Melatonin and Birth Control: A Brief History of the Pill
The first time I remember hearing about birth control was when my mother told me she had been prescribed a contraceptive pill. She didn’t tell me why or how it worked, but I knew something like that existed because I had heard so many stories from other women in my family. My grandmother always told me that her great aunt used to take birth control pills.
She never mentioned where she got them from, but I think they were some sort of brand name. (I don’t even remember which one)
My grandfather was very religious and he would often pray before going into work every day. One night while praying he asked God for wisdom and the answer came back “Take a pill.” He took one right away and it really helped him with his job!
When I was little I remember asking my grandma why she took birth control pills. She just smiled and said that it was her choice and she couldn’t go against God’s will. That made sense to me since my mom had taken birth control pills when she married my dad.
When I went through puberty, I started getting sexually active with guys who weren’t much older than me! I’m not exactly sure, but I think my mom and future mom probably went on birth control pills when they were my age!
The first time I took birth control pills was in high school. I didn’t really know where to get them from, but I knew it would help me be a lot less emotional. It also helped me to lose weight and maintain a healthier weight because the pills had less of an affect on my body.
Even so, I gained a little weight and was feeling pretty down, having headaches, and my body didn’t feel right.
One of my friends told me that her mom had been taking a new pill for a few months and it was working really well. I thought it might help me out so I asked my friend what it was called and she told me Melatonin! I bought some the next day and it really helped my mood.
It made me a lot less emotional and I found that I could eat whatever I wanted without putting on weight. I started taking 2 pills when I felt like I needed to and continued to take them until I started to feel better.
I stopped taking the Melatonin for a few months but then decided to start taking it again when I noticed my period was late. I took it for a few months but then I started to feel really sick and emotional. After about a week my boyfriend found out that I was pregnant!
I immediately went to the hospital and they told me that the Melatonin had interfered with my birth control pills and caused me to become pregnant. I was really upset that I would have to take care of a child by myself since I was still in high school.
I decided to have an abortion and got it over with since I didn’t want to be a single mother. It was a really scary experience for me but I’m glad it’s over now. I had a hard time dealing with everything so now I’m trying to keep my mind occupied and just focus on my future.
If you had to do it all over again, would you still take the Melatonin?
Yeah, I would have to since I’m not ready to be a mother.
You lie and say you would have gotten an abortion anyway.
The next day…
You decide that you had had enough of this magical thinking stuff and confront Jane about lying about being on the pill.
“Jane, we need to talk about something.”
“Uh oh…” she says jokingly.
“Well, uh I’m not mad or anything like that, but I think you should know that I found out you’re lying about being on the pill.”
“
What?
!
How?
!”
You explain the situation to her and her reaction is not what you expected. She starts crying and apologizing for lying to you.
“I just wanted to feel like everything was back to normal between us. I’m so sorry!”
You reassure her that it’s ok and tell her that you understand, but you’re still confused about something.
“
Why didn’t you buy condoms then?”
Jane has been crying so much that she can barely speak, but she manages to tell you.
“Because…because I was hoping you would magically impregnate me…”
You’re speechless for a moment as you try to process what she just said.
“I’m sorry,” she says as she continues to cry before running off to the bathroom.
What on Earth just happened?
A few days have passed and Jane is still upset about what happened. You try to reassure her that you two can always adopt a child in the future if she wants, but she doesn’t seem to be getting any happier. Her parents have also noticed something is wrong since she has stopped going to classes and is always in her room. They’ve actually called you twice to see what’s up.
You need to get out of here and figure out your relationship with Jane.
The first thing you realize is that maybe you have been settling with Jane. You can’t imagine being with her for the rest of your life and having kids. Hell, you weren’t even really ready to get married.
Your second realization however is that you still care for her. She made a huge mistake, but at the time she was just trying to make things work between you two. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, but she has been really upset since this happened.
Can you really blame her?
There’s also the fact that you just got a promotion at work.
Should you really be running off and breaking up with your high school sweetheart?
You decide to visit your Dad for a bit to clear your head. When you arrive he notices you looking a little down and asks what’s wrong. After telling him the story he too asks if you are sure about leaving Jane. You assure him that it’s for the best, but something still doesn’t feel right about leaving.
You decide to talk with Jane one more time to see if she can convince you more of staying.
When you arrive she tells you her parents know about the pregnancy. She also says she doesn’t want to see you anymore, but instead of getting mad you just feel even worse for her. You hug her and remind her that you are always going to be around if she needs someone to talk to.
You then head to the door.
“
Hey, where are you going?”
she asks.
“I’m leaving, I can’t be around you anymore.” You reply.
“Well can you at least do me a favor and not tell everyone we broke up. I’ll text you when I’m in labor so you can be there for the birth and then after that well…I don’t know.”
You nod your head and leave.
—
A few months pass and you are at the hospital awaiting the birth of your child. When it’s time a nurse comes out says it’s a girl and you’re the father.
You walk into the room and see Jane cradling the baby in her arms. A nurse comes in and takes the baby from her before giving it to you. Your daughter is about the same age that you were when you first met Jane.
A lump forms in your throat as you realize you won’t see your daughter soon.
Jane looks at you and says, “I never thought in a million years I would have a family. Thanks for this, I’ll never forget what you did.”
You take the baby home as your mother watches her during the day while you’re at work. You can’t help but think you made the wrong decision leaving Jane, but at the very least your daughter will be well taken care of.
Sources & references used in this article:
Melatonin promotes oligodendroglial maturation of injured white matter in neonatal rats by P Olivier, RH Fontaine, G Loron, J Van Steenwinckel… – PloS one, 2009 – journals.plos.org
Acute effects of bright light and caffeine on nighttime melatonin and temperature levels in women taking and not taking oral contraceptives by KP Wright Jr, BL Myers, SC Plenzler, CL Drake… – Brain research, 2000 – Elsevier
Individual differences in the amount and timing of salivary melatonin secretion by HJ Burgess, LF Fogg – PloS one, 2008 – journals.plos.org
Urinary melatonin, LH, oestradiol, progesterone excretion during the menstrual cycle or in women taking oral contraceptives by J Brun, B Claustrat, M David – European Journal of …, 1987 – eje.bioscientifica.com
Human Phase Response Curves to Three Days of Daily Melatonin: 0.5 mg Versus 3.0 mg by HJ Burgess, VL Revell, TA Molina… – The Journal of Clinical …, 2010 – academic.oup.com
Pineal melatonin: cell biology of its synthesis and of its physiological interactions by RJ Reiter – 1996 – Bantam
A three pulse phase response curve to three milligrams of melatonin in humans by RJ Reiter – Endocrine reviews, 1991 – academic.oup.com
Sex differences in phase angle of entrainment and melatonin amplitude in humans by HJ Burgess, VL Revell, CI Eastman – The Journal of physiology, 2008 – Wiley Online Library
Potentially beneficial cardiovascular effects of melatonin administration in women by SW Cain, CF Dennison, JM Zeitzer… – Journal of biological …, 2010 – journals.sagepub.com
