Emergency Contraception: The International Planned Parenthood Federation's Experience

Abstract

T he first contraceptive revolution took place in the early 1960s with the introduction of the pill. During the ensuing three decades, oral contraceptives, IUDs, injectables, barrier methods and improved forms of surgical contraception became widely available and acceptable. As a result, contraceptive prevalence worldwide rose from 10% in the 1960s to around 50% in the mid-1980s. Despite this dramatic escalation in contraceptive use, an estimated 500 million women throughout the world have an unmet need for contraception.' These include not only women who do not have access to effective methods, but also those who are not satisfied with the method they are using and those who discontinue use even though they want no more children. According to data from the Demographic and Health Surveys in a variety of countries, among the reasons women give for discontinuing contraceptive use are their dissatisfaction with the methods available or worries about side effects, their partners' disapproval of the methods, inconvenience of use, difficulties in obtaining the methods and cost. Furthermore, since even an effective, available and acceptable method can fail or be used incorrectly, a different kind of contraceptive might also provide backup for these situations. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has been promoting and offering guidance on such a method-emergency contraception-for more than 10 years.