Elon Musk criticises hormonal birth control in viral post on Twitter

Elon Musk has made his opinions clear on hormonal birth control after a tweet he shared about the medication went viral on Twitter.

The Tesla founder told his 173 million followers that, "Hormonal birth control makes you fat, doubles risk of depression & triples risk of suicide." He added, "This is the clear scientific consensus, but very few people seem to know it."

Musk also shared in the thread a story from Time Magazine which linked birth control to a "higher risk of suicide" as well as a study from the National Institute of Medicine which looked at the risks of "hormonal contraception and suicide."

The tech giant insisted that there was a "clear scientific consensus", behind his claims, with the tweet generating over 41 million views, 200,000 likes and over 16,000 comments, with some women sharing previous negative experiences of being on birth control.

Musk is known for making startling claims on X that often go viral. In a tweet in August 2022 he stated that "Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming". In this thread when asked, "Is having kids the only solution?", Musk answered, "Yes".

Doctors in both the US and UK have been taking to social media to point out the flaws in Musk's statement.

In a reel on Instagram, Dr Karen Tang, MD acknowledged: "Yes, we need a LOT more research, options, treatments for Gyn conditions because we basically use birth control for everything."

But added, referencing laws against abortion in the US: "fear-mongering without a more nuanced discussion of the alternatives and the risks of pregnancy - especially now when unwanted pregnancies can lead to criminal charges in certain states - is NOT the way!"

Whilst in the UK, Dr Nighat Arif, the resident doctor for BBC Breakfast and This Morning also took to Instagram to address Musk's comments about weight gain and suicide risk.

Dr Arif said: "Hormonal birth control has the same risk of weight gain as copper IUD. Some people may experience temporary weight gain when they first start taking the pill, but this is often fluid retention rather than fat.

"The risk of suicide is not greater on hormonal contraceptives. As with any medication, a percentage of patients do have adverse responses & this is especially obvious among patients with reproductive hormone sensitivities."

Adding: "PLEASE do not stop your hormonal contraceptives as the risk of an UNWANTED PREGNANCY increases if you are having unprotected sex."

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.