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Review
. 2015 Apr;30(4):751-60.
doi: 10.1093/humrep/dev019. Epub 2015 Feb 11.

Emergency contraception. Widely available and effective but disappointing as a public health intervention: a review

ESHRE CapriWorkshop Group
Collaborators
Review

Emergency contraception. Widely available and effective but disappointing as a public health intervention: a review

ESHRE CapriWorkshop Group. Hum Reprod. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Emergency contraception (EC) prevents pregnancy after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Use of EC has increased markedly in countries where a product is available over the counter, yet barriers to availability and use remain. Although effective in clinical trials, it has not yet been possible to show a public health benefit of EC in terms of reduction of unintended pregnancy rates. Selective progesterone receptor modulators developed as emergency contraceptives offer better effectiveness than levonorgestrel, but still EC is less effective than use of ongoing regular contraception. Methods which inhibit ovulation whenever they are taken or which act after ovulation to prevent implantation and strategies to increase the uptake of effective ongoing contraception after EC use would prevent more pregnancies.

Keywords: contraception; effectiveness; emergency; future; review.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
EC use as a function of access policies in Europe [sales data Intercontinental Marketing Services (IMS Health), 2013].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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