MOST WOMEN USE LESS‐EFFECTIVE CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS

Abstract

In the Journal of Midwifery and Woman’s Health’s “Updates from the Literature” several recent studies are discussed. The Contraceptive CHOICE Project was designed to promote use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC): intrauterine devices (IUDs) and subdermal implants. This article presents results of their prospective cohort study designed to determine failure rates for different forms of reversible contraception and to identify women at greatest risk for contraceptive failure. A second article presents results from the Pesario Cervical para Evitar Prematurida (PECEP) trial which examined cervical pessary use for women with short cervix gathering data from 5 hospitals in Spain. The PECEP trial supplies strong evidence that routine ultrasounds for cervical length followed by pessary placement in women with short cervix might be a relatively noninvasive and low-cost way to decrease the rate of preterm birth. A third article describes a study compared the normal progress of spontaneous and induced labors the finding of which support an unhurried approach to labor induction. Other literature of interest to midwives includes studies showing that women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease and that children born before 39 weeks’ gestation have lower school achievement in third grade. An additional study calls for more research needed on nonnutritive sweeteners and cardiovascular health.