Do female athletes take birth control?

Among elite athletes, contraceptives are commonly used both to prevent pregnancies and to manage menstrual cycles.

Does birth control make you less athletic?

Recent research suggests that performance levels while taking the pill remain the same. However, thhere's potentially a slightly negative impact of suppressing the ovarian hormones while taking the pill on athletic performance compared with non-pill users.

Is it harder to gain muscle on birth control?

Oral contraceptives do not affect muscle strength and hop performance in active women.

Why do female athletes stop having periods?

Amenorrhea is a red flag that the body is not functioning to its full potential. Amenorrhea again can be due to exercising too much for your body, under-fueling, high stress, or a combination of these factors. Myth 2: Amenorrhea in athletes is unique to only endurance or high-level athletes.

Should runners be on birth control?

Runners who have or are at risk of female athlete triad syndrome may also be on birth control to protect them against injuries like thinning bones and stress fractures. In cases like these, Dr. Byun said, these big-picture benefits likely outweigh any marginal changes that may occur in performance measures.

Contraception for the Female Athlete: Medical and Performance Considerations

Do elite athletes take birth control?

Among elite athletes, contraceptives are commonly used both to prevent pregnancies and to manage menstrual cycles.

Is giving birth easier for athletes?

There are several studies that conclude that people who exercise do not have more difficult deliveries (with respect to length of second stage, emergency c-section rate, perineal tearing) [5, 13-15].

How do professional female athletes deal with periods?

Another common practice among sportswomen is taking birth control pills. In one study, about half of athlete respondents revealed that they were using hormonal contraceptives. Doing so helped them control the frequency of their cycle, its timing, and the intensity of menstrual bleeding.

What do female athletes use for periods?

Some female athletes also use birth control pills to manipulate their periods, but it is advised not to pop these pills right before an event, since it could lead to decreased performance levels. There's another way female athletes manage their periods, and that's by using a period tracker.

How do female athletes do with their menstrual cycle?

While periods may or may not affect a woman's athletic performance, the reverse occasionally occurs, meaning that a ton of exercise may sometimes cause irregular periods or periods to stop altogether. Also, low bone density and thus risk of fractures comes with this undernutrition state.

Is it harder to get toned on birth control?

The study, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research this past May found that oral contraceptive use impairs muscle gains in young women (in fact, that was the exact title of the study!).

Does birth control ruin gains?

Oral contraceptive use impairs muscle gains in young women. J Strength Cond Res 36(11): 3074-3080, 2022-Many active young women use oral contraceptives (OCs), yet their effects on the body composition and exercise performance have not been thoroughly studied.

Does taking birth control change your body shape?

Though large-scale reviews haven't found that the pill causes weight gain, it can change a woman's body shape and composition. There are three big reasons for this, and they have to do with muscle, fluid retention, and fat.

Do elite female athletes get their period?

It is known that female athletes underreport menstrual cycle disorders, with a prevalence of up to 40% in some studies [4]. Miller et al. found that 22% of athletes in lean-build sports would not report amenorrhea [12].

Why do gymnasts not have their period?

Excessive exercise can suppress the luteinizing hormone, which is the hormone which triggers ovulation in women and is necessary for normal reproductive health and sexual development.

How do Olympic swimmers deal with periods?

Most competitive swimmers and other swimmers rely on tampons when it comes to managing their periods while swimming. And according to a recent Knix study, they're the second most popular period product in general. Tampons have the advantage of being familiar.

Do female gymnasts menstruate?

All gymnasts in our study reported training for an average of 23–24 hours a week, and most of them began training at an early age (7–8 years)—that is, several years before puberty. It was therefore not surprising that only 21% of the gymnasts in this study reported regular menstrual cycles.

Do female athletes perform worse on their period?

Studies examining perceived performance consistently report that female athletes identify their performance to be relatively worse during the early follicular and late luteal phases.

Does birth hurt less in water?

“Contractions can also feel shorter and less intense in the warm, soothing water,” she adds. A water birth may be less stressful for your baby as well, and they may even cry less. “It may seem odd to practitioners who are used to babies being cold and crying as a sign that they are vigorous and well,” she says.

Are breastfed babies more athletic?

The researchers found that breastfed kids had about 5% greater cardiovascular fitness than those fed formula, and fitness was highest in children who had been breastfed exclusively for at least 3 months.

Is it easier to give birth while squatting?

Squatting helps open your pelvis, giving your baby more room to rotate as he or she moves through the birth canal. Squatting also might allow you to bear down more effectively when it's time to push.

Who should not be on hormonal birth control?

— Because of an increased risk of complications, you should not take the pill if you: Are 35 or older and smoke cigarettes (as this puts you at high risk for cardiovascular complications such as blood clots or heart attack). Could be pregnant.

Does estrogen affect athletic performance?

However, unlike bone and muscle where estrogen improves function, in tendons and ligaments estrogen decreases stiffness, and this directly affects performance and injury rates. High estrogen levels can decrease power and performance and make women more prone for catastrophic ligament injury.

What are the downsides of birth control?

The most common side effects are spotting or bleeding between periods (this is more common with progestin-only pills), sore breasts, nausea, or headaches. But these usually go away after 2 or 3 months, and they don't happen to everyone who takes the pill. Birth control shouldn't make you feel sick or uncomfortable.

Why does birth control make you curvy?

It's rare, but some women do gain a little bit of weight when they start taking birth control pills. It's often a temporary side effect that's due to fluid retention, not extra fat. A review of 44 studies showed no evidence that birth control pills caused weight gain in most women.