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Arab patients in the Gynaecological Hospital of the University of Oran, Algeria, were observed. Aspects relating to desire for children, family planning, and parity are discussed in conjunction with the outcome of the latest Algerian census. Three of four children in one family are considered an optimum solution. Early marriage and early gravidity still are widespread. Family planning continues to play a minor role, and only 25.3 per cent of all patients reviewed took to oral contraceptives for shorter or longer periods of time. - The percentages of primiparae and secundiparae in all births as well as the high percentage of multigravidity are parameters by which the approach to reproduction differs substantively from behaviour patterns in Europe. Traditional thinking of couples and resulting behaviours as well as religious and social motivations and insufficient use of family planning facilities are the major reasons.
Leading health agencies, including the World Health Organization and the US Food and Drug Administration, consider emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) safe and effective and have called for better access to them. Yet debate about whether ECPs should continue to be available by prescription only has been limited. After measuring the characteristics of ECPs against criteria developed to assess the necessity for prescription status for drugs generally, we argue that ECPs can safely be marketed over the counter. Professional assistance is not necessary since the woman diagnoses her own need for the pills and takes them herself. ECPs do not need to be adjusted for the individual woman and pose no potential threat of overdose or addiction. There are no contraindications except confirmed pregnancy (in which case the therapy will not work), and monitoring is not necessary. We conclude that prescription requirements that keep ECPs from women provide little, if any, benefit.
As well as providing reliable contraception, modern low-dose oral contraceptives may offer some non-contraceptive advantages. Positive effects on problems such as edema with weight increase and breast tenderness, bloating, dysmenorrhea, and an improvement in skin and hair condition have been reported in several studies using an oral contraceptive containing drospirenone. If these disorders are cycle-dependent, use of the contraceptive in an extended regimen may be of additional benefit. The study reported in this paper followed 1433 women, 175 of whom took the drospirenone-containing pill continuously for between 42 and 126 days. Some symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome were influenced very satisfactorily by administration in an extended regimen.
The numbers of women of childbearing age in the US with HIV and AIDS from heterosexual transmission continues to rise. Behavioral interventions remain the best means of preventing transmission of HIV. Program planners often implement interventions to promote behavioral change in a wide range of settings such as family planning or sexually transmitted disease clinics, drug treatment facilities, or medical facilities that serve high risk and HIV positive women. Women recruited in different types of settings, however, may differ with respect to their experience with, attitudes toward, and willingness to use condoms and contraception. Such differences should be considered when tailoring interventions to the populations being served. We examined the readiness to use condoms and contraception among 3784 women in four cities recruited in three different types of settings: community, facilities not targeted to HIV positive women and medical facilities for HIV positive populations. Readiness to use condoms or contraception was measured using The Transtheoretical Model of Change. Women reported being in different stages along the continuum of condom and contraceptive use in the three settings. A greater proportion of women in the HIV-facility, 45%, had used condoms consistently for the previous 6 months compared to women in the other two settings (12% and 11%). Similarly, variation across settings was seen for contemplation of consistent contraceptive use to prevent unintended pregnancies. The variability in the distribution of condom and contraceptive use across settings underscores the importance of assessing the readiness for the behavior change and designing interventions that meet the specific needs of the populations being served.
The increased risk of cholelithiasis during intake of oral contraceptives may be due to estrogen-induced saturation of the bile with cholesterol. In a randomized, prospective, crossed-over double-blind study 20 healthy women after roentgenological exclusion of gall-stones received either 1.0 mg of norethindrone acetate and 50 microgram ethinyl estradiol daily - as usual in oral contraception - for 21 days with 7 days of placebo treatment in each cycle or one fifth of this hormone dose in form of a continuous daily medication. After a 4 month's treatment the medication form was crossed-over. At the beginning of the study, before the cross-over and after the study bile was collected by duodenal intubation after a 12-h fast and the lithogenic index as a measure for cholesterol saturation of the bile was determined. No correlation between the dose and the lithogenic index was demonstrated, neither in 15 women, who had used oral contraceptives before the study nor in five women without any previous hormonal contraceptives.
There is widespread concern about a possible decline in human fertility in recent decades. The spontaneous dizygotic twinning rate provides a way of measuring a combination of male plus female fertility as it reflects the frequency of double ovulation, the probability of fertilization, and the survival of the zygote. There was a decline in dizygotic twinning rates in developed countries which began around 1960 and continued until the late 1970s. The exact cause of the fall remains unknown. We suggest that it could have been due to a depression in the twin ovulation rate in women who stopped taking the oral contraceptive pill. The rise in the dizygotic twinning rates which occurred from the 1980s onwards in developed countries is almost certainly due to increasing use of ovulation-inducing agents, but this rise may have masked a continuing decline in dizygotic twinning. Monozygotic twinning rates have remained remarkably constant or increased only very slightly in recent decades. This makes it possible to use the dizygotic:monozygotic twinning ratio to monitor dizygotic twinning in populations where true incidence rates cannot be calculated, e.g. in hospitals where there may be selective referral of twins.
In a randomised controlled trial to determine the optimum time of initiation of Ovrette, a progestin only oral contraceptive among postpartum women, who fully or nearly fully breast-fed their infants in the first six months, no difference was found between group 1 (initiating at six weeks postpartum) and group 2 (initiating the pill at return of menses or 6 months postpartum). There were no pregnancies in either group during the 18 month follow-up. There were no significant differences in the continuation rates between the two group.
GyneFix, conceived in 1985, was developed to minimize three major problems frequently associated with discontinuation of IUD use: expulsion, bleeding and pain. Since the initial clinical investigations, over 10,000 women years of experience and up to 8 years of follow-up in international, multicenter, non-comparative and comparative clinical trials, including a large proportion of nulligravid/nulliparous women, have been collected. The following conclusions were reached: 1. The unique design characteristics of GyneFix (frameless, flexible and fixed to the fundus of the uterus) have resulted in optimal tolerance and almost complete absence of expulsion. The result is enhanced effectiveness (comparable to OCs and male/female sterilization) and a high rate of continued use. GyneFix reduces the IUD-failure rate to a minimum and is, therefore, a welcome reversible alternative to OCs and female surgical contraception. 2. Frameless and flexibility explain the absence of side-effects and adverse events caused by dimensional incompatibility between the frame of conventional IUDs and the uterine cavity and may also explain the absence of PID and ectopic pregnancies in any of the clinical studies. 3. Insertion of GyneFix, with or without local anaesthesia, is easily accomplished in the office of a few minutes. Removal is easy, quick and painless. 4. GyneFix is an equally effective and well accepted method fro nulliparous women.
PURPOSE: To investigate sexual behavior and attitudes toward sexuality among first-year high school students in Sweden in 1999 and to compare the sexual behavior with that reported from similar studies in 1979 and 1989. METHODS: In Spring 1999, a questionnaire with 47 questions mainly of multiple-choice nature was administered to a random sample of 20 classes in senior high school in two medium-sized cities in Sweden. The median age of the students was 16 years. Differences in sexual behavior and attitudes were evaluated with the Chi-square and Student's t-test. RESULTS: Almost half of the students (46%) had had intercourse, showing that the age of coitarche had not decreased during the past two decades. The median age at intercourse of those who had had intercourse was 15 years in both genders. More students in practical (vocational-technical) programs (60%) than in theoretical (college preparatory) ones (37%) had had sexual intercourse. More teenagers in theoretical (90%) than in practical programs (64%) had used contraceptives at their first intercourse, an increase from 65% in 1979 to 76% in 1999. One-fourth of the teenagers were under the influence of alcohol at the first intercourse, a decrease, compared with 1979. CONCLUSIONS: Contraceptive use at coitarche has increased and alcohol use decreased over the 20-year-period. The tendency noted 10 years ago that students attending practical programs put themselves at more health risk than students in theoretical programs continues. This fact should be considered when planning for counseling and sex education.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy, cycle control and tolerability of a phasic oral contraceptive containing ethinylestradiol 35/30/30 microg and desogestrel 50/100/150 microg. METHODS: A multicenter study was conducted involving 2070 healthy, fertile women, who received study treatment for six treatment cycles. RESULTS: Most of the participants (79%) had previously been using an alternative oral contraceptive. In 10,408 treatment cycles, two women became pregnant while on treatment (Pearl index, 0.25). The incidence of irregular bleeding was 10% before treatment, rising to 27% at cycle 1, and decreasing to 11% by cycle 6. Irregular bleeding was mainly due to spotting rather than breakthrough bleeding and the incidence of breakthrough bleeding remained below 2.2% for most of the study period. Only 1.8% of women withdrew due to bleeding irregularities. First-time oral contraceptive users initially experienced more irregular bleeding than switchers but these differences lessened over time. The most common adverse events during treatment were headache, breast tenderness and nausea. The incidence of these adverse events fell to below pretreatment levels with continued use. CONCLUSION: The phasic preparation was effective and well tolerated.
Some attributes of LAM are unquestionably positive, such as the fact that it is effective. Clinical trials of LAM have upheld the Bellagio Consensus that the chance of pregnancy is less than 2% in the first 6 months postpartum in amenorrheic women who are fully or nearly fully breastfeeding. Secondary data analyses in numerous settings have drawn the same conclusion. Whether as a strategy or a method, used correctly or even if used imperfectly, LAM is a reliable way to avoid pregnancy. To the extent that LAM represents an additional contraceptive option, this is also clearly positive since a broad array of contraceptive options maximizes the likelihood of finding a good fit between user and method, and increases contraceptive use. Other characteristics of LAM represent potentially positive impacts. If LAM is shown to be an effective conduit to other modern methods, the implications are profoundly positive. If LAM is cost effective, for households and/or for programs, this will also make the method extraordinarily attractive. Conversely, some aspects of LAM are negative, such as the fact that it affords no protection against STDs, it requires counseling from a well-informed provider, and intensive breastfeeding can make heavy demands on the woman's time. Many of the remaining attributes of LAM may not be important to a policy decision about LAM promotion. For example, whether LAM is actualized as a strategy or a method may not be important to a decision to promote LAM, although it has a huge impact on how services are delivered. Some factors may be profound on a local or individual level. For example, one simple factor, such as the absence of full/nearly full breastfeeding, can rule out the method as an option, while another, such as the fact that it provides the needed waiting period during vasectomy counseling, can make LAM the method of choice. Although LAM seems unlikely to have widespread popularity in societies like the United States, within such settings are breastfeeding women for whom other contraceptive choices are not satisfactory and to whom LAM is attractive. Although clinicians cannot be expected to directly provide LAM education in every setting, women should be informed about LAM as an effective contraceptive choice, and clinicians should be prepared to make referrals to competent sources. The future of LAM, especially in terms of formal, programmatic initiatives, may continue to be focussed in transitional and less developed settings. Comparative cost/benefit analyses for both the family planning program and the household will contribute meaningfully to decisions about whether to use LAM and whether to include LAM in national and local family planning policies and programs. The most important call to action is to implement operations research designed to determine what factors, if any, will maximize the uptake of a second modern contraceptive method after LAM protection expires among never-users of family planning, to compare this with other contraceptive strategies, and to evaluate the cost aspects. If the potential of LAM to be a conduit to other modern contraceptive methods is effectively realized, the method can be profoundly important in the development of communities and in family formation. Because LAM is effective in preventing pregnancies, and because it extends the range of contraceptive choices, considering LAM on the policy level is always appropriate. Despite the array of drawbacks to LAM, as with any other family planning method, the potential assets of LAM, especially the promise to introduce nonusers to contraception, are sufficiently important to warrant the introduction of LAM within an operations research framework to both capitalize on its intrinsic strengths and determine its programmatic robustness. In the 10 years since the concept of LAM was pronounced as the Bellagio Consensus, claims have been made both for and against its use. During this time, program and policy leaders have been giv
Fertility rates in Pakistan have remained consistently high over the past three decades. While numerous studies have examined sociodemographic determinants, the role of biological factors, and particularly consanguinity, has received little attention, even though marriage between close biological relatives continues to be the norm in Pakistan. Reproductive behaviour among women in consanguineous (first cousin) and non-consanguineous unions was compared, using data from a 1995 study of multi-ethnic communities in Karachi and the 1990-91 Pakistan Demographic & Health Survey (PDHS). The results show that, although female age at first marriage has been gradually rising in both study samples, women in consanguineous unions married at younger ages and were less likely to use modern contraceptive methods. In the Karachi sample, women in first cousin unions experienced a higher mean number of pregnancies and also reported a higher mean number of children ever born (CEB). However, their mean number of surviving children did not differ from those born to women in non-consanguineous unions, implying higher prenatal and/or postnatal losses in couples related as first cousins. On the other hand, the PDHS showed both lower CEB values for women in consanguineous marriages and a lower number of surviving children. Given the continuing popularity of consanguineous marriage, these findings have important implications for future fertility reduction in Pakistan.
This paper reports the socio-demographic characteristics of acceptors and their experience with intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Family Planning Clinic between January 1st, 1992 and December 31st, 1992. A total of 1,483 new contraceptive acceptors were seen at the Family Planning Clinic during the period of study of which 822 (55.4%) were first segment IUCD acceptors. The results (net cumulative rates) were expressed as percentage during the period of study. The rates were as follows: accidental pregnancy 1.3%, expulsion 5.1%, continuation 61.4%. The events leading to termination of IUCD use include; medical reasons 6.8%, planning pregnancy 5.2% and unspecified reasons 5.2%. It is concluded that IUCD is a safe and effective contraceptive with a high acceptability. The acceptability of IUCD can be increased by health education, good clinical management, sympathetic counselling, careful client selection, careful insertion, and regular follow-up with quick access to medical care.
This opinion survey on sex and bioethics was carried out in March and April of 1988 by the special committee for family planning and sex related problems which the JMCA (President Dr. Yasuro Anno) had drawn up. This study deals with the analysis of 229 responses to the 3 questions concerning contraception, natural family planning and induced abortion respectively. The background factors of the respondents, sex, age, baptismal age, region (by archdiocese), specialty (clinical, fundamental and social medicine), and payment of the membership fees during the past 3 years were investigated by means of the multiple regression analysis. In addition to the age factor which clearly influenced the responses of each question, the regional factor showed significant influences on the responses to the contraception as well as natural family planning questions. The author proposes five operational hypotheses (A-E) to explain these phenomena, and concludes that it is important to undertake interdisciplinary research as well as to conduct continuous education programs concerning biomedical ethics among the catholic physicians in Japan.
AIM: This study evaluates the performance of extended use of a progesterone (P)-releasing vaginal ring (PVR) in nursing women. METHOD: An open-label, noncomparative study on the safety and contraceptive efficacy of PVR replaced every 4 months of use (instead of 3 months) in 192 PVR acceptors. PVR use was initiated at day 59+/-2 (mean+/-SD) postpartum and continued until weaning or completing the use of three PVRs. RESULTS: Plasma P levels attained with the ring decreased from 17+/-1 to 14+/-1 nmol/L (mean+/-SE) from the third to the fourth month of use. These levels are still over the critical level of 10 nmol/L required for contraceptive protection. One pregnancy occurred in the third month of use of the second ring in 1998 woman-months of exposure. Extended use of the ring did not appear to affect breast-feeding performance or the rate of infant growth, and lactational amenorrhea was prolonged. No differences in the characteristics of bleeding between the third and fourth month of ring use were observed. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that use of the PVR for 4 months represents a safe and effective contraceptive for nursing women.
OBJECTIVE: This study represents long term clinical and biochemical results and the response of different body parts to medical therapy with oral ethinyl estradiol/drospirenone combination in hirsute patients with or without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Prospective, open, controlled clinical study. SETTING: Outpatients at Erciyes University Medical School. PATIENT(S): Fifty women with moderate to severe hirsutism were recruited. Two women were lost to follow-up. INTERVENTION(S): Women were treated with 3 mg of drospirenone and 30 microg of ethinyl estradiol for 12 cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Hirsutism was assessed at 6-month intervals using the Ferriman-Gallwey (F-G) scoring system. Serum FSH, LH, total and free testosterone (T), androstenedione (A), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), estradiol (E2), and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels at 6 and 12 months of therapy were compared with baseline values. RESULT(S): Total mean FG score declined by 67% and 78% after 6 and 12 months, respectively. Improvement was most prominent on the chest and abdomen, followed by the upper lip and chin. The lowest effect was observed on the back and arms. Serum levels of total and free T and A decreased, whereas SHBG levels increased significantly after 6 and 12 months when compared with baseline levels. CONCLUSION(S): Drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol combination exerts significant antiandrogenic activity and is effective in improving facial hirsutism. The beneficial effect is most obvious after six cycles and continues thereafter at a slower rate.
OBJECTIVES: To systematically review methods used to report data on bleeding patterns among postmenopausal women enrolled in clinical trials of continuous combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT); and to propose the use of standardized terms, definitions, and methods for collecting and reporting bleeding data in such trials. METHODS: A MEDLINE search identified 18 published reports of bleeding patterns among postmenopausal women enrolled in prospective clinical trials that included a continuous combined HRT treatment arm. Only two of these trials were not randomized. Methods for collecting and analyzing bleeding pattern data were collated from these published reports and examined for consistency. RESULTS: Comparisons across studies revealed little consistency in definitions and indices utilized to report bleeding patterns among postmenopausal women administered continuous combined HRT regimens in clinical trials. While a majority of the trials incorporated definitions established by the World Health Organization for the evaluation of bleeding with hormonal contraception, a number of the studies expanded on these definitions to reflect additional dimensions of bleeding such as volume. Indices calculated from daily bleeding data to describe bleeding patterns in treatment groups were highly variable among studies. CONCLUSION: Inconsistencies among clinical trials in bleeding pattern definitions and indices limit understanding and comparison of typical bleeding patterns with continuous combined HRT regimens. Standardized definitions, data collection procedures, and indices are proposed to enhance understanding of bleeding patterns with hormone therapy and enrich the quality of patient counselling on HRT.