Rationale for eliminating the hormone-free interval in modern oral contraceptives

RATIONALE FOR MODIFYING THE 7-DAY HORMONE-FREE INTERVAL Risk of Escape Ovulation

display, view an d print a single c opy for persona l use Oral contraceptives are used by millions of women worldwide, and are the most common form of birth control chosen by Canadi n women.1 In Canada, 18% of women aged 15-49 use the combined oral contraceptive (COC), and of Canadian women who use contraception, 32% choose COCs as their primary form of birth control.2,3 Since the introduction ...

Oral contraceptives suppress ovarian hormone production.

Conclusions: the relative safety of modern oral contraceptives.

Published data on the relative safety of second and third generation oral contraceptives (OCs) is critically assessed. The original four studies published in 1995/1996 and their conclusions are examined in detail, including comments made by other investigators. Each study has advantages and flaws which are balanced in detail. Newer studies are then examined in the same manner. All recent papers...

Oral contraceptives cause evolutionarily novel increases in hormone exposure

Background and objectives: In the evolutionary past, women spent most of their reproductive lives either pregnant or in lactational amenorrhea, and rarely menstruated. The current pattern of frequent menses, and the associated increase in endogenous hormonal exposure, has been implicated in the current breast cancer epidemic. It is not known, however, whether oral contraceptives further increas...

Serum vitamin A status in women users of lowdose oral contraceptives and in postmenopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy.

Background: One of the most important nonenzymatic antioxidant defense systems is vitamin A, and is considered as an important dietary agent for reducing cardiovascular diseases. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the serum vitamin A status in women who used low-dose oral contraceptives (OCs) containing 0.15 mg levonorgestrol and 0.03 mg ethinyl estradiol and also in...