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Everything You Need to Know About the Pill
An eye-opening, no-holds-barred guide to contraception, written by campaigner, journalist and documentary-maker Kate Muir
Everything You Need to Know About the Pill (but were too afraid to ask) is the thinking-woman’s guide to contraception, bringing you answers to all those questions that have been hidden behind a veneer of misplaced shame, bad science and centuries of patriarchy.
What's happening to my body - and my mind? Which method of contraception is best for me? Do I really need to take a pill break every three weeks? What about men - where's their pill?!
Muir draws on interviews with the leading medical experts in the field, interlaced with her own tumultuous journey with different types of contraception and the personal stories of women from all walks of life, sharing their varied experiences and hard-earned wisdom. Muir also questions why the current medical establishment is getting contraception so wrong, as she debunks the myths and exposes the sloppy science and hysterical headlines that have had a negative impact on women’s health for the last twenty years.
This ground-breaking guide is a social, cultural and scientific exploration into a criminally overlooked and under-discussed part of women's lives. It is a manifesto for change, calling for equality in healthcare and an entirely new - and long overdue - approach to women’s health.
_________________
*Praise for Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (But Were Too Afraid to Ask):*
‘I have huge respect for Kate. A forensic journalist and menopause warrior’ - Davina McCall
‘The research Kate has done is phenomenal and so impressive. Everyone needs a copy of this book on their bookshelves!’ - Dr Louise Newson
Everything You Need to Know About the Pill (but were too afraid to ask) is the thinking-woman’s guide to contraception, bringing you answers to all those questions that have been hidden behind a veneer of misplaced shame, bad science and centuries of patriarchy.
What's happening to my body - and my mind? Which method of contraception is best for me? Do I really need to take a pill break every three weeks? What about men - where's their pill?!
Muir draws on interviews with the leading medical experts in the field, interlaced with her own tumultuous journey with different types of contraception and the personal stories of women from all walks of life, sharing their varied experiences and hard-earned wisdom. Muir also questions why the current medical establishment is getting contraception so wrong, as she debunks the myths and exposes the sloppy science and hysterical headlines that have had a negative impact on women’s health for the last twenty years.
This ground-breaking guide is a social, cultural and scientific exploration into a criminally overlooked and under-discussed part of women's lives. It is a manifesto for change, calling for equality in healthcare and an entirely new - and long overdue - approach to women’s health.
_________________
*Praise for Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (But Were Too Afraid to Ask):*
‘I have huge respect for Kate. A forensic journalist and menopause warrior’ - Davina McCall
‘The research Kate has done is phenomenal and so impressive. Everyone needs a copy of this book on their bookshelves!’ - Dr Louise Newson
- GenresNonfictionScience
326 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2024
About the author
Kate Muir
23 books11 followersKate Muir studied Politics at the University of Glasgow.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 11, 2025
Everybody needs to read this book whether you take birth control or not! I was so shocked at the vast amount of information I didn’t know about my own body and how women’s health is underfunded and under researched!
Why are we not taught what goes into a pill or how the implant works before we go on it at 14/15 while our bodies are still developing and growing!?
I’m glad I read this book but it has equally educated me and infuriated me
Why are we not taught what goes into a pill or how the implant works before we go on it at 14/15 while our bodies are still developing and growing!?
I’m glad I read this book but it has equally educated me and infuriated me
December 10, 2024
Iedereen die de pil neemt zou dit boek eens moeten lezen!
February 15, 2026
As much as I love to read about women's health, this book felt very hard to read about.
I know it's a rough subject, but I really struggled with the negative stories.
I know not all stories are wonderful, but this was a bit too intense for me.
I learned a lot and am grateful for what I learned. The opinions sometimes are quite provocative.
I know it's a rough subject, but I really struggled with the negative stories.
I know not all stories are wonderful, but this was a bit too intense for me.
I learned a lot and am grateful for what I learned. The opinions sometimes are quite provocative.
June 10, 2024
An interesting read with some interesting and thought provoking points.
August 1, 2025
I want everyone to read this book. Learned a lot, while being constantly infuriated by the way women have been (and are) treated
June 8, 2026
Libro que debes leer si o si. No tenía idea de las tantas consecuencias que sobrellevan los anticonceptivos. Entiendo su uso y beneficio, pero es demasiado alto el precio a pagar. Una sexualidad responsable me parece una mejor idea.
VOCABULARIO.
peril: PELIGRO
Meltdown: COLAPSO/CRISIS
cope: LIDIAR
commitment: COMPROMISO
offspring: DESCENDIENTE
doyenne: MUJER DE MAYOR ANTIGÜEDAD O JERARQUÍA
myriad: MIRIADA, ALGO INCONTABLE
depleted: AGOTADA
womb: UTERO
Chapter Two: Can We Go From Period Power to Pill Power?
Pagina 56:
Some of the conditions Dr Dalton was treating would now be described as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is much more severe than PMS, and often lasts for the whole of the luteal phase after ovulation. The mental health effects can include suicidal feelings, anxiety and depression, and many people find it interferes with functioning at work and in relationships.
Pagina 61:
The morning-after pill, brands like Levonelle in the UK, or Plan B in the US, contain a much larger dose of levonorgestrel than the daily pill, but the progestin only remains in your body for a short time.
Pagina 67:
The Cochrane Database, which is one of the most reliable sources of medical research,
Chapter Three: How Does the Pill Affect Your Mental Health?
Pagina 86:
... starting the pill doubled their risk of a first suicide attempt, compared with non-users of hormonal contraceptives... The risk of suicide or an attempt was highest in the first year of use.
Chapter Five: Your Brain on the Pill
Pagina 139:
pill-users seemed to like a ‘brother’ type and non-users like the ‘other’, someone with very different genes from their own.
Pagina 140:
pill use changed women’s preferences for more masculine features in men
Pagina 143:
Men exposed to the scent of an ovulating woman subsequently displayed higher levels of testosterone than did men exposed to the scent of a non-ovulating woman or a control scent.
Pagina 144:
‘the odour emitted from the backs of women in the ovulatory phase was found to increase testosterone secretion in men, whereas the odour emitted from the chests of women in the ovulatory phase reduced cortisol secretion [an indicator of stress] in men.’
Pagina 144:
women not using the contraceptive pill (i.e. naturally cycling women) reported spending more time applying cosmetics for an outing than did women who use the contraceptive pill
Pagina 146:
‘women who used oral contraception when they met their partner scored lower on measures of sexual satisfaction and partner attraction, experienced increasing sexual dissatisfaction during the relationship, and were more likely to be the one to initiate an eventual separation if it occurred.’
Pagina 147:
there are also stories of women falling in love while on the pill, coming off it to start trying for a baby and finding their sexual attraction to their partner is waning.
Pagina 148:
There’s no need for alarm, but… if you meet your partner when you are on the pill, it probably can’t hurt to see how you feel about your partner when you are off the pill before making anything permanent
Pagina 149:
Dr Hill found her own enthusiasm for music returned when she went natural after years on the pill
Pagina 150:
women are better at facial recognition than men, but increasing androgenic progestins means we lessen that feminine skill.
Pagina 150:
pill-users have reduced accuracy in recognising emotions
Pagina 152:
a recent study found that social activities like playing board games or singing songs reduced stress hormone levels in naturally cycling women, but had no effect on women on the pill
Chapter Six: The Coil
Pagina 164:
small breast cancer risk seems to be much the same as the pill
Pagina 164:
There’s a slightly increased risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies with the lower-dose coils.
Pagina 164:
For both types of coil, there is also a back-up ‘foreign body reaction’, which increases inflammation and makes it difficult for the embryo to implant in the womb.
Pagina 170:
progestin-only contraception seems to create a greater propensity for depressive disorders in vulnerable women
Pagina 172:
18 per cent reported an increased risk of anxiety on the coil and 22 per cent increased sleep problems.
Chapter Seven: Endometriosis, Fibroids and PCOS
Pagina 201:
Would there be similar delays if, say, fibroids were a man’s problem rather than a woman’s problem? If men were growing giant fibroids on their testicles, would this area be so neglected?
Pagina 202:
I got a hormonal coil, stayed on the micronised progesterone too, which helps with mood and sleep, and I haven’t had a fibroid problem or bleeding since.
Pagina 203:
Fibroids usually shrink after menopause because the estrogen that feeds them runs out, but not if you’re maintaining your natural hormones on HRT.
Pagina 206:
(This is rare, but the Mirena patient leaflet does warn of the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease and sepsis under possible side effects.
Chapter Eight: What Are the Real Risks of the Pill?
Pagina 223:
‘I regard myself as a guinea pig of the time. Here’s the pill, this magic freedom licence to behave how you want to behave. At that stage, it was a free ticket.’
Pagina 225:
Laura said she was told to stop taking the contraceptive pill immediately upon diagnosis.
Pagina 240:
We know a high dose of synthetic estrogen is riskier for breast cancer, and certain progestins are riskier for clots.
Chapter Nine: Do Digital Contraception Apps Really Work?
Pagina 251:
Lucas and Tessa now have two children, Frances and baby Bobby,
Pagina 260:
‘Every woman has a militant responsibility to involve herself actively in her own health.’
Chapter Eleven: Why Don’t We Talk Honestly About Abortions?
Pagina 285:
‘My life would not have been my own. I would be a prisoner subject to a body’s whims – and not my body’s whims, but the whims of a teenage boy,
Pagina 295:
Mothers are getting older, the economics are getting tighter, and freedom is prized for longer.
Pagina 311:
Carla had returned to live with her estranged partner and their three sons, but she was secretly pregnant by another man and tried to hide it for as long as she could. Everything seemed to be conspiring against her.
Chapter Twelve: The Dark History of the Pill
Pagina 326:
‘We need to carefully examine the records of our institutions and not forget the colonial and racist practices which have become cemented as scientific knowledge.’
Pagina 328:
From the very start, women’s voices around the pill were not listened to. The scientific patriarchy had very selective hearing
Pagina 333:
Dr Pincus himself had always intended the use of the pill in a decent, upstanding marriage: ‘I am against women having sexual freedom,’ he in a 1967 interview. ‘But I hasten to add that I am also opposed to sexual freedom among men.’
Pagina 335:
In January 1970, testimony began in the Senate committee from experts: obstetricians, gynaecologists and psychiatrists who had opposing opinions on the safety and usefulness of the pill. What they mostly had in common were that they were men.
Pagina 336:
‘Why is there no pill for men?’
Chapter Thirteen: Male Contraception
Pagina 346:
HIV-prevention drug PReP
Pagina 355:
‘We need to make important choices when we decide to have a child. It should be Plan A, not Plan B.’
Pagina 360:
‘You can’t get something for nothing.
Chapter Fourteen: Taking Power Over Pleasure
Pagina 371:
capitalism has always driven contraception.
Pagina 392:
‘Contraceptives are the greatest life-saving, poverty-ending, women-empowering innovation ever created.’
--- FIN DE LAS ANOTACIONES ---
VOCABULARIO.
peril: PELIGRO
Meltdown: COLAPSO/CRISIS
cope: LIDIAR
commitment: COMPROMISO
offspring: DESCENDIENTE
doyenne: MUJER DE MAYOR ANTIGÜEDAD O JERARQUÍA
myriad: MIRIADA, ALGO INCONTABLE
depleted: AGOTADA
womb: UTERO
Chapter Two: Can We Go From Period Power to Pill Power?
Pagina 56:
Some of the conditions Dr Dalton was treating would now be described as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is much more severe than PMS, and often lasts for the whole of the luteal phase after ovulation. The mental health effects can include suicidal feelings, anxiety and depression, and many people find it interferes with functioning at work and in relationships.
Pagina 61:
The morning-after pill, brands like Levonelle in the UK, or Plan B in the US, contain a much larger dose of levonorgestrel than the daily pill, but the progestin only remains in your body for a short time.
Pagina 67:
The Cochrane Database, which is one of the most reliable sources of medical research,
Chapter Three: How Does the Pill Affect Your Mental Health?
Pagina 86:
... starting the pill doubled their risk of a first suicide attempt, compared with non-users of hormonal contraceptives... The risk of suicide or an attempt was highest in the first year of use.
Chapter Five: Your Brain on the Pill
Pagina 139:
pill-users seemed to like a ‘brother’ type and non-users like the ‘other’, someone with very different genes from their own.
Pagina 140:
pill use changed women’s preferences for more masculine features in men
Pagina 143:
Men exposed to the scent of an ovulating woman subsequently displayed higher levels of testosterone than did men exposed to the scent of a non-ovulating woman or a control scent.
Pagina 144:
‘the odour emitted from the backs of women in the ovulatory phase was found to increase testosterone secretion in men, whereas the odour emitted from the chests of women in the ovulatory phase reduced cortisol secretion [an indicator of stress] in men.’
Pagina 144:
women not using the contraceptive pill (i.e. naturally cycling women) reported spending more time applying cosmetics for an outing than did women who use the contraceptive pill
Pagina 146:
‘women who used oral contraception when they met their partner scored lower on measures of sexual satisfaction and partner attraction, experienced increasing sexual dissatisfaction during the relationship, and were more likely to be the one to initiate an eventual separation if it occurred.’
Pagina 147:
there are also stories of women falling in love while on the pill, coming off it to start trying for a baby and finding their sexual attraction to their partner is waning.
Pagina 148:
There’s no need for alarm, but… if you meet your partner when you are on the pill, it probably can’t hurt to see how you feel about your partner when you are off the pill before making anything permanent
Pagina 149:
Dr Hill found her own enthusiasm for music returned when she went natural after years on the pill
Pagina 150:
women are better at facial recognition than men, but increasing androgenic progestins means we lessen that feminine skill.
Pagina 150:
pill-users have reduced accuracy in recognising emotions
Pagina 152:
a recent study found that social activities like playing board games or singing songs reduced stress hormone levels in naturally cycling women, but had no effect on women on the pill
Chapter Six: The Coil
Pagina 164:
small breast cancer risk seems to be much the same as the pill
Pagina 164:
There’s a slightly increased risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies with the lower-dose coils.
Pagina 164:
For both types of coil, there is also a back-up ‘foreign body reaction’, which increases inflammation and makes it difficult for the embryo to implant in the womb.
Pagina 170:
progestin-only contraception seems to create a greater propensity for depressive disorders in vulnerable women
Pagina 172:
18 per cent reported an increased risk of anxiety on the coil and 22 per cent increased sleep problems.
Chapter Seven: Endometriosis, Fibroids and PCOS
Pagina 201:
Would there be similar delays if, say, fibroids were a man’s problem rather than a woman’s problem? If men were growing giant fibroids on their testicles, would this area be so neglected?
Pagina 202:
I got a hormonal coil, stayed on the micronised progesterone too, which helps with mood and sleep, and I haven’t had a fibroid problem or bleeding since.
Pagina 203:
Fibroids usually shrink after menopause because the estrogen that feeds them runs out, but not if you’re maintaining your natural hormones on HRT.
Pagina 206:
(This is rare, but the Mirena patient leaflet does warn of the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease and sepsis under possible side effects.
Chapter Eight: What Are the Real Risks of the Pill?
Pagina 223:
‘I regard myself as a guinea pig of the time. Here’s the pill, this magic freedom licence to behave how you want to behave. At that stage, it was a free ticket.’
Pagina 225:
Laura said she was told to stop taking the contraceptive pill immediately upon diagnosis.
Pagina 240:
We know a high dose of synthetic estrogen is riskier for breast cancer, and certain progestins are riskier for clots.
Chapter Nine: Do Digital Contraception Apps Really Work?
Pagina 251:
Lucas and Tessa now have two children, Frances and baby Bobby,
Pagina 260:
‘Every woman has a militant responsibility to involve herself actively in her own health.’
Chapter Eleven: Why Don’t We Talk Honestly About Abortions?
Pagina 285:
‘My life would not have been my own. I would be a prisoner subject to a body’s whims – and not my body’s whims, but the whims of a teenage boy,
Pagina 295:
Mothers are getting older, the economics are getting tighter, and freedom is prized for longer.
Pagina 311:
Carla had returned to live with her estranged partner and their three sons, but she was secretly pregnant by another man and tried to hide it for as long as she could. Everything seemed to be conspiring against her.
Chapter Twelve: The Dark History of the Pill
Pagina 326:
‘We need to carefully examine the records of our institutions and not forget the colonial and racist practices which have become cemented as scientific knowledge.’
Pagina 328:
From the very start, women’s voices around the pill were not listened to. The scientific patriarchy had very selective hearing
Pagina 333:
Dr Pincus himself had always intended the use of the pill in a decent, upstanding marriage: ‘I am against women having sexual freedom,’ he in a 1967 interview. ‘But I hasten to add that I am also opposed to sexual freedom among men.’
Pagina 335:
In January 1970, testimony began in the Senate committee from experts: obstetricians, gynaecologists and psychiatrists who had opposing opinions on the safety and usefulness of the pill. What they mostly had in common were that they were men.
Pagina 336:
‘Why is there no pill for men?’
Chapter Thirteen: Male Contraception
Pagina 346:
HIV-prevention drug PReP
Pagina 355:
‘We need to make important choices when we decide to have a child. It should be Plan A, not Plan B.’
Pagina 360:
‘You can’t get something for nothing.
Chapter Fourteen: Taking Power Over Pleasure
Pagina 371:
capitalism has always driven contraception.
Pagina 392:
‘Contraceptives are the greatest life-saving, poverty-ending, women-empowering innovation ever created.’
--- FIN DE LAS ANOTACIONES ---
July 13, 2024
Illuminating, infuriating and interesting. There are some of the same themes covered in this book as in Hill’s How The Pill Changes Everything, but it is still a completely different perspective and book. It covers the background and history and advances in birth control, so it was fascinating.
February 4, 2025
I can’t say I loved this book. Some chapters are thought provoking and I didn’t agree with adding chapters based on things not directly related to the content. Can’t say I recommend this book unfortunately.
did-not-finish-reading
March 11, 2025I don't normally write reviews for DNFs but I just wanted to state this was a DNF because of me not being able to handle some of the topics right now and not because of the book. The 10% I found well written and explained and I am looking forward to coming back to in the future.
Read
August 2, 2024A very informative and readable book. Highly recommend.
August 6, 2024
Learnt lots!
February 16, 2025
very informative. made me very angry. eye opening.
March 31, 2025
Everyone needs to read this
January 5, 2026
Brilliantly researched, and very well written. This should be required reading in high schools for young girls and boys alike
January 23, 2025
This is not just a story about contraception. It is a story of over half a century of neglect, dismissal and manipulation of women and their health.
I wish my brain was better at retaining Important Information because this book was full of it. Simultaneously illuminating and infuriating, I actually found this strangely reassuring by the end -- perhaps because of simply being better educated. The writing wasn't as dense or impenetrable as I feared, and the science was accessible, although a glossary would've been nice so I didn't have to keep googling things like "difference between progesterone progestin progestogen".
However, the writing was a little awkward in places. The word "dastardly" was used at least twice, and while I appreciate the inclusion of testimonies from numerous women sharing their own experience, some of the ones that were included made me roll my eyes. (One woman said that before going on the pill, she'd "been a very sparky blonde, in-your-face Gemini" as if the pill had somehow changed her hair colour and astrological sign, while another dramatically stated that, "I'm 50 now and never had children. The pill stole my life." like that isn't the whole point of contraception...)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews