Previous evidence suggests that use of oral contraceptives, especially during adolescence, may increase women’s vulnerability to depression in the short term. On August 28, 2019, a new publication by Canadian researchers in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry restated this association. Does this prove causation? Is it time to stop prescribing birth control to adolescents? Let’s take a critical look at this new study, as well as a prior 2016 publication, plus a 2018 systematic review, and provide clinical guidelines and perspectives.
