Oh Baby! A Content Analysis of Contraception Pins on Pinterest

• Published in: Health education & behavior Vol. 50; no. 6; pp. 783 - 791
• Main Authors: Kohler, Tessa, Guidry, Jeanine P. D., Perrin, Paul, Laestadius, Linnea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2023; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Birth control; Coding; Communication (Thought Transfer); Content Analysis; Contraception; Contraceptives; Devices; Fertility; Health belief model; Health beliefs; Health care facilities; Health information; Health Services; Infants; Information Seeking; Intrauterine devices; IUD; Mass media; Oral contraceptives; Pregnancy; Risk assessment; Side effects; Social Media; Statistical analysis; fertility awareness; health communication; contraception; social media
• ISSN: 1090-1981; 1552-6127; 1552-6127
• DOI: 10.1177/10901981231152238

Background: Social media platforms have become a popular source for health information despite concerns about the quality of content shared. We examined how oral contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices are framed on the platform Pinterest using the Health Belief Model (HBM), as well as how fertility awareness methods are portrayed as an alternative to hormonal contraception. Methods: We collected pins in February 2021 using searches for birth control, oral contraceptives, and intrauterine devices. After excluding paid ads and pins not relevant to contraceptive use, we conducted a content analysis of 404 pins using a coding framework grounded in the HBM. We carried out descriptive statistics for all variables in the final sample. Results: Following coding, we found that 54.7% of pins mentioned oral contraceptive pills, 41.58% mentioned intrauterine devices, and 11.63% mentioned fertility awareness methods. Fertility awareness pins had the highest percentage of benefits conveyed (70.21%), followed by intrauterine devices (44.05%), then oral contraceptive pills (38.91%). Pill pins had the highest percentage of barriers conveyed (52.94%) and fertility awareness had the least (25.53%). Side effects were the most mentioned barrier among pill (37.10%) and intrauterine device pins (23.21%). Very few pins were made by (2.48%) or originated with medical institutions (5.45%). Conclusions: Oral contraceptive pills are often negatively framed on Pinterest, whereas intrauterine devices and fertility awareness methods are more positively framed. This suggests a need for clear communication from clinicians regarding all contraceptive options and their relative merits and risks.