SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The cervical cap was used in artificial insemination (husband) in the home by 63 couples. An overall pregnancy rate of 19% occurred regardless of the duration of use, and a rate of 44% was associated with use for at least six months or until pregnancy occurred. Comparison of pregnancy rates between those in the program and those who dropped out and conceived without therapy revealed no statistical difference.
The need for female controlled methods for preventing HIV infection is well recognized and women have been found to accept the female condom for these purposes. Women (n = 105) were randomly assigned to receive either (a) a 3-h behavioural skills building intervention that concentrated on educating women about the female condom, motivating female condom use, and building behavioural skills relevant to using the female condom, or (b) a time-matched broadly defined women's health education intervention. Women who received the female controlled skills building intervention used the female condom to a greater extent than did women in the health education condition. Importantly, the effects of the behavioural skills intervention were most pronounced for women who reported only one male sex partner in the previous 6 months compared to women with multiple sex partners. However, female condom use was modest, with only one in 5 vaginal intercourse acts being protected by female condoms among women with one partner who received skills training. Interventions are needed to further enhance use of the female condom and new female controlled methods are needed for the majority of women at risk who did not adopt the female condom.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Use of oral contraceptives by married women declined markedly between 1973 and 1982, but analysis of data from the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth shows that this decline stopped between 1982 and 1988. Reliance on female sterilization continued to increase, however, and it remained the leading method among currently married and formerly married women. Among women of all marital statuses, IUD use dropped by two-thirds between 1982 and 1988, from 2.2 million to 0.7 million women. As the proportion of less-educated, low-income, black and Hispanic contraceptive users choosing the IUD decreased, the proportion relying on female sterilization increased. Among college-educated white women, use of female sterilization did not increase; instead, pill use rose in this group. Condom use increased most sharply among teenagers and rose among never-married white and black women, but the pill was still the leading method by far in these groups, regardless of race. Among never-married black women, reliance on sterilization increased significantly between 1982 and 1988, with female sterilization becoming the second leading method. Use of the diaphragm declined sharply over the same period among never-married white women and among those who intended to have more children, as did use of periodic abstinence (rhythm and natural family planning) and foam.
Little attention has been paid to the diaphragm as a contraceptive option for adolescents. To compare diaphragm and birth control pill use by adolescents, 124 females (aged 13-20 years) in a suburban-based adolescent health service were interviewed at least one year after receiving a contraceptive prescription. The 73 diaphragm choosers did not differ from the 51 pill choosers in age, race, or reason for their original visit to the health service. Diaphragm choosers, however, were better students, of higher socioeconomic status, and had had fewer prior pregnancies. In the year following prescription, continuous use for 12 months was reported by 43% of diaphragm choosers and 45% of pill choosers, with significantly more pill (26%) than diaphragm (8%) choosers reporting discontinued use for at least one month while remaining sexually active. Regular use (diaphragm every intercourse, missing less than or equal to 1 pill/month) was reported by 36% of diaphragm choosers compared to 88% of pill choosers; and at least one pregnancy during the year was reported by 15% of diaphragm choosers and 18% of pill choosers. At follow-up interviews, diaphragm subjects disliked the immediate annoyances of the diaphragm, and pill users expressed concern about the potential side effects of the pill. No single factor or set of factors correlated with continuous and regular use of either method. Because both methods present specific problems for certain patients, we suggest that in addition to the pill, the diaphragm should receive serious consideration as a contraceptive option for adolescents.
Heterosexual transmission is the predominant mode of spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in most of the world. Whether the use of hormonal contraceptives, IUDs and spermicides is associated with an increased or decreased risk for HIV acquisition remains controversial. Several mechanisms whereby contraceptive methods may influence the transmission of HIV have been proposed. As contraceptive use increases among women of reproductive age, the group most vulnerable to HIV infection, any associations between contraceptive method and HIV risk become even more important. The available studies of these associations are predominantly cross-sectional and give conflicting results. We review the published evidence for associations between HIV and individual contraceptive methods. At this time no definitive conclusions regarding these associations can be drawn. Further research, especially prospective epidemiological studies and basic biological research on mechanisms of heterosexual transmission and the effect of contraceptives on these mechanisms, is urgently needed.
We conducted a case-control study to examine the associations between various behavioral risk factors and urinary tract infection among college-aged women. Cases were collected from a University Health Service, and were compared to Health Service controls and to a population-based control group. Sexual intercourse, diaphragm use, and urinating after sexual intercourse were each associated with urinary tract infection (UTI). The magnitude of the association of diaphragm use with UTI was reduced when urination habits around sexual intercourse were considered.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Fungal vulvovaginitis remains one of the most frequent conditions affecting the lower genital tract. Recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of the condition have improved our ability to treat recurrent or persistent cases. More clinical data have become available on the optimal duration of treatment with some of the newer antifungal agents.
A reanalysis of data from two clinical studies--in which 1,439 women were randomly assigned to use either the contraceptive sponge or the diaphragm and 1,394 women were randomly assigned to use either the cervical cap or the diaphragm--found first-year probabilities of failure during typical use of 17% for the sponge, 18% for the cervical cap and 13-17% for the diaphragm. The first-year probabilities of failure during perfect use are 11-12% for the sponge, 10-13% for the cervical cap and 4-8% for the diaphragm. The probability of failure during perfect use is significantly higher among women who have given birth than among those who have not for users of the sponge (19-21% vs. 9-10%) and users of the cervical cap (26-27% vs. 8-10%), but not for users of the diaphragm.
Lamicel is a synthetic hydrophilic polymer tent which produces cervical softening and dilatation when inserted into the endocervical canal. To investigate the mechanism of action of Lamicel, the intrauterine pressure and levels of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, 13-14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2 alpha, oestradiol and progesterone in plasma and amniotic fluid were measured in patients undergoing second trimester abortion. There was no significant change in any of the measured hormones during a 2-h treatment with Lamicel, but uterine activity increased significantly for 10 min after insertion, then settled spontaneously to below pre-treatment levels. Peripheral plasma levels of magnesium sulphate measured in patients undergoing first trimester abortion were not significantly raised after insertion of Lamicel. Light microscopic examination of cervical specimens, obtained at hysterectomy from patients pre-treated with Lamicel for 24 h, revealed minimum increase in vascularity, mast cell population and ground substance mucopolysaccharides.