Contraceptive Technology Update – March 1, 2005
March 1, 2005
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Teens improve contraceptive use, but more women at risk for pregnancy
Just-released information from the National Survey of Family Growth offers family planning clinicians a mix of good and bad news: While sexually active teens are more likely to be using contraception, many teens are uninformed about birth control choices. -
Easy EC access doesn’t increase risky behavior
If it were easier for women to obtain emergency contraception (EC), would it result in an increase in unprotected intercourse, cause women to forego their current method of contraception, or increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)? Apparently not, according to the findings of a just-published study. -
Update: FDA strengthens mifepristone labeling
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strengthened the warning information on the labeling for the abortion drug mifepristone. The labeling change is in response to reports of infection, bleeding, and death among women who have taken the drug, according to the FDA. -
Migraine and OCs: What options are open?
How many women do you see in your practice who say they have chronic or recurrent headaches? If the numbers are high, dont be surprised: Headaches are a frequent occurrence in women of reproductive age. But what is your approach in determining whether these women may use combined oral contraceptives (OCs)? -
New research eyes OC in acne treatment
The next patient in your exam room is an adolescent female, who says shes interested in birth control pills. Her chief focus? While shes interested in contraception, she asks several questions about an acne pill. -
Ask the Experts
What are some of your questions when it comes to hormonal contraceptive use? Two readers questions are tackled below by Leon Speroff, MD, associate director of the Womens Health Research Unit at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and David Archer, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Clinical Research Center at the Eastern Virginia Medical Center in Norfolk. -
CTU Updates: Midwives conference scheduled for June
Make plans now to attend the annual meeting of the Washington, DC-based American College of Nurse-Midwives. Scheduled for June 10-16 in Washington, DC, the event, With Women Through Time, will commemorate the organizations 50th anniversary. -
STD Quarterly: CDC warning: Family planners should be on the lookout for lymphogranuloma venereum
An outbreak of a type of Chlamydia trachomatis, lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) has occurred in the Netherlands and other European countries, which has led infectious disease officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ask U.S. clinicians to look out for LGV cases. -
STD Quarterly: Gonorrhea rates drop; stay focused on spread
Efforts to lower the rates of gonorrhea in the United States are dipping figures to all-time lows, but work remains to erase racial disparities and combat growing drug resistance to the sexually transmitted disease (STD). -
STD Quarterly: Snapshot: New trends in STDs in the U.S.
What are some emerging trends in other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States? Check the following highlights from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) 2003 STD Surveillance Report.