The Birth control pill: An analysis of the experience of women university students

Throughout the course of their lives women are faced with many decisions regarding their sexual health, including birth control. The current study examines the different contributing factors that influence women students at an Atlantic Canadian University to begin using the birth control pill, remain on the birth control pill and discontinue its use. The literature reviewed includes a brief background of the history of the birth control pill and an exploration of the role of the sexual revolution that took place in the 1960s. A mixed method approach was used; the research consisted of 5 semi-structured interviews and a survey with a range of questions about women's experiences with the birth control pill. The survey consisted of 543 participants and the study only included Acadia University female students aged 18-25 who had previously used the birth control pill or were currently using it. The findings were interpreted using different statistical cross tabulations and were also examined through the lens of medicalization, structure and agency, and intersectionality. Analysis of the findings demonstrated that young women were frequently prescribed the birth control pill as their first method of birth control, that many women experienced negative side effects with the birth control pill, and that the responsibility for birth control is viewed as gendered, with women bearing a greater responsibility.