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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

As autumn comes to an end, we are heading straight into the depths of winter. Shivering and struck with excess work during midterms and finals, people begin to take shelter in committed relationships. 

According to The Guardian, a combination of factors are at play such as spending more time inside, increased feelings of loneliness and depression, and “testosterone production peak[ing] around October and November.”

This has led to the creation of the newly coined term: cuffing season. 

This cultural phenomenon emerged in 2010 and stuck around, as year after year more couples began appearing after summer’s end. 

The spike in commitment also leads to a rise in continual contraception use. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the utilization of family planning increased “from 900 million in 2000 to nearly 1.1 billion in 2021.” This increase and the time of year causes contraception to weigh heavily on the minds of women everywhere. 

Contraception can be up to 99% effective in preventing pregnancy and is a rightful component of health care central to women’s autonomy.

Utilize resources available if you’re searching for the best contraceptive for you, such as Planned Parenthood, the CDC and WebMD.

However, contraception comes with risks and discomfort which, in my experience, arise only briefly as a topic of discussion both in life and at the doctor’s office. When obtaining both birth control pills and an IUD, I felt inadequately prepared for the negative side effects that I experienced. 

This occurrence is not unique to me; according to a recent study in JAMA Psychiatry Medical Journal, “Teenage girls who use birth control pills are more likely to cry, sleep too much and experience eating issues than their peers who don’t use oral contraceptives.”

The mental turmoil associated with oral contraceptives is a serious issue. I was prescribed the pill at 16, but quickly stopped taking it due to its depressive side effects. 

These effects may be long lasting despite only taking the pill for a few months. Research has shown that adolescents who take birth control pills are at a higher risk for depression in adulthood than those who do not take the pill–whether they continue to take the pills as they age or not.

Physical side effects are also common when using certain contraceptive methods. Dr. Colleen Krajewski, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, says, “The discomfort or pain when the IUD is inserted is real…I would not discount that pain.” 

My IUD was inserted without the administration of pain medication. I suffered from extreme discomfort and was unable to stand for hours after the procedure. 

Many women undergo gynecological procedures like inserting an IUD without proper medication. This fact is confirmed by Dr. Krajewski who says, “providing medication seems to be rare.”  As an invasive operation, it seems almost immoral that women are not provided with any source of pain deterrence. 

This issue continues to grow in importance since the age at which teens start on the pill is getting younger and younger.

Girls use birth control for purposes other than contraception, causing the age at which they are prescribed the medication to vary. Heavy periods, migraines, and acne are just a few examples of the uses for birth control prescriptions. 

As such a versatile medication employed by over a billion people, it is surprising that its severe mental and physical side effects are not addressed properly. 

Measures should be taken against the debilitating pain that can come with IUD procedures and the long term mental effects of the birth control pill. Proper pain medication and conversations surrounding mental health are just scratching the surface on the road to enforcing women’s contraceptive rights. 

Before these changes come to fruition, it is important for women to advocate for their health rights and educate themselves about potential side effects in the process of obtaining contraception.

If you’re searching for the contraceptive method that’s best for you this cuffing season, learn from my mistakes and protect your body and mind.

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Hello! My name is Katherine Engleka and I'm a student at Penn State University. I work as a writing tutor at the writing center and I'm the non-fiction coordinator of Penn State's literary magazine Kalliope.