To determine the effectiveness of contraceptive use a two year audit of pregnant women registered in one group practice was carried out. The methods of contraception used by women with unplanned pregnancies were studied and the rates of failure assessed. Of the 518 pregnancies during the study, 187 (36%) were unplanned. Unplanned pregnancies were most common in the 15-19 age group (54 out of 18...

In “The Cutest Little Baby Face: A Hormonal Link to Sensitivity to Cuteness in Infant Faces,” Sprengelmeyer et al. (2009) reported results from three fascinating studies designed to test humans’ ability to discriminate among infants on the basis of cuteness. The first study indicated that women of reproductive age are superior to men and older women in this regard, and the second study revealed...

High contraceptive discontinuation results in millions of women having an unmet need for contraception. However, its contribution to unintended fertility is not known. Reproductive calendar data in Demographic and Health Surveys in 36 countries are used to estimate the percent of unintended recent births attributable to contraceptive discontinuation. Contraceptive discontinuation accounted for ...

Discontinuation of contraception is a major problem in Kenya. Even though they want to space or limit their births, over a quarter of contraceptive injectable users discontinue use of the method within 12 months of beginning use. Fourteen focus group discussions were conducted in Nyando District, Kenya among current contraceptive injectable users and their salient reference groups (e.g. husband...

BACKGROUND In India, a large proportion of women with an unmet need for contraception are within their first year after childbirth. Therefore, concentrating efforts to educate postpartum women on the importance of attending contraceptive clinics could have a proportionally bigger impact on increasing postpartum contraception usage. METHODS Hundred and seventy-eight (178) women were followed u...

In this issue Natural Family Planning ................................................ 2 Menstrual Cycle ........................................................... 13 Contraception .............................................................. 15 Under the Microscope .................................................... 16 Oral Contraceptives, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Breastfeeding and the ...

Blood pressure was recorded in 106 females taking oral contraceptives for a variable period and compared with 106 age matched controls using other methods of contraception. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher in women taking oral contraceptives. A significant correlation of ponderal index with systolic and diastolic blood pressures was present in each group....

Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are safe for use in adolescents and do not rely on compliance or adherence for effectiveness. Continuation rates are higher and pregnancy rates are lower for adolescent users of LARCs compared with short-acting methods such as oral contraceptives. Similarly, repeat pregnancy rates are lower when LARCs are used compared with other forms of contracept...

CONTEXT Women aged 18-29 have higher rates of unintended pregnancy than any other age-group. Information is needed to understand what characteristics are associated with risky contraceptive use practices among this population and to develop new strategies for reducing these women's risk of unintended pregnancy. METHODS Data related to unintended pregnancy risk were collected from a nationally...