Between contraception and hormones: a qualitative analysis of the lived experiences of former contraceptive pill users.

ABSTRACT: Contraceptive decision-making is an ongoing process that affects reproductive life and involves method uptake, use, and discontinuation. Contraceptive pills have been widely studied for their side effects, lived experiences, and links to biomedicalisation. However, there is a lack of research that integrates the entire subjective contraceptive pill experience from implementation to the period after discontinuation. This study explores the lived experience of pill use in Germany through 19 oral contraceptive pill biographies using thematic analysis, a deductive-inductive, iterative coding approach, and team-based discussions. This work is grounded in the theoretical framework of the contraceptive journey and feminist inquiry. Our analysis illustrated the complexity of pill use, with frequen

SUBMITTER: Niemann J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12548073 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature