14 times celebrities spoke about birth control and its effects

In a 2019 interview with Refinery29, Bieber shared that starting birth control for the first time "threw off my hormones" and "made my skin go off."

"I talked about it with my doctor and came to find it's because the hormones from the birth control mess with your natural balance," she said. "You just have to be patient, let it happen, and let it even out. For me, I'd take that over having a baby right now, so ..."

Halsey opened up in a 2016 tweet about having endometriosis, a disorder that causes the tissue that normally lines the uterus to grow outside of it, which can be extremely painful.

Over a year later, Halsey defended the use of birth control to a Twitter user (who has since deleted their tweet), writing that the prescription helps with the pain and the scar tissue "cementing" her organs together.

Since the 1950s, birth-control pills have been one of the most effective ways to alleviate pain caused by the disorder since it is relatively safer to take over a long period of time.

In a 2012 video with Planned Parenthood, Banks shared that the organization is important to her since it served as her healthcare provider after she graduated college and didn't have insurance.

She went on to say that she got birth control through Planned Parenthood for "my massive migraine headaches and my heavy flow."

"Yeah, I'm on record saying I have a heavy flow," she added. "And unfortunately, these are the types of things that I don't want to discuss with employers."

While partnered with Proactiv, Jenner spoke with Refinery29 in 2019 about her experience with acne since she was 14 years old.

"Before that, I may have gotten one or two zits here and there," she said. "But never bad. My entire forehead was covered in little milia. And then it just grew from there. It started to happen all over my face — milia and also gnarly zits."

Jenner said she got on birth control at 16 years old, which quelled her breakouts. But once she had to get off of it in 2018 due to health issues, her acne came back.

During a 2017 episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," the reality-TV star opened up about her decision to go off birth control after a trip to a fertility doctor in which she discovered she had fewer follicles on her uterus than most people her age.

According to Marie Claire, Kardashian's doctor, fertility specialist Dr. Andy Huang, advised her to consider going off birth control to see if the follicles would grow back.

After following his advice, she found she had a normal amount of follicles at the follow-up appointment.

The Washington Post reported on a 2014 study that found although birth control can make ovaries appear older, it doesn't prematurely age eggs, so fertility tests performed on people using this medication may be inaccurate.

In a 2017 op-ed in The New York Times, Dunham called birth control a "crucial, even lifesaving, medical treatment" for people living with endometriosis and a range of other health conditions.

"... I was found to have endometriosis at age 27," Dunham wrote. "(This delay is not unusual, and the average woman suffers for years before she is given a diagnosis.) My only savior during much of that time? Oral contraception."

In September 2018, Cardi B celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary with her husband, Offset, who was touring at the time, BET reported. The anniversary was a few months after Cardi B gave birth to her first daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus, in July.

The rapper tweeted about their upcoming reunion, writing that she may need to "pop 2 plan Bs," a form of emergency contraception. Notably, taking more than one Plan B doesn't make it more effective.

But while the star was in Italy for Milan Fashion Week several days later, she paused on an Instagram live.

"I need to take a f---ing Plan B. Do they sell Plan B in Italy?" she said in the clip. "I'll figure it out ... 'cause the other day was a little crazy."

Plan B has a 95% chance of success within 24 hours of unprotected sex and an 89% chance of success if taken within 72 hours but becomes less effective after that window.

In a 2015 speech she delivered at her alma mater, Harvard University, Portman shared that the side effects she experienced while taking birth control were more than just physical.

"Some combination of being 19, dealing with my first heartbreak, taking birth-control pills that have since been taken off the market for their depressive side effects, and spending too much time missing daylight during winter months, led me to some pretty dark moments," she said.

Although it's unclear which pills Portman took, a 2016 study found that depression and mood swings are possible side effects of several forms of hormonal contraception, particularly progesterone-only varieties.

In 2012, former Nickelodeon star Spears spoke with Glamour about her experience being a teen mom, mentioning the stigma that made her hesitant to ask for birth control.

"I believe in safety and birth control as prevention," Spears said. "But like many young girls … I was really scared to go to the doctor."

"And I was on a Nickelodeon show, and it [felt] especially embarrassing to ask someone to put me on birth control," she added. "I didn't want to ask my doctor, because she had a little girl."

During a 2017 appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Simpson was quick to shut down any pregnancy rumors and made it clear that she was not planning on having another baby anytime soon.

"We got an IUD," she said. "Nothing's going to get in that uterus."

"I have two beautiful children, and I'm not having a third," she added.

IUDs can be removed at any time, and the star later welcomed her third child in 2019.

In 2014, accomplished ballerina Copeland wrote an essay for Self about the extreme standards she faced in the dance world and shared that at 19 years old, she still hadn't gotten her period. So after an injury, her doctor prescribed her birth control.

"My doctor told me I needed to start menstruating because the hormones would help strengthen my bones, and he put me on the Pill," she wrote. "Almost overnight, my body was transformed."

"In one month, I gained 10 pounds, mostly in my stomach, and my 30B breasts swelled to double D," she continued.

Copeland added that she had lost some of the gained weight after "finding a better birth control regimen" and wrote about learning to feel confident about the changes her body was going through.

Refinery29 reported that in an Instagram comment, Aiko discussed her beauty routine and said one of the secrets to her glowing skin was birth control.

"I [used] to have cystic acne due to ovarian cyst," the singer-songwriter wrote. "The b.c. helps w/ that."

As an advocate for the #NoHormonesPlz initiative, Bush spoke to Well and Good in 2017 about nonhormonal birth-control options and the widespread lack of education on the topic.

She pointed out that although hormonal options like the pill or an IUD work for some people, they don't for everyone.

"If you're someone who treats period pain or cystic acne with some version of a hormone that helps you, that's amazing," she said. "But if you don't react well to hormonal medication and you don't know about your alternative options, that's not OK."

Nonhormonal contraceptive options include condoms, diaphragms, and cycle-tracking apps.

During an interview with Health.com, Michele talked about her experience with acne and polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, which is a hormonal disorder that can lead to symptoms like infertility, hair loss, and breakouts, among many others.

"Growing up, I had terrible skin. I went on Accutane three times. I was put on every medication that you could imagine to help my skin," she said. "Luckily, birth control was a savior for me when I was in my teens."

"And then when I was in my late 20s, I realized I wanted to detox my body of all medications," the "Glee" star added. "That's when everything happened — the return to bad skin and, this time, weight gain. I didn't know what was going on."

Michele said she realized medication wasn't for her and was also later diagnosed with PCOS, which she manages through her diet.