It Takes Two to Avoid Pregnancy: Addressing Conflicting Perceptions of Birth Control Pill Responsibility in Romantic Relationships

Abstract

While birth control pills are one of the most common forms of contraception, their usage has several emotional and physical costs, such as taking the pill daily and experiencing hormonal side effects. The burden of these tasks in relationships generally falls on the pill user with minimal involvement from their partner. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with pill users and their partners to investigate the differences between their perceived current and ideal divisions of birth control responsibility. During the interview, we presented a collaborative birth control tracking app prototype to examine how such technology can overcome these discrepancies. We found that pill users were unsatisfied with their partners' engagement in contraceptive tasks but did not communicate this well. Meanwhile, partners wanted to contribute more to pregnancy prevention but did not know how. When presented with our app prototype, users and partners stated that our design could address these issues by improving communication between users and partners. In particular, users appreciated how technology could increase engagement and support from their partner, and partners liked that our app presented several concrete ways to become more involved and show emotional support. However, privacy issues exist given the sensitive nature of contraception. We highlight design considerations that should be kept in mind about privacy while recognizing pill users' efforts and promoting partners' involvement.