Reliable, safe contraception is a boon to women, families, and children, according to a Guttmacher Institute review that looked at more than 66 studies over 30 years. When couples plan to become parents, family relationships are better than when a pregnancy is unplanned.

But apparently it depends on what contraception is used.

A new study out of Uppsala University found that women who used contraceptive pills that combined progestogen (similar to the hormone progesterone) and estrogen were 73% more likely to become depressed during the first two years of use than women using other or no forms of birth control.

And if they started using the combo contraceptive as a teenager, they had a 130% higher incidence of depression — and that depression persisted even when they stopped taking the two-hormone pill.

If you experience symptoms of depression — fatigue, apathy, sadness, or mood swings — while on the combo pill, you may want to consider the lower-dose mini-pill, an extended monophasic birth control pill, or nonhormonal contraception such as a copper IUD.

How about developing a male oral contraceptive? A study published in Nature Communications found that in mice it's possible to suppress an enzyme that makes sperm swim, and the same enzyme is what energizes human sperm. Block that enzyme and sperm can't reach a fertilizable egg. Maybe that will become an option.

For now, try a low-dose contraceptive vaginal ring. That's what our expert advisors tell us to tell you. Ask your healthcare practitioner about it.