Unintended pregnancy: What more can we do?
September 29, 2011 in Health
Prevention is better than cure especially in the field of sexual and reproductive health and especially in Australia, where the teenage pregnancy and abortion rate is higher than in any other Western country.
Such rates are not inevitable, and recent contraceptive strategies, including improved access to the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) through over the counter methods, have been developed to help reduced the high numbers.
A recent Monash University study of over 600 women aged 16 to 35 years found that although 95 per cent had heard of the ECP and 26 per cent had used it, just under half (48 per cent) were aware that the ECP was available over the counter.
Under half the participants (45 per cent) thought the ECP was safe and most (61 per cent) believed it would damage a pre-existing pregnancy.
Dr. Safeera Hussainy from the Center for Medicine Use and Safety at Monash University said that access to the ECP was a crucial issue, given that the sooner it is taken after unprotected intercourse, the more effective it is.
In fact, a recent study has shown that the ECP has proven efficacy up to 96 hours (4 days) after intercourse, and while there is no harm in giving it up to the fifth day (120 hours) post coitus, there is greater than a five times increase in risk of pregnancy compared to administration within the first 24 hours.
By making the emergency contraceptive pill available over the counter, we hope that women are able to obtain the pill more easily within the narrow time frame recommended, especially after hours and on weekends when it is more difficult to access a general practitioner, said Dr. Hussainy.
The study showed that various views and beliefs influenced womens attitudes towards the ECP. They included moral and religious reasons, fear of side effects and unrealistically low perceptions of pregnancy risk.
Surprisingly, some women thought they were unlikely to become pregnant, even when having unprotected intercourse at the most fertile time of the menstrual cycle.
Through the study, the research group found that women prefer to receive information from a doctor rather than a pharmacist, offering an important opportunity for GPs to help patients prevent unintended pregnancy and abortion.
GPs can play a critical role in educating women about their risks of becoming pregnant, the use of contraceptives generally and how to use them correctly and consistently.
Although women are being offered greater options when making the decision about unintended pregnancy, there is still a need to generate awareness about what is available and how it can be accessed, said Dr. Hussainy.
The Center for Medicine Use and Safety at Monash University works collaboratively with health care professionals and researchers to develop, implement and evaluate new models and systems of health care practice, with the ultimate goal of optimizing the safe and effective use of medicines.
The report, Unintended pregnancy in Australia: what more can we do? was published in the August issue Medical Journal of Australia.
Provided by
Monash University
-
Education needed to decrease teens' misconception about emergency contraception
Aug 19, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Education may improve hospital prescription rate of emergency contraception to teens
Mar 05, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Emergency contraception: Advance provision does not reduce pregnancy rates
Mar 16, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
'Morning After Pill' Works up to 5 Days After Sex
Feb 22, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Over the counter contraceptive pill will not reduce unplanned pregnancies, says expert
Dec 24, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
22 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
-
Limits to growth: Scientists identify key metastasis-enabling enzyme
May 22, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
-
Seeing is as seeing does: Spatially-structured retinal input in early development of cortical maps
Apr 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Dreamless nights: Brain activity during nonrapid eye movement sleep
Apr 09, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
0
-
Take your time: Neurobiology sheds light on the superiority of spaced vs. massed learning
Mar 28, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
3
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Most occupational injury and illness costs are paid by the government and private payers
UC Davis researchers have found that workers' compensation insurance is not used nearly as much as it should be to cover the nation's multi-billion dollar price tag for workplace illnesses and injuries. Instead, almost 80 ...
Health
13 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Early physical therapist treatment associated with reduced risk of healthcare utilization and reduced overall healthcare
A new study published in Spine shows that early treatment by a physical therapist for low back pain (LBP), as compared to delayed treatment, was associated with reduced risk of subsequent healthcare utilization and lower ...
Health
16 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Cancer patients share web info with docs for insight, advice
(HealthDay) -- Cancer patients' primary goal in talking with their doctors about information they've found on the Internet is to get more insight and advice on the online information, new research indicates.
Health
18 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
P&G to add latches to make detergent packs safer
(AP) -- Procter & Gamble says it will change the design of packaging for its miniature laundry detergent product to deter children from eating the brightly colored packets that look like candy.
Health
19 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
In Spain, 70 percent of women use contraceptives during their first sexual encounter
Contraceptive use in Spain during the first sexual encounter is similar to other European countries. However, there are some geographical differences between Spanish regions: women in Murcia use contraceptives ...
Health
20 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of an organism’s biological complexity, every encephalized animal continuously makes under-informed behavioral choices that can have serious consequences. Despite its ubiquity, ...
Tongue analysis software uses ancient Chinese medicine to warn of disease
For 5,000 years, the Chinese have used a system of medicine based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body. In this system, the appearance of the tongue is one of the measures used to classify ...
Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought
Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute ...
Inherited DNA change explains overactive leukemia gene
A small inherited change in DNA is largely responsible for overactivating a gene linked to poor treatment response in people with acute leukemia.
Skp2 activates cancer-promoting, glucose-processing Akt
HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in the May 25 issue of Cell.
New device allows pacemaker patients to safely undergo MRIs
For many, it's a medical conundrum: The very pacemaker keeping their heart in rhythm prevents them from undergoing an MRI to diagnose other ailments, because interaction between the two devices could prove deadly.