Do women want a once-a-month pill?

Abstract

The attitudes of women of reproductive age in Scotland, Romania and Slovenia to the idea of a contraceptive pill which is taken only once each month or only when menses are delayed was investigated. In all three centres, the great majority of women felt positive towards the idea of a once-a-month pill which inhibited ovulation and greater than 50% found a pill which inhibited or interfered with implantation an acceptable idea. Only 24% of women in Scotland were attracted to the idea of a pill which was taken only if menstruation was delayed by 1 or 2 days, that is a pill which would cause an abortion, while in contrast 58% of women in Slovenia and 80% in Romania thought that such a method of controlling fertility would be acceptable. Attitudes were not related to age, social class or marital status but were influenced by religious belief and in Scotland by a history of abortion. In countries where the availability of contraception is limited and abortion is common, women would seem to welcome another method of fertility regulation--even one which disrupts the very early stages of pregnancy.