10 Boomers and Birth Control
Grace Miller
10.1 Introduction
Keywords
- Contraceptive: anything used to prevent pregnancy
- Dysmenorrhea: this is when a person’s period is very painful. Lots of pain during menstruation is abnormal and the person should consult with their doctor if they are experiencing dysmenorrhea.
- Ectopic pregnancy: This occurs when the fertilized egg implants itself in a place where it is not supposed to be, which is outside the uterus. Typically, ectopic pregnancies occur in the fallopian tube but they can also happen in an ovary, within the abdomen, or inside the endocervical canal.
- Egg: This can also be called an oocyte, ovum or female gamete. The egg is the pre-fertilization sex cell for anyone with a uterus.
- Endometrium: the inner covering of the uterus that gets shed typically once a month.
- Estrogen: This is the primary hormone for those who have a uterus. It is mainly formed by the ovaries, but can also be released by the adrenal cortex, testes, and placenta. Oral birth control pills contain this hormone.
- Eugenics: A movement that began in the late 1800’s which stated that certain groups of people were superior and more deserving of life than others. It is a scientifically false and inherently racist belief that genetic modifications and selective breeding could eliminate “imperfections” in the human race.
- Gonads: the organs (testes and ovaries) that make reproductive cells, also called sex cells
- Hormone: Hormones are thought of to be “messenger molecules.”They organize and regulate the activity of various tissues. They cause a specific effect in a localized region.
- Implantation: This is when an egg has been fertilized by a sperm, so it adheres itself to the uterus lining six to seven days post-fertilization.
- Injectable contraceptives: These are forms of hormonal birth control that are injected via needle into a person. Depo-Provera (DMPA) and norethindrone enanthate are two examples of injectable progestin contraceptives.
- Intrauterine Device (IUD): A contraceptive device that is placed in the uterus. It is usually plastic and can also contain hormones or other metals that help with contraception. It causes localized inflammation in the uterus which makes it hard for successful fertilization and/or conception.
- Menopause: This is when a person with a uterus stops having a period. This can occur naturally with age or can be induced by the surgical removal of the ovaries
- Oral contraceptive pill (also known as “the pill”): a prescribed medication for people with uteruses. There are many different types of the pill, but all of them have either some combination of estrogen and progestin or just have progestin. It is usually in tablet or pill form and is taken orally. This pill can prevent pregnancy because it can change the thickness of cervical mucus, the time of ovulation, and many other things. When these changes occur, the person is less likely to get pregnant.
- Ovaries: The female reproductive org