Forget massive hauls and addictive dance challenges – your next swipe on TikTok might land you in a rabbit hole of birth control misinformation. One quick input of “birth control” into TikTok’s search engine and a barrage of titles promising the “secret” to managing your reproductive health instantaneously pop up.  

“Birth control body change,” “birth control that doesn’t make you fat,” and “birth control side effects,” may seem informative at first glance, but they often cherry-pick information, exaggerate side effects, or advocate for unproven contraception alternatives.

Senior Madi Brown, like many young women, has encountered these narratives firsthand, primarily on Instagram. “I’ve seen that the side effects [of hormonal birth control] are really bad and that they happen to everyone, and it’s usually two side effects. You gain a lot of weight, and you get a lot of acne.”

This raises grave concern among healthcare professionals. Most of these TikTok personalities contributing to the epidemic of healthcare misinformation have not obtained medical degrees or any science-based expertise.

Influencers deeming themselves “Women’s Health Mentors” or “Hormone and Health Coaches” recommend that their viewers turn to natural solutions, promising organic miracles alongside horror stories about severe weight gain and infertility linked to hormonal contraceptives. In an era where abortion restrictions and bans are tightening, failed attempts at preventing pregnancy can be particularly precarious.

Hormonal birth control methods, such as the pill, Nexplanon implants and IUDs release estrogen, progesterone, progestin (the synthetic version of naturally produced progesterone) or some combination of the three to block egg fertilization. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services specified that these hormones work by thickening cervical mucus, without fundamentally altering your entire hormonal system. 

Some of these TikTokers, such as @itsnaturallynat promote the “Rhythm Method” to their viewers, which is the idea of aligning sexual intercourse with menstrual cycles, and avoiding sex during ovulation. This style of natural family planning is one of the least effective forms of contraception, according to Mayo Clinic. No form of birth control will work for every patient. Thus, perpetuating this idea can endanger many, especially younger generations that are largely dependent on social media for information. 

@itsnaturallynat is not alone. On @ratedlaur’s TikTok account is a “birth control horror story” playlist, consisting of 11 videos delving into her negative experience with birth control. Videos on her feed like “GRWM: for an MRI (i got a tumor from birth control)” are available next to “UNBOX & SET UP MY IPHONE 15 PRO MAX WITH ME.” The juxtaposition of terrifying stories and lighthearted content on her account can trivialize a serious health topic, and create a misleading impression of what credible birth control information should look like.

Dr. Megan Evans is a practicing OB/GYN and co-host of The O + G Advocates Podcast. “What I remind patients is that it’s not uncommon for patients who have bad experiences with contraception to be more vocal than patients who have positive experiences with their birth control method,” Evans said. She emphasized that although there are cases of people having negative side effects as a result of birth control, every patient will have different experiences with different forms of contraception. 

Brown is an example of a birth control user with a positive experience. “I’ve gotten really lucky, I personally have literally no side effects,” she said. 

Associate Dean of Health and Wellness, Jodie Goldberg, discussed how she and the health center at Masters are actively working to infuse the curriculum with substantive health literacy amidst the online misinformation tidal wave. 

“Most online sources that teenagers these days access are TikTok, and [I have] even had students say they got their information from Reddit. I don’t mind people looking at ideas that are out there, but [the health class] goes through which sources are actually reliable,” she said. Goldberg also highlighted the importance of “sourcing information directly from a professional, not an Instagram or TikTok account.”

Evans explained one of the main misunderstandings her patients have: fears of infertility. “I would say a common misconception I hear is that birth control will cause infertility and that it’s bad to be on birth control for a number of years.” She continued, “I do hear the infertility concern quite a lot, and there have been studies on this that have shown that [birth control] does not impact fertility in the future for patients.”

Especially among patients of hers in their twenties, Evans fields questions about testing for fertility. “I think it kind of goes in line with the social media that [Evans’ patients in their 20s are] using, which is more TikTok. And what’s challenging about the algorithms is that as you start searching for ‘contraception,’ you get more information – or disinformation – about contraception.”

Evans added,  “I think a lot of my job, whether it’s patients coming in specifically to request something they saw on social media, is to try to educate patients because I think that there is a lot of misinformation.”

A recent article from the Washington Post reported that women across the U.S. are falling prey to false factoids from social media “Health Coaches.” One of the challenges in navigating this misinformation minefield lies in discernment. The average person struggles to differentiate between a licensed professional and a charismatic yet utterly unqualified individual. 

Goldberg said, “There are a lot of professionals who have pages on various forms of social media.  Most of those who are licensed will have disclaimers and be very careful about the information that they distribute, because they’re risking their license to provide information to the public. So, for those who are willing to provide a lot of medical or medically-related information publicly, it’s worth further investigation into their credentials.”

A possible explanation for why so many young women are more comfortable taking medical advice from these “Health Coaches” than their physicians is the inequity they face in medical offices. Testimonies about gaslighting in women’s health are not uncommon, and a study published in Academic Emergency Medicine found that women with severe stomach pain had to wait longer than male patients to receive pain medication, and were less likely to receive any pain treatment at all.  

In order to not succumb to birth control misinformation, Evans said, “I think that I think people should be really cautious of what they hear on social media. Especially [content] demonizing contraception, because it is no secret that the people who want to restrict abortion access, also want to restrict access to contraception and IVF. So, you know, I would encourage people to really think critically when they hear that information to make sure that it’s credible.”