For most of us, it’s pretty awkward bringing up our sex lives to our parents. Nowadays it’s normal to have sex before marriage, but most parents are not so accepting of the college lifestyle. But you still want to make sure there are no unplanned babies and starting birth control is the best option. Yeah, condoms can work too, but you can only depend so much on a rubber. You want to be responsible and make sure that there are no ‘ifs’, ‘ands’ or ‘buts’.
But how do you bring up the idea of wanting to start birth control to your parents without them accusing you of having sex? Most likely it will show up on their insurance bill, so it’s better to be honest about taking it, but that isn’t always easy. Fortunately, there are plenty of different parent-proof reasons to take birth control.
Sit your parents down and talk to them about why you want to take the pill, but make sure you have a good argument as to why you want it. Here’s a few things you can say to make the conversation a little easier:
I want clearer skin.
Acne is always a pain. But if you are one of many who suffer from this annoying problem, birth control could be the solution. Women usually break out a week or two before their menstrual cycle. If you fall into this category, your acne could be caused by a hormonal imbalance. There are a variety of birth control pills that can help balance your hormones and help clear your skin.
My PMS is terrible.
Pre-Menstrual Syndrome, better known to us as PMS, is also caused by hormonal imbalances. Birth control pills, depending how severe your PMS is, can help balance the hormone levels and ease the effects of PMS. It can help control your change of mood swings, ease cramps and relieve you from bloating.
I never know when I’m going to get my period.
Irregular cycles are common and many women are prescribed birth control pills to regulate them. Periods are already such a hassle. They become more of a hassle when you don’t know when they will be coming. Once you start taking the pills, it will take a little time to adjust your hormone levels, but once you ’ve been taking them on a regular basis for a few months, your cycle will become more of a pattern than a scattered chart.
My flow is too heavy.
In some cases, menstrual flow can be so heavy that it becomes unbearable. A heavy flow can also cause anemia, a condition in which your body lacks the right amount of blood and iron. The pill can help lighten the flow of your periods or make them shorter.
I want to stay healthy.
Birth Control can help lower the risk of endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer, “by more than 70 percent after 12 years.” Endometrial cancer starts at the lining of the uterus and ovarian cancer starts in the ovaries. The pill will reduce the number of times you ovulate in a lifetime. How will lowering the times you ovulate help lower your cancer risk? Well, the pill does this because there is a chance that ovulating can cause a trigger to change cells that will lead to cancer.
I want to get my period less often.
Certain birth controls can reduce your periods from once every month to only having 4 a year; that’s one for every season. It’s not advertised as much as the other options, but it works just as well.
Try talking out these options with your parents. Hopefully one of them will work. Conclude your argument by letting them know that birth control pills aren’t just used to prevent unplanned pregnancies but are used to help with multiple other things. Once you get ‘the ok’ of taking them, it’ll be like killing two birds with one stone.
Photos taken from acnecenter.com and webmd.com
