UPDATE on CONTRACEPTION

NEW DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE CHANGING PATIENT CARE

CONTRACEPTION

Implanon approved … Why the FDA removed ParaGard’s parity rule … Plan B does not promote high-risk behavior

Department of Obstetrics,
Gynecology, and Reproductive
Sciences, San Francisco General
Hospital, University of California,
San Francisco

Three new developments this year stand to make a difference in the high rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States. Increased use of highly effective, long-acting, user-independent methods is an effective way to lower the rate of unintended pregnancies in couples using contraception. Two such methods are the contraceptive implant and the intrauterine contraceptive. Emergency contraception is an effective way to reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy after failure of a contraceptive method or unprotected or forced sex. A randomized trial showed that direct access to EC does not increase high-risk behavior.

Half of pregnancies are unintended