Hillary, and I'm trying[br]to understand birth control.

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I recently asked a[br]few high schoolers

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what they knew about it.

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I've never talked[br]about birth control.

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I'm a little bit unsure about[br]what birth control even is.

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I know that birth control[br]is a pill that you take.

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I don't really know[br]anything about it, honestly.

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And then I asked some of my[br]coworkers what they knew.

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I don't have a lot of experience[br]talking or researching

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or thinking about birth control.

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I've never used birth control.

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How did I learn[br]about birth control?

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I'd say I didn't.

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I think this is what everyone[br]thinks of as the most

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basic form of birth control.

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Somehow these magical tablets[br]keep you from getting pregnant.

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I don't know what's in it.

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I feel like you've got to[br]have some instructions.

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How does this work?

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Is it the coil that[br]doesn't make you pregnant?

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That's like magic.

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How does it do that?

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It turns out we all had[br]a bunch of questions.

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So I called in some experts.

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I'm Dr. Regina Edmond.

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I'm Dr. Yvonne Bohn,[br]and we're OB/GYNs.

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In order to understand[br]birth control,

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first you have to understand two[br]basic concepts-- menstruation,

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which is when the uterine[br]lining sheds and a woman

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bleeds monthly, and the[br]second is ovulation.

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That's when the ovary[br]releases an egg.

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So the way hormonal[br]birth control works is it

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prevents you from[br]ovulating by interrupting

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the signal from your brain.

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You do not ovulate.

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At the end of the[br]cycle, the pills,

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the hormones in the pills,[br]or the lack of them,

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causes you to have a, quote,[br]"fake menstrual cycle."

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Does birth control[br]make you gain weight?

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So when we're talking about[br]birth control right now

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we're talking about the combined[br]birth control pills, the ones

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you take every day.

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The risk of weight gain[br]with these types of pills

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is extremely low.

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If you're gaining more[br]than five pounds then

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you should let the doctor know.

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What happens if I have one[br]cigarette if I'm on the pill?

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There is an increased[br]risk of blood clots

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if you're smoking while[br]you take the pill.

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If you're over 35, we absolutely[br]do not want you to smoke.

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This doesn't apply[br]to smoking weed.

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We really do not[br]encourage cigarette use

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at all for so many[br]other reasons.

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But if you're out one night[br]and you have one cigarette,

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you're probably going to be OK.

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This is an IUD?

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I'm really confused[br]about this one.

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I don't understand what this is.

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This is a copper IUD.

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As you can see, the device[br]is lined with copper wire.

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And the copper in the IUD is[br]toxic to the sperm so the sperm

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cannot fertilized egg.

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It does not inhibit[br]ovulation, and it does not

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affect your menstrual cycle.

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What will the effect of[br]having been on birth control

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for a decade be when I[br]want to get pregnant?

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Women always worry, they've[br]been on the pill for 10 years,

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how is that going to[br]affect their fertility?

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Are they going to be able to[br]have a baby when they want to?

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And the answer is yes.

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Because of the low dose of[br]most birth control pills,

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there is little risk to future[br]fertility after stopping.

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Once you stop the pills or once[br]you take your placebo pills,

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within a very short[br]period of time

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the hormones that have[br]regulated or prevented

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your pregnancy will[br]be gone, and you

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should be able to resume a[br]normal menstrual cycle very

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quickly.

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Sometimes as rapidly[br]as in one month.

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For other women it may[br]take a little bit longer.

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Why isn't there a dude pill?

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We do have the male[br]condom and vasectomy.

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I don't see that there will be[br]a hormonal form of contraception

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for men because in order to[br]help them stop producing sperm,

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we would have to affect[br]their testosterone levels,

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and I don't think[br]most men would be

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willing to deal with the side[br]effects of low testosterone.

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I don't know which[br]option to go with.

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The best form of birth[br]control is the one

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that you'll remember to take.

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Whatever you're using,[br]it has to be consistent.

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You have to be compliant.

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So whether it's condoms, whether[br]it's a diaphragm, whether it's

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a pill that you take every[br]day, or a ring that you

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put in the vagina, you[br]have to be compliant.

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A lot of people[br]take birth control

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so that they don't get[br]pregnant, but a lot of people

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take birth control[br]for other reasons too.

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The hormones in[br]the birth control

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help to regulate your[br]hormones so that you

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have possibly less[br]acne, less bleeding

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when you have your[br]menstrual cycle,

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and possibly less cramping.

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So we use it for[br]medical problems too.

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It seems like a lot of our[br]confusion stems from the fact

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that we hadn't really been[br]talking about birth control.

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I definitely think[br]we should open up

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the conversation[br]about birth control

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and it's many uses[br]a lot earlier.

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You can't be bashful.

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You have to know what it is[br]that you're putting inside

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of your body.

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Because otherwise you just hear[br]about it through other people

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and you don't really[br]know what you're doing.

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A lot of women are raised to[br]be modest and to be ashamed.

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And because of that,[br]they really don't

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understand what's going on[br]in their body every month.

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I think it's important[br]that a lot of young girls

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know more about it.

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We think of birth control as a[br]political thing or a religious,

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not a religious thing,[br]but so much of it

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just has to do with[br]women's bodies.

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This should be[br]open conversation.

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It doesn't have to be so scary.

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I think that if it[br]were talked about more,

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it wouldn't seem so wrong.

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So let's actually talk[br]about birth control.

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Let's talk about birth control.

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Let's talk about birth control.

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Let's talk about birth control.

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Let's talk about it.

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