This was a comparative study of side effects and acceptability of low-dose pills administered by the oral and vaginal rout. In an experimental clinical trial study, undesirable side effects of nausea, dysmenorrhea, breast tenderness, gastrointestinal disorders, vertigo, headache, and breakthrough bleeding (BTB) were studied. The participants of the case and the control groups were the same wome...

Key Points A number of studies suggest that current use of oral contraceptives (birth control pills) appears to slightly increase the risk of breast cancer, especially among younger women. However, the risk level goes back to normal 10 years or more after discontinuing oral contraceptive use. Women who use oral contraceptives have reduced risks of ovarian and endometrial cancer. This protective...

BACKGROUND Contraceptive implants, the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG IUS), and the copperbearing intrauterine device (IUD) are long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) with high contraceptive effectiveness. The cumulative pregnancy rates in the first 3 years of use of LARCs is 0.9 per 100 woman-years. In comparison, the percentages of women experiencing an unintended pr...

AIM To review milestones in development of oral contraceptive pills since their introduction in the US 50 years ago in order to better understand how a new formulation with low-dose estrogen in an extended-cycle pattern fits into the evolution of birth control pills. METHODS This is a review of trends in the development of various birth controls pills and includes data from phase III clinical...

OBJECTIVE To determine American teenagers' awareness of and knowledge about emergency contraceptive pills and their likelihood to use them. METHODS We conducted a nationally representative telephone survey between March 28, 1996, and May 5, 1996, of 1510 teenagers (757 girls and 753 boys), aged 12 to 18 years, living in the continental United States in households with telephones. The sample o...

OBJECTIVE To estimate how number of oral contraceptive pill packages dispensed relates to subsequent pregnancies and abortions. METHODS We linked 84,401 women who received oral contraceptives through the California family planning program in January 2006 to Medi-Cal pregnancy events and births conceived in 2006. We compared pregnancy rates for women who received a 1-year supply of oral contra...

OBJECTIVE To summarize evidence regarding current demand for on-demand oral contraception. STUDY DESIGN We used Medline and collegial contacts to find published and unpublished studies conducted or reported in the past 15 years with information assessing women's interest in using any oral drug preparation, including emergency contraceptive pills, in a coitus-dependent manner either repeatedly...

OBJECTIVE Pharmacokinetic interactions exist between combined oral contraceptives and protease inhibitors (PI). However, such information is lacking for progestin-only oral contraception. We sought to define the steady-state pharmacokinetic interaction between norethindrone (NET) and PI in HIV-infected women. METHODS AND DESIGN We conducted an open-label, prospective, nonrandomized trial to c...