JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Most online and social media discussions about birth control methods for women center on side effects, highlighting a demand for shared experiences with these products. Online user reviews and ratings of birth control products offer a largely untapped supplementary resource that could assist women and their partners in making informed contraception choices.

Objective:

This study seeks to analyze women’s online ratings and reviews of various birth control methods, focusing on side effects linked to low product ratings.

Methods:

Using topic modeling and descriptive statistics, this study analyzes 19,506 unique reviews of female contraceptive products posted on Drugs.com.

Results:

Ratings vary widely across contraception types. Hormonal contraceptives with high systemic absorption, such as progestin-only pills and extended-cycle pills, receive more non-favorable reviews than other methods and women frequently describe menstrual irregularities, continuous bleeding, and weight gain associated with their administration. IUDs are generally rated more positively, though about one in ten users report severe cramps and pain which are linked to very poor ratings.

Conclusions:

While exploratory, this study highlights the potential of NLP in analyzing extensive online reviews to reveal insights into women’s experiences with contraceptives and the impact of side effects on their overall well-being. In addition to results from clinical studies, NLP-derived insights from online reviews can provide complementary information for women and healthcare providers, despite possible biases in online reviews. The findings suggest a need for further research to validate links between specific side effects, contraception methods and women’s overall well-being.