Feature Neuroscience

Is taking birth control as a teen linked to depression? It’s complicated

It’s hard to study hormones and the teen brain

birth control pills

Hormonal birth control pills give women control over their lives. But whether the pill has any effect on teenage brains is not settled.

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By Laura Sanders

- More than 2 years ago

“Does the pill cause depression?” the news headline asked. Prompted by a recent study that described a link between taking birth control pills as a teenager and depression in adulthood, the news got some doctors hopping mad.