Are oral emergency contraceptives a safe & effective form of long-term birth control?

No Thumbnail Available

Meeting name

Sponsors

Date

Journal Title

Format

Article

Subject

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Journal Issue

Abstract

Q: Are oral emergency contraceptives a safe & effective form of long-term birth control? A: Yes, but not as effective as some other methods. Annual pregnancy rates in women using pericoital levonor- gestrel 150 mcg to 1 mg range from 4.9% to 8.9%; menstrual irregularity is the most common adverse effect (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, Cochrane review of lower-quality trials). In women younger than 35 years who have sexual intercourse 6 or fewer times per month, correct and consistent use of pericoital levonorgestrel 1.5 mg results in an annual pregnancy rate of 11% (SOR:B,one large prospective, open-label trial). Pericoital contraception is less effective than long-acting reversible contraceptives (annual pregnancy rates of 0.05%-0.8%) or perfect use of combined oral contraceptives (0.3% annual pregnancy rate), but similar to, or better than, typical use of combined oral contraception (9%) and condoms (18%).

Table of Contents

DOI

PubMed ID

Degree

Thesis Department

Rights

OpenAccess.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.