266952 Interest in a pericoital oral contraceptive

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 1:15 PM - 1:30 PM

Diana Greene Foster, PhD , Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Department of Ob/Gyn, University of California, San Francisco, Oakland, CA
M. Antonia Biggs, PhD , Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Daniel Grossman, MD , Ibis Reproductive Health, Ibis Reproductive Health, Oakland, CA
Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, MS , Dept of Medicine, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences; Dept of Epidemiology, Univeristy of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
     
Oral levonorgestrel taken a few hours before or after sexual intercourse has been shown to prevent pregnancy. Postinor, a pericoital oral contraceptive was widely used in Eastern Europe in the 1980s and 90s. As a pericoital oral contraceptive is not currently available in the U.S., we assessed interest in using a pericoital oral contraceptive among 635 women recruited from 6 US abortion clinics and another 956 US women with no history of abortion recruited from 11 family planning clinics. We found that 69% of women seeking abortion services and 51% of women seeking other family planning services reported that they would be somewhat or very interested in a pericoital pill. The most common reasons for interest in a pericoital pill included: a preference for only taking hormones when needed, and difficulty remembering to take a pill every day. Among women who were not interested in a pericoital pill, reasons given included: a desire for more effective contraception and a preference not to have to remember contraception at the time of sex. In a multivariable model, women were more likely to be interested in a pericoital pill if they were African American, seeking an abortion, reported having unprotected intercourse more than 20% of the time in the past 3 months, or had difficulty filling prescriptions for contraceptives. A pericoital pill may have advantages for some women who currently face high risk of unintended pregnancy.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the effectiveness and potential advantages and disadvantages of a pericoital contraceptive pill. 2. Describe characteristics and current contraceptive use of women who report interest in a pericoital contraceptive pill. 3. Evaluate the potential of a pericoital pill to reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancy.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am PI of the study to assess interest in a oral pericoital contraceptive.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3260.0: Contraception, part 1: global issues