On the surface, it might seem like simple common sense for women to take on most of the responsibility for not getting pregnant. For a start, most effective methods of contraception, such as the pill and the hormonal implant, work only in the female body (and men are apparently still reluctant to try anything similar themselves).

However, Dr Kimport tells ELLE.com that “it’s not just about having the medication in your body” – because female contraception carries with it all kinds of other pressures that are separate from its bodily impact, from remembering to take the pill to carving out time to pick up prescriptions and worrying about side effects.

Contraception is an emotional and mental burden for women, study finds