Birth Control

Earlier this year, Virginia designated July as Uterine Fibroids Awareness Month.

Up to 80 percent of women will have a uterine fibroid by age 50

3:01am May 22, 2024

Fibroids are benign uterine tumors. So why does it matter that the majority of people with a uterus will have one before they are 50 years old? Physician Rachell Bervell, founder of the Black OBGYN Project, explains that when symptoms arise, they can be quite serious — from extreme menstrual bleeding to fertility problems. Plus, why they're very likely to affect you or a loved one.

Curious about other health issues? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

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Photo illustration of a hand holding a magnifying glass over an icon of a uterus. Surrounding the magnifying glass are icons representing other aspects of care involving women's health and visiting an obgyn.

Health & Safety

You asked, we answered: Questions you might be too shy to ask your gynecologist

11:34am May 21, 2024

Painful periods, low libido, pap smear anxiety — when it comes to talking to your gynecologist, no question should be off the table, says Dr. Rachel Bervell. She answers questions from our audience.

Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs online pharmacy is adding the oral contraceptive Yaz from Bayer to its list of discounted medicines.

Health & Safety

Bayer makes a deal on popular contraceptive with Mark Cuban's online pharmacy

5:05pm February 19, 2024

by Sydney Lupkin

Bayer is adding two of its name-brand drugs to the roster of Cost Plus Drugs: the birth control pill Yaz and the menopause treatment Climara.

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs delivers her State of the State address at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Jan. 9, 2023. Adults in Arizona can now obtain contraceptive medications over the counter at a pharmacy without a doctor's prescription under a governor's order announced Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Arizona governor approves over-the-counter contraceptive medications at pharmacies

1:39am July 07, 2023

by The Associated Press

Gov. Katie Hobbs said the rule will go into effect immediately. It applies to self-administered birth control. Patients 18 or older must complete a screening and blood pressure test.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray discusses efforts to protect reproductive rights during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in August 2022. Murray has re-introduced legislation that would require health insurers to cover over-the-counter birth control if the FDA approves it.

With growing abortion restrictions, Democrats push for over-the-counter birth control

8:18am May 22, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

With abortion increasingly restricted in many states, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), hopes to persuade Republicans to back insurance coverage for over-the-counter birth control.

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration supported drugmaker Perrigo's application to sell the oral contraceptive Opill without a prescription.

Health & Safety

Advisers to the FDA back first over-the-counter birth control pill

5:13pm May 10, 2023

In a unanimous vote, 17-0, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the agency approve the first over-the-counter birth control pill.

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will make a recommendation about whether the agency should approve the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S.

Health & Safety

The FDA considers first birth control pill without a prescription

5:05am May 09, 2023

by Rob Stein

The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to allow a birth control pill to be sold over the counter for the first time. An advisory committee opens a two-day hearing Tuesday.

Juliet, 15, lives in Georgia, a state that bans abortions after six weeks. There is an exception for rape, but only with a police report. Juliet became so fearful of getting pregnant from rape, she told her mom she wanted to go on birth control. "I just wanted to be a little in control," she says.

Health & Safety

Fear of pregnancy: One teen's story in post-Roe America

6:00am April 15, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

In a state that bans abortion, anxiety about rape and getting pregnant drove this teen to start on birth control, though she's not having sex.

A package of Aviane birth control pills. The federal program known as Title X provides birth control, tests for sexually transmitted infections, and offers other reproductive health care for low-income patients.

Title X advocates worry that birth control may go the same way as abortion

6:00am August 16, 2022

by Ben Paviour

A Supreme Court ruling overturned Roe v. Wade. Now there's a big push to increase funding for Title X, a federal program that offers birth control and other reproductive care to low-income patients.

Research shows that expanded access to preventive care and coverage has led to an increase in colon cancer screenings, vaccinations, use of contraception and chronic disease screenings.

Preventive care such as birth control, anti-HIV medicine challenged in Texas lawsuit

5:00am August 09, 2022

by Allison Aubrey

Some object to paying for health insurance plans that cover preventive services that they say violate their religious beliefs, which could cause millions to lose access to care if the courts agree.