Q&A's: Vegans & birth control: Can vegans use birth control?

What is the purpose of birth control for women?

There are many reasons for women to start taking birth control. The most common reason would be for contraceptive purposes. Other reasons could be for hormonal imbalances, irregular menstrual periods and even acne control to name a few.

How does birth control affect someone on a plant-based diet?

All birth control pills, both combination and progestin-only, contain lactose. Lactose is a sugar derived from the milk of mammals. There are a also many oral contraceptives that contain magnesium stearate, which is not "vegan-friendly" due to the stearic acid which often comes from beef, pork, chicken and fish.

What options of birth control are vegan-friendly?

The Nuva Ring, IUD's and birth control patches could be a potential vegan-friendly alternative as both of these options are made with and include synthetic estrogen and progesterone. However due to the small amount of research on how some of the synthetic progesterone is derived, it could be a slightly difficult to know for sure if these types of birth control are indeed vegan-friendly.

The only vegan-friendly option that is a for sure, would be the copper IUD as they are free of animal products.

What if someone who is plant-based requires birth control for health reasons besides contraception?

When it comes to the use of birth control for health reasons such as hormonal imbalances or controlling the flow of your menstrual, it seems that at the end of this discussion, it really comes down to personal choice as you would know what is best for your body and overall health.

Other forms of contraception:

These are a few forms of contraception that could potentially be vegan-friendly. It's always best to do your research on these products to confirm its contents as vegan-friendly.

• Condoms
• Cervical caps
• Diaphram

Talk to your doctor

If you have any questions or concerns regarding birth control selection and whether or not it is suitable for your plant-based lifestyle, you can always talk to your doctor or local pharmacist for more detailed information on types of birth controls and their ingredients.

For a list of all the types of birth controls we carry please visit our website:
https://canadarxconnection.com/usp.php