About 62% of U.S. women from ages 15 to 44 use some form of contraception, and predictably, the pill is still the most popular. About 16% of women used it in 2011-2013, finds the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. But the second most popular contraceptive may come as a surprise to many: 15.5% of women—just a hair behind the pill—choose female sterilization.
Tag: contraception
Return of the Rhythm Method
Tired of condoms and the Pill, many women are turning to new apps that help them practice one of the oldest forms of contraception.
Can You Imagine a World Without Condoms for Safe Sex?
Currently, women who want to both avoid an unplanned pregnancy and prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have no choices other than the male or female condom. But there are new forms of female-focused methods in development that combine contraception with the prevention of STIs – including HIV – and they’re called Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (MPTs). Public health leaders expect that they will change the face of women’s global health.
Emergency Contraception Not Covered by Health Plans
Emergency contraception, also known as the morning after pill or “Plan B”, is available over the counter. This means that you do not need a physician’s note to get it. It also means that health insurance plans generally do not cover it, along with other over-the-counter medicines like those for heartburn or urinary tract infections. The cost of emergency contraception ranges from $50 to $70.
Health-Care Company Looks to Increase Emergency Contraceptive Use by Cutting Price in Half
A health-care company founded last fall is looking to increase the number of women using emergency contraception (EC) in one simple way: by cutting its price in half.
How the Pill Overcame Impossible Odds And Found a Place in Millions of Women’s Purses
Margaret Sanger promised it would be “a miracle tablet.” Hugh Hefner hailed it as “a powerful weapon.” A 30-year-old woman with six children called it “my ray of hope.” The pill is now so common—four out of five sexually active women have used it—that it’s easy to forget that oral contraception was once the stuff of fantasy.
Pediatrics Group Says IUDs Teens’ Best Birth Control Choice
Pediatricians, take note: From now on, IUDs are the first-line choice for adolescents seeking long-term contraception.
Pill Becomes Passe as Women Urged to Consider Other Forms of Contraception
Having sexually liberated women for over half a century, the pill is now becoming passe. Family planning advisers are urging women and clinicians to consider alternative methods of contraception such as long-acting reversible contraception, or LARCs, which have overtaken the pill in terms of convenience and effectiveness and have fewer side-effects.
19th-Century Classified Ads for Abortifacients and Contraceptives
This compilation of classified ads, from the New York Herald and the New York Sun, shows how contraception, cures for sexually transmitted diseases, abortifacients, and abortion services were advertised in New York City during one week in December, 1841.
Senate Democrats Set With Military Contraception Bill
Senate Democrats plan to introduce a bill Wednesday that would require military health care to cover all forms of contraception without co-pays — similar to the coverage required under Obamacare