A Can't-Miss Article About the Pill

Check out this New York Magazine post, "Waking Up From the Pill."  It's probably the best women's health article that I've read all year.


I found it particularly relevant, since some of my 35-and-over sisterfriends have had to make difficult choices re having children on their own.  Prince Charming seems to have major difficulty in finding his way to smart sisters' cottages lately.

About a year and a half ago, two friends (one unable to have children due to cancer treatments and another who later purposely embarked on single motherhood) shared that they were quite angry that their gynecologists didn't discuss their future reproductive plans with them in their prime child-bearing years.  They seemed to think that they would have made some different decisions earlier on, maybe freezing eggs, if they'd had more information about their fertility.   It's a conversation that I will never forget.  Another very successful single friend in her early forties began taking fertility treatments and reviewing sperm donors last year.

I mention all of this as evidence that you shouldn't let your gyno just write you a script for the Pill and send you on your way.  Ask questions about your fertility.  Realistically think about when you want to conceive with the understanding that your fertility drops significantly once you hit 35, and continue to educate yourself outside of the exam room.