New developments in contraception for US women

Abstract

Despite the variety of contraceptive options today unintended pregnancy continues to be a major public health issue in the United States. Roughly half of all unintended pregnancies in the US occur among women who report using contraception during the month they become pregnant. Some unintended pregnancies among contraception users are due to inherent failure rates of specific methods but most of these unintended pregnancies result from inconsistent or incorrect use of methods that require some regular action by the user. User-dependent methods have high typical use failure rates when compared with long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) such as IUDs and implants. However the use of LARCs remains relatively low in the US particularly when compared with other developed countries. As new contraceptive methods may soon enter the US market providers should be aware of these new options because they will play a critical role in ensuring that women are appropriately counseled to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each. This report is a brief summary of some of these new contraceptives including new hormone-releasing intrauterine systems contraceptives patches (i.e. Twirla®) the Population Council vaginal ring updated female condoms and diaphragm the return of the monthly injectable and different pill formulations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.