Contraceptive needs of women attending a genitourinary medicine clinic for the first time.
(1/352)
OBJECTIVE: To assess the need for, and potential uptake of, a contraceptive service within a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. METHODS: 544 women, median age 17 years (range 13-54) including 142 teenagers, attending the Fife GUM clinics serving a semirural population of 350,000 for the first time in the 12 month period from 1 September 1995 to 31 August 1996 were interviewed. RESULTS: Contraception was required by 353, of whom only 5% (29) were at risk of unplanned pregnancy, although half (15) of these were teenagers. 23 of 29 (79%) stated that they would access contraception at a GUM clinic if it were available. Of women using contraception, 67% (217/324) were taking the oral contraceptive pill (OCP), of whom 177 obtained supplies from their general practitioners and were happy with this. However, 92/177 (52%) stated that they would access the OCP at GUM clinics if it were available. Overall, of the 243 women who stated that they would access contraception at the GUM clinic, 23 of whom were currently at risk of an unplanned pregnancy, the demand was principally for condoms and the OCP. CONCLUSION: The majority of women attending GUM clinics for the first time are using contraception, or have deliberately chosen not to do so. Only 5% were at risk of unplanned pregnancy. In general, the women using contraception were happy with their current source of contraception, but about two thirds would use a contraceptive service at GUM clinics if it were available at the time they were attending the clinic. It was found that teenagers accounted for half of those women at risk of unwanted pregnancy. However, the majority of teenagers requiring contraception would consider obtaining it from GUM clinics. (+info)
Preventing repeat adolescent pregnancies with early adoption of the contraceptive implant.
(2/352)
CONTEXT: Even in intensive, adolescent-oriented programs, in which access to highly effective contraceptives is guaranteed, repeat adolescent pregnancies commonly occur. METHODS: To assess whether adoption of the contraceptive implant would lower the rate of repeat pregnancy, contraceptive use and pregnancy outcomes were tracked among 309 adolescent mothers--171 "early" implant users who began use within six months of delivery and 138 who either adopted another method or had used no method. Participants were interviewed at delivery and at six-month intervals through the second year postpartum. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to ascertain the likelihood of a repeat pregnancy within the first and second year postpartum. RESULTS: During the first year postpartum, although 7% of the early implant users had their implants removed, pregnancy rates were significantly (p < .0001) lower among early implant users (less than 1%) than among the other adolescent mothers in the sample (20%). By the end of the second year postpartum, 37% of early implant users had discontinued use. Nevertheless, their two-year pregnancy rate (12%) remained significantly lower (p < .0001) than that of the other adolescent mothers (46%). The multivariate analysis showed that early implant use was the only independent predictor of a repeat pregnancy within the first year postpartum, while early use, parity and number of risk factors for repeat pregnancy were independently associated with the likelihood of another pregnancy in the second year postpartum. CONCLUSIONS: Although early implant insertion significantly decreased the rate of rapid, repeat adolescent pregnancies, the rates of removal and of pregnancy by the end of the second year postpartum were high. Thus, health care providers need to address the motivational components of adolescent pregnancy even among those who accept ostensibly long-term methods. (+info)
Reproductive factors of ovarian and endometrial cancer risk in a high fertility population in Mexico.
(3/352)
A case-control study was carried out in Mexico City during 1995-1997 among women with epithelial ovarian cancer (84 cases) and endometrial cancer (85 cases). The control group consisted of 668 healthy women, matched according to age categories. In a multivariate analysis, the reproductive risk factors for ovarian and endometrial cancer are similar. The risk of ovarian cancer was inversely related to the number of full-term pregnancies; the odds ratio (OR) was 0.17 and the 95% confidence interval (CI) was 0.05-0.54 when comparing nulliparous women versus those with more than seven pregnancies. For endometrial cancer, a similar association was observed (OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.04-0.34). The use of oral contraceptive hormones was inversely associated with both ovarian (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.15-0.83) and endometrial cancer risk (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14-0.90). In women with a history of more than 8.7 years without ovulation, the risk of ovarian cancer decreased four times (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.10-0.50), and that of endometrial cancer decreased more than five times (OR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.08-0.35). These two neoplasms are clearly typified as hormone dependent, and it is possible to establish that "ovulation" and "exfoliative" mechanisms jointly determine the level of risk for both ovarian and endometrial cancer. (+info)
Safety and efficacy of fertility-regulating methods: a decade of research.
(4/352)
An international venture was launched in 1985 to fill a recognized gap in post-marketing surveillance of fertility-regulating methods. For this purpose a new task force was set up by the Special Programme of Research, Development, and Research Training in Human Reproduction, which is cosponsored by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the World Bank, and WHO. Research priorities were chosen and epidemiological studies inaugurated, involving a total of 47 countries--mostly from the developing world. Important progress has been made, especially in helping to define the beneficial and possible adverse effects of oral contraceptives on the risk of neoplasia; in showing that the injectable contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate protects against endometrial cancer and does not increase the overall risk of breast cancer, in clarifying which groups of women are susceptible to the rare cardiovascular complications of oral contraceptives (myocardial infarction, stroke, and venous thromboembolism); and in establishing the long-term effectiveness and safety of intrauterine devices. The research has already made a significant impact on family planning policies and practice. Critical appraisal of this venture, which has been modestly funded, confirms the value of mission-oriented research. It also illustrates the potential of collaboration that bridges the global divide between developing and developed countries. (+info)
Bone mineral density during long-term use of the progestagen contraceptive implant Implanon compared to a non-hormonal method of contraception.
(5/352)
An open, prospective, comparative study was done in healthy women, aged between 18 and 40 years, to study the effects of long-term etonogestrel treatment on bone mineral density (BMD). The control group used a non-hormone-medicated intrauterine device (IUD). The BMD was measured using a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry instrument. Measurements included the lumbar spine (L(2)-L(4)), the proximal femur (femoral neck, Ward's triangle, trochanter) and distal radius. The period of treatment was 2 years and 44 women in the Implanon group and 29 in the IUD group provided data. Groups were comparable at baseline with respect to age, weight, body mass index, BMD and 17beta-oestradiol status. Changes from baseline in BMD in the Implanon group were not essentially different from those in the IUD group. There was no relationship between 17beta-oestradiol concentrations and changes in BMD in this study population. The results of the present study indicate that Implanon((R)) can safely be used in young women who have not yet achieved their peak bone mass. (+info)
Endometrial lysosomal enzyme activity in ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding, IUCD users and post-partum women.
(6/352)
The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of lysosomal enzymes in excessively heavy menstruation by comparing women with menorrhagia due to dysfunctional bleeding or intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) use with those with normal menstrual periods or with amenorrhoea associated with breastfeeding. This was a prospective cohort investigation of the activity of four endometrial lysosomal enzymes in three contrasting groups: (i) women with ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding and users of intrauterine contraceptive devices; (ii) breastfeeding post-partum women in whom there are long periods of amenorrhoea, particularly in the early months post-partum; and (iii) normal cycling women. It was found that the total activity of lysosomal enzymes, particularly acid phosphatase and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, was markedly elevated (P < 0.001) in IUCD-exposed endometrium, and endometrium from women with dysfunctional uterine bleeding when compared with endometrium from women with a history of entirely normal menstrual periods or that in post-partum breastfeeding women. The activity of alpha-L-fucosidase was moderately elevated in IUCD users (P < 0.05) and ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding (P < 0.05), whereas alphaD-mannosidase activity was elevated in ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding (P < 0.05), but decreased in IUCD users (P < 0.01). No significant differences were observed in the lysosomal enzyme activities of breastfeeding post-partum women and normal cycling women. These results show that total endometrial tissue activity of four lysosomal enzymes was substantially increased throughout the cycle in most circumstances in women with two different causes for increased menstrual bleeding. This suggests a contributory role to the increased bleeding. (+info)
The influence of husbands on contraceptive use by Bangladeshi women.
(7/352)
This study uses the 1993-94 Bangladesh DHS to evaluate the effect of the woman's perception of her husband's approval of family planning on her current and future use of modern contraception, after controlling for selected socioeconomic and demographic factors. While most husbands support family planning, contraceptive use among those whose husbands do not approve of family planning is much lower. In some areas of Bangladesh, however, husband's disapproval of family planning is still a major deterrent factor for woman's fertility control. As husband's approval does appear to be a major determinant of contraceptive uptake in similar developing countries in the region, more effective male targeting may be necessary for maintaining the success of the family planning programme in future. (+info)
Fertility outcome after ectopic pregnancy and use of an intrauterine device at the time of the index ectopic pregnancy.
(8/352)
Fertility after ectopic pregnancy (EP) was investigated in a non-selected population taking into account intrauterine device (IUD) use at the time of the EP. Between January 1992 and June 1996, 647 women listed in the EP register of Auvergne (France) were followed up. The analysis included only the 328 women who were seeking to become pregnant: 23 women using IUD at the time of the index EP (IUD users) and 305 IUD non-users. Among IUD users, there was no recurrence of EP, and the 1 year cumulative rate was 87% [95% confidence interval (CI): 73-100%] for intrauterine pregnancies and 86% (95% CI: 72-100%) for deliveries. Among IUD non-users, the 2 year cumulative rate for recurrence of EP was 28% (95% CI: 17-39%), and the 1 year cumulative rates were 60% (95% CI: 53-66%) for intrauterine pregnancies and 44% (95% CI: 38-56%) for deliveries. The adjusted intrauterine pregnancy rate of IUD users was not significantly different from that of IUD non-users. However, IUD non-users had more miscarriages, so their delivery rate was lower. (+info)