In this week’s issue of The BMJ, Vinogradova and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.h2135) report the results of a large study on the effects of combined oral contraceptives on the risk of venous thromboembolism, conducted in two large United Kingdom databases: the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and QResearch. The authors identified over 10 500 cases of VTE in women aged 15-49 years and ar...

During the past 40 years, combined oral contraceptives (COCs) have become a key component of modern fertility regulation programmes. Today, an estimated 100 million women throughout the world use this method of contraception. With such wide-spread usage, it is perhaps not surprising that COCs have been the subject of extensive medical research.

BACKGROUND Awareness of emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) associated with an intention to use other contraceptive methods has rarely been investigated. This study compared the ECP awareness of males and females and its associations with intention to use four other contraceptive methods (condoms, oral contraceptive pills, and withdrawal and rhythm methods) in unmarried university students in K...

BACKGROUND The Clyk™ digital pill dispenser helps ensure correct and consistent administration of a flexible extended regimen of the combined oral contraceptive, ethinylestradiol (EE) 20 μg/drospirenone 3 mg (EE/drospirenone ; YAZ(®) Flex Flex), guiding users through the intake cycle and 4-day pill break and providing visible and acoustic daily reminders when pill intake is due. A study showed ...

To cite: Percy L, Mansour D. J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2013;39:237–240. BACKGROUND The combined oral contractive pill (COC) has been available for over 50 years but are we providing women with the regimens they want? As far back as 1977, Louden et al. reported the use of 84 active pills with a 7-day break to free women from monthly periods, yet menstrual manipulation is underused today. So...