Women who are abused by their partner or ex-partner are much less likely to use contraception, which exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases and more frequent unintended pregnancies and abortions. When they do use contraception, these women are less likely to use condoms and more likely to resort to contraceptive methods that they don’t need to discuss with their partners, like contraceptive injections or sterilization in developing countries, or intrauterine devices in Western countries.
Tag: contraception
Colorado Debates Whether IUDs Are Contraception Or Abortion
A popular contraception program in Colorado is receiving criticism from conservative lawmakers who say that the program’s use of intrauterine devices, or IUDs, qualify as abortions.
A Brief History of Contraception
In the March issue of The Atlantic, Olga Khazan investigates the future of birth control, from remote-controlled implants to a pill for men. The use of contraceptives dates all the way back to 1850 B.C., when women in ancient Egypt used honey, acacia leaves, and lint to block sperm. This two-minute animation traces the history of contraception through the centuries, from sea sponges (500 B.C.), linen sheath condoms (1564), lemon cervical caps (1700), and the “rhythm method” (1920) to modern advancements such as vaginal rings, hormone injections, IUDs, and patches.
New Male Birth Control Options In The Works
Women have been largely in charge of making sure unwanted pregnancies
don’t happen unexpectedly due to the availability of various forms of
contraception. While men have the obvious choice of using condoms or in
extreme cases going for the snip (and there have been talks of a future
pill-form for men), other potentially affective options are in research
stage.
IUDs Can Be Practical for Teenagers, But Pediatricians May Lack Training in their Use
When Wendy Swanson started out as a pediatrician eight years ago, it never crossed her mind to bring up the option of intrauterine devices — an insertable form of long-acting contraception — when she had her regular birth-control discussions with teenage patients who were sexually active.But Swanson’s approach changed after a casual conversation with her sister-in-law. This relative wasn’t a doctor, but she worked at the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, and she told Swanson that the devices could be used as a first choice of contraception for teenagers. Now Swanson regularly discusses IUDs, which are more than 99 percent effective, in her Seattle practice.
Understanding the Worldwide Contraception Crisis
In the richer parts of the world, contraception is often seen as a vital means of maintaining control over one’s life, but the prospect of an unwanted pregnancy isn’t, for most people and for the most part, a life-and-death issue. That’s not true for women in less developed parts of the world, though; there, as the authors of a new study in Human Reproduction point out, citing World Health Organization research, “after becoming pregnant without intention, many of these women are presented with a stark set of scenarios: risk of death, disability and lower educational and employment potential.” Their children also face heightened risks of dying at a very young age.
Lobbying for Better Access to Contraception
On the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision that legalized abortion, hundreds of women lobbied Virginia lawmakers in person or by e-mail, asking them to increase access to contraception and repeal the state’s mandatory ultrasound law for women seeking an abortion.
Politics and Women’s Fertility
We are used to public discussions about contraception and abortion; in those areas, there are strong opinions and often vehement disagreement about women’s decisions. There is, however, much less information and discussion in the public square about declining fertility; in fact, there is appalling ignorance about women’s “window of fertility.”
Depo-Provera May Hike HIV Risk in Women
Increased rates of HIV infection were seen among women using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo-Provera or DMPA), whereas other methods of contraception including oral contraceptive pills or norethisterone enanthate (Net-En, an injectable progestin steroid) did not, according to a new meta-analysis.
The IUD Comeback Continues Apace
New data, released last week as part of the National Survey of Family Growth, finds that 6.4 percent of women ages 15-to-44 are currently relying on intrauterine devices (IUDs) as a method of contraception. While this lags behind those who are using the pill (16 percent) and even sterilization (15.5 percent), it shows a renewed interest and increased trust in a highly effective birth control method that had fallen out of favor. This is good news for public health advocates—many of whom believe that long-acting methods like the IUD are the key to preventing unintended pregnancy in this country.