Depo-Provera, Risks, and Making Choices That Feel Right

I was at my kids’ soccer practice the other day when another mom asked what I do for a living. As soon as I said “women’s health,” she leaned in like we were about to swap secrets. Within minutes, we were talking about how our generation (elder millennials, where you at?!) spent the better part of our twenties on hormonal birth control. It wasn’t just about responsibility, either. For many of us with PCOS or heavy, painful periods, birth control wasn’t a choice so much as the only solution we were ever offered.

So when I read the NBC News story about the Depo-Provera lawsuit, my heart broke a little. The injectable birth control, used by millions of women for decades, has now been linked in some studies to an increased risk of meningiomas, tumors that grow from the lining of the brain. More than a thousand women are suing Pfizer, saying they were never adequately warned about possible long-term effects. The company denies wrongdoing, and ACOG notes that the overall risk is small. But “small” feels abstract when you’re the one living with the fallout.

What’s especially frustrating is how familiar this all feels. From birth control pills to IUDs to hormone therapies, women have long been expected to shoulder the physical and emotional burden of contraception. We’ve endured side effects that were brushed off, symptoms that were minimized, and a medical system that too often treats our pain as anecdotal rather than evidence.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know this: women deserve transparency. Not fine print. Not reassurance. Real, honest conversations about risks, benefits, and options — so we can make choices with both eyes open.

Ask Clara: Which birth control is right for me?