Family Planning Methods

As promised, here’s the next topic which I hope you will learn from in studying about female physiology.

Family Planning

How many American women use                                  Between 89% and 93%; yet 53% of

contraception and what are the rates of                     births are either unintended or

unintended or mistimed pregnancy in the                   mistimed

United States?

What are some of the reasons for                                 Failure of the method; Incorrect use;

contraception failure?                                                      Nonadherence

What are the two measures for                                     1. Theoretical effectiveness (perfect

effectiveness of a contraceptive method? use)                      

  —the pregnancy rate among women who use the method

correctly every time

2. Actual effectiveness (typicaluse)

—includes the chances of inconsistent or incorrect use

What factors about each method must be                  Coital dependence, convenience,

considered when counseling about                              cost, duration of action, protection

contraception?                                                                   against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), effect on menses, religion, reversibility, acceptability,

and side effects

What are the five main classes of                                 1. Rhythm method

contraception?                                                                   2. Barrier methods

3. Hormonal contraceptives

4. Intrauterine devices (IUDs)

5. Sterilization

Rank the following contraceptives from

the highest to the lowest with respect to

actual effectiveness. What is the failure

rate associated with each?

Condom, diaphragm/cervical cap,                                IUDs (0.1–2%)

injectable/implantable hormonal                                   Sterilization (0.4–4%)

contraception, oral contraception, periodic

abstinence (fertility awareness method),                    Injectable hormonal contraception

spermicide, sterilization, withdrawal                            (<1%)

Oral contraceptives (5%)

Male condom (14%)

Diaphragm or cervical cap (20%)

Female condom (21%)

Periodic abstinence (25%)

Withdrawal (19%)

Spermicide (26%)

What is the fertility awareness method?                     Predicting the time of month when a

woman is most fertile and abstaining during that time. Also known as the rhythm method

What three methods can be used to predict               1. Date of the last menstrual period:

fertility and which days are women                              days 8–19 of the cycle

presumed to be fertile?                                                    (peri-ovulation)

2. Changes in body temperature:

after menstruation until 3 days after an increase in basal body temperature by 0.5–1°F

3. Changes in cervical mucus: when the mucus becomes clear and stretchy (peri-ovulation) known as spinbarkeit

Why are fertility awareness methods                           Because people do not always

unreliable?                                                                           abstain during this time and because there is always some chance of fertility on the “non-fertile” days.

Body temperature and cervical mucus (especially if used together) are moreeffective than the calendar method because of irregular cycle lengths

What is the withdrawal method?                                   The withdrawal method is when the male withdraws from the vagina before ejaculation. It is ineffective when not timed correctly or when the pre-ejaculatory fluid contains sperm

Is lactation an effective means of birth                        Lactation is somewhat effective as a

control?                                                                                means of birth control because of the prolactin-induced inhibition of GnRH, which leads to a delay in return

to ovulation. Additional contraception should be used by breast- feeding women to prevent pregnancy

What factors affect the effectiveness of                     The number of times a woman breast

lactation as a means of birth control?                          feeds each day; How effective breast feeding is (i.e., how much milk she is producing); If the child is getting any supplemental feeding

Next topic… Sterilization Methods..