Contraception is important to women receiving treatment for cancer, but women with breast cancer may not receive the same type or degree of counseling given to women with other types of malignancy.
Tag: contraception
New Contraceptive Methods Change Birth Control Patterns
12:11AM EDT October 18. 2012 – The birth control pill and sterilization are still the most common forms of contraception, but new federal data released Thursday show that long-acting methods are gaining ground while condom use for birth control is declining.
The report from the National Center for Health Statistics is based on data from a national sample of 12,279 women ages 15-44 in 2006–2010 compared with a sample of 10,847 women those ages in 1995. Findings show that sterilization and the pill were used by either 27% or 28% of women in both sets of data, (28% in 1995 and 27% in 2006-10 for sterilization and 27% in 1995 and 28% in 2006-10 for the pill), but condoms as the most effective method of birth control declined from 20% to 16%. That decline was offset by a 75% increase in the use of other hormonal methods such as the patch or ring (from 4% to 7%) and a sevenfold increase (0.8% to 5.6%) in the intrauterine device (IUD). Such methods are among those deemed “long-acting” since they do not require daily or weekly attention. Read full article.
Women With Learning Disabilities Left Out of Contraception Decisions – UK
Women with learning disabilities are frequently left out of decisions concerning contraception, and often use contraceptives despite not being sexually active, show the results of a UK survey.
Just over a third of women included in the survey had been assessed under the UK Mental Capacity Act 2005 regarding contraception decisions, indicating that the Act’s strictures are not being implemented in full, say the researchers.
The findings also reveal that the most common form of contraception used in this population is the contraceptive implant, which must be reviewed regularly among women who may not be able to communicate their symptoms easily in the case of possible side effects, suggests the team. Read full article.
Contraceptive Economics
Americans passionately disagree about both the biology and the morality of contraception. Even many who skillfully practice what Thomas Robert Malthus termed the “improper arts” consider it a personal and, ideally, completely private choice.
But private choices are constrained by public policies. Both behavioral economics and recent empirical research help explain why access to long-acting, reliable, safe and reversible methods of contraception should be considered a public health priority. Read full article.
Young Women Often Don’t Resume Condom Use After Stopping Contraception
Adolescent girls who use hormonal contraceptive birth control, stop using condoms as often as they would have before, a finding seen in an alarming new study, conducted by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine. Researchers claim that when these young women stop taking their pills, they do not resume the use of condoms, which can result in the sexually transmitted infections, (STIs) and unwanted pregnancy.
The trial involved 1,194 young, sexually active girls between the ages of 15 and 24 who were going to Planned Parenthood clinics to start with contraceptive pills, injections, patches, or vaginal rings. All of these women were not planning to get pregnant within a year’s time. Read full article.
Oklahoma Lawmakers File Brief in Support of Regulating Emergency Contraception
OKLAHOMA CITY — Fifty-seven Oklahoma legislators filed a brief Wednesday in the Oklahoma Supreme Court defending a state law regulating emergency contraception.
In 2011, the legislature approved House bill 1970, which required Oklahoma physicians to administer such drugs in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines. At least eight women have died following the use of “abortion-inducing drugs” in an off-label, unapproved manner, according to a written statement by the Oklahoma State Senate. Read full article.
Misinformation, Stigma Plague Emergency Contraception in Hamilton
Misinformation, lack of awareness about accessibility and stigma may be a barrier to the use of emergency contraception in Hamilton, which has a higher rate of teenage pregnancies than the provincial average.
“Even in this day and age obviously there are a large number of unplanned pregnancies,” said Dr. Nicholas Leyland, Chairman of the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at McMaster University.
“When a woman finds herself in a situation where it’s necessary—whether the condom or something else—there is a need for post-coital birth control,” he added.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) said that more than half of Canadian women are unfamiliar with emergency birth control. To encourage greater awareness about emergency contraception–sometimes known as the “morning after pill”– the SOGC made a public appeal on World Conception Day (Sept. 26) to dispel some of the myths and misinformation surrounding its use and accessibility. Read full article.
How Some Parents Could Learn Adult Daughters’ Birth Control Habits
The 2010 health law removes one of the big barriers to contraception for many young women: cost. But if they don’t feel confident that the care they will receive is confidential, these women may not take advantage of it.
Under the health care overhaul, most new health plans and those that lose their grandfathered status have to cover many women’s preventive benefits, including contraception without out-of-pocket costs. Copayments for monthly packs of brand-name birth control pills can run as much as $40 or $50. Read full article.
Fed. Contraception Mandate Suit Dismissed in MO
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge in St. Louis has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the contraception mandate of the federal health care law, one of nearly three dozen similar lawsuits filed across the country.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Frank O’Brien and his company, O’Brien Industrial Holdings LLC of St. Louis, challenges the constitutionality of regulations in the health care law. Among other things, O’Brien, a devout Catholic, claimed the requirement that workplace health plans cover birth control infringes on his religious beliefs. Read full article.
Clinton, Others Announce Contraception Deal
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Prices for long-acting contraception will be halved for 27 million women in the developing world through a new partnership, former President Bill Clinton and other world leaders announced Wednesday.
The deal will help avoid almost 30 million unwanted pregnancies and save an estimated $250 million in health costs, the partnership said. By slowing down the pace of births and avoiding medical problems such as premature births, the partnership said about 30,000 maternal deaths and 280,000 child deaths can be avoided. Read full article.