Attitudes and knowledge about continuous oral contraceptive pill use in military women.

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine attitudes toward oral contraceptive pill (OCP)-induced amenorrhea among U.S. Army women.

Methods: A volunteer sample (N = 154) of Army Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard women completed an anonymous survey.

Results: Desire for temporary amenorrhea was high with 86% (+/- 6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]) and 83% (+/-6%, 95% CI) desiring amenorrhea during field training and deployments, respectively. Fifty-four percent were unaware that OCPs can induce amenorrhea; only 7% (+/-4%, 95% CI) have used this practice during deployment. If made available with education, 49% (+/-8%, 95% CI) would use this practice. Logistic burdens of menstruation were associated with higher rates of desirability for OCP use with soldiers desiring OCPs rating their inconveniences significantly higher than those who did not desire OCPs (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Although a significant number of soldiers desire OCP-induced amenorrhea, a large deficit in knowledge exists. Routine education as an Army-wide standard is warranted.