Listen free for 30 days

  • This Is Your Brain on Birth Control

  • How the Pill Changes Everything
  • Written by: Sarah Hill
  • Narrated by: Nan McNamara
  • Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (86 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
This Is Your Brain on Birth Control cover art

This Is Your Brain on Birth Control

Written by: Sarah Hill
Narrated by: Nan McNamara
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $35.09

Buy Now for $35.09

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

An eye-opening book that reveals crucial information every woman taking hormonal birth control should know

This groundbreaking book sheds light on how hormonal birth control affects women—and the world around them—in ways we are just now beginning to understand. By allowing women to control their fertility, the birth control pill has revolutionized women's lives. Women are going to college, graduating, and entering the workforce in greater numbers than ever before, and there's good reason to believe that the birth control pill has a lot to do with this. But there's a lot more to the pill than meets the eye.

Although women go on the pill for a small handful of targeted effects (pregnancy prevention and clearer skin, yay!), sex hormones can't work that way. Sex hormones impact the activities of billions of cells in the body at once, many of which are in the brain. There, they play a role in influencing attraction, sexual motivation, stress, hunger, eating patterns, emotion regulation, friendships, aggression, mood, learning, and more. This means that being on the birth control pill makes women a different version of themselves than when they are off of it. And this is a big deal. For instance, women on the pill have a dampened cortisol spike in response to stress. While this might sound great (no stress!), it can have negative implications for learning, memory, and mood. Additionally, because the pill influences who women are attracted to, being on the pill may inadvertently influence who women choose as partners, which can have important implications for their relationships once they go off it. Sometimes these changes are for the better...but other times, they're for the worse. By changing what women's brains do, the pill also has the ability to have cascading effects on everything and everyone that a woman encounters. This means that the reach of the pill extends far beyond women's own bodies, having a major impact on society and the world.

This paradigm-shattering book provides an even-handed, science-based understanding of who women are, both on and off the pill. It will change the way that women think about their hormones and how they view themselves. It also serves as a rallying cry for women to demand more information from science about how their bodies and brains work and to advocate for better research. This book will help women make more informed decisions about their health, whether they're on the pill or off of it.

*Includes a PDF of figures from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Sarah Hill (P)2019 Penguin Audio

More from the same

What listeners say about This Is Your Brain on Birth Control

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    73
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Insightful information!

Highly recommend this book as it gets s filled with lots of science to help women better understand the pill and know their options.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read!

This book was very interesting. Things I have never even thought about before. A lot of it is relatable and very interesting. I am sharing all my knowledge I have learned with my friends and mom. Some of the information is quite shocking to even think is going on. It makes you really think about things.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • HH
  • 2023-04-07

Wow

This book is fascinating and really delivers on its claim to help women make informed decisions about their bodies. Some of this information blew my mind, and a lot of it was deeply validating as well. The science/psychology nerd in me really appreciated the data, and her interpretation was often honest and accessible. If you’re on the fence about listening to this one, do it!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lots to think about

I would recommend this for mothers with daughters and any women using or planning to use contraceptives. A lot of great information to question and consider.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Game changer

The information provided absolutely delivers author’s intention of helping women making a better more educated decision when it comes to a pill. Absolutely loved this book! Huge plus, Sarah is very funny!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • E
  • 2022-01-21

eye opening book!

incredibly written and the perfect balance science and humor to prevent it from getting dry. made me reconsider my birth control options having been on the pill for four years.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting

I learned so much listening to this book, thank you for sharing your knowledge in a very informative book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Eye-opening and relatable

A really interesting book that is funny and humble. Women who have used hormonal contraceptives can likely related to some if not most of the information. For me, it hit the nail on the head and helped me make an informed decision about my future in use of hormonal contraceptives. I hope in the near future we will begin to study these effects most closely and take better care in our decisions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Informative

100% would recommend this book, Decided to listen to this because I was having concerns about my birth control, and it solidified my choice to stop taking hormonal birth control.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Insightful but simple

The book provides insight at a level that anyone can understand. I wish it were a little more science-heavy though because a lot was redundant generalization

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!