A pilot clinical trial of ultrasound-guided postplacental insertion of a levonorgestrel intrauterine device.

Background: Postplacental intrauterine device (IUD) insertion is a safe, convenient and effective option for postpartum contraception. Few studies involve ultrasound-guided insertion, and none involve the levonorgestrel IUD or take place in the United States.

Study Design: The study was conducted to assess the safety and feasibility of ultrasound-guided postplacental insertion of the levonorgestrel IUD following vaginal delivery in a U.

Copper T 380A IUD and magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Concerns about women who have implanted or in situ medical devices undergoing magnetic resonance (MR) imaging engender the need for testing. Prior testing of the Copper T 380A intrauterine device (IUD) has been done using MR systems of 1.5 T or less.

Contraceptive use and discontinuation: findings from the contraceptive history, initiation, and choice study.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide insight on the continuing high rate of unintended pregnancy among adult women.

Study Design: Contracepting women were recruited while they waited for primary care appointments. A total of 369 completed the baseline questionnaire, and 145 oral contraceptive (OC) users were enrolled in a 5-week, diary-based study of adherence and sexual activity.

Body mass index and risk for oral contraceptive failure: a case-cohort study in South Carolina.

Purpose: Studies have suggested that obesity is associated with an increased risk for oral contraceptive (OC) failure. We conducted a case-cohort study in South Carolina to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and OC failure by using population-based data sources.

Methods: Our cohort sample from the source population consists of 205 women who reported using OCs to prevent pregnancy on the 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.

Teaching contraception: an interactive presentation using managing contraception.

Objective: Our purpose was to determine whether an interactive medical student contraceptive teaching session results in improved knowledge gain or satisfaction when compared with a standard, didactic lecture.

Study Design: An interactive lecture was compared with a standard lecture among third-year medical students at Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine and Medical College of Georgia. Knowledge gain was assessed by comparing correct responses to a posttest with the students' own responses to the same questions given as a pretest before the lecture.

Peripartum contraceptive attitudes and practices.

During pregnancy and the postpartum period, women may be more receptive to different methods of contraception for postpartum use. Few studies have focused on the peripartum population. In this study, currently pregnant and postpartum women were surveyed about their attitudes toward contraception, particularly in relation to the index pregnancy.

Safety concerns and health benefits associated with oral contraception.

Since the introduction of hormonal contraceptives in the 1960s, there have been a variety of both health benefits and safety concerns attributed to their use. In most instances, the noncontraceptive benefits of oral contraceptives (OCs) outweigh the potential cardiovascular risks. In fact, the probability of a patient experiencing a cardiovascular event while taking a low-dose OC is very low.

New contraceptive options.

Almost one half of pregnancies in the United States are unintended. Primary reasons for the high rate of unplanned pregnancy include dissatisfaction with or underuse of effective contraceptive methods and poor compliance with contraceptive methods that require daily adherence. Several effective forms of contraception have become available in the United States within the past four years.

Contraceptive efficacy and cycle control with the Ortho Evra/Evra transdermal system: the analysis of pooled data.

Objective: To present efficacy and cycle control data pooled from three pivotal studies of the contraceptive patch (Ortho Evra/Evra).

Design: Three multicenter, open-label, contraceptive studies that included up to 13 treatment cycles.

Setting: 183 centers.