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When the first combined oral contraceptive entered the marketplace in 1960, women began taking hormonally active pills for 21 days, followed by seven days of placebo pills, or no pills at all. This 21/7 regimen resulted in regular withdrawal bleeding every month. Such regular monthly cycles are a modern phenomenon.
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Look ahead five to 10 years, and you may see a male contraceptive on the market, as well as a microbicide for women that offers contraception as well as female-controlled protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), say reproductive health experts.
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Readers looking for the latest reference on family planning methods and practice can obtain the 18th edition of Contraceptive Technology, to be published this summer.
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While the avenue to broader access to emergency contraception (EC) has hit a roadblock with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)s initial rejection of over-the-counter (OTC) status for the levonorgestrel-only drug Plan B, the drugs manufacturer is eyeing two alternative approaches for seeking OTC approval of the drug.
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Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette (PPCW) in Portland, OR, is using its Internet site, www.ppcw.org, to provide birth control pills, the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch (Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Raritan, NJ), and the NuvaRing contraceptive vaginal ring (Organon, West Orange, NJ) to women across the state. The pilot Contraception Online program, the first of its kind among Planned Parenthood of America affiliates, is allowing women to undergo an on-line assessment and place orders for these three forms of birth control without having to visit a providers office.
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What is the role of estrogen in protecting post-menopausal womens hearts? While recent research indicates that the hormone may not benefit cardiovascular health in older women,1-3 a group of privately funded researchers is re-examining the role of the hormone in women ages 40-55.
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With the growing popularity of a new approach to sterilization in the form of the Essure device (Conceptus, San Carlos, CA), family planning providers need to update their counseling information in presenting the option to women considering permanent contraception.
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While family planning clinicians counsel on the permanency of vasectomy, more men are seeking reversals of the sterilization method. In the United States, approximately 500,000 vasectomies are performed each year. It is estimated that up to 6% of men who undergo voluntary sterilization eventually will request reversal.
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A quick review of your clinics dispensing habits tells the tale: More women are moving to use of the transdermal contraceptive. The contraceptive patch is now the favorite nonoral contraceptive method in the United States, according to IMS Health, a Fairfield, CT-based supplier of pharmaceutical industry market research.
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An e-pharmacy may be suspect if it does the following.
