Effect of educational leaflets and questions on knowledge of contraception in women taking the combined contraceptive pill: randomised controlled trial

Objective: To assess whether provision of educational leaflets or questions on contraception improves knowledge of contraception in women taking the combined contraceptive pill.

And the poor get children; sex, contraception, and family planning in the working class.

Includes bibliography.

What you should know about emergency contraception /

"1/05."

Contraception and heterosex: an intimate relationship

Whilst the importance of contraception within heterosex has long been accepted, particularly in relation to the prevention of HIV/AIDS, the way in which the use, or non-use, of contraception re/constructs heterosexual encounters themselves has had far less attention. The embodied nature of both the risk of pregnancy, and most contraceptive technologies leads women to assert a right to bodily autonomy. Yet this assertion conflicts with their expectation of equitable coupledom within heterosexuality and their routine consideration of men’s preferences. This article will argue that the use of contraception is an intricate part of heterosexual practices, and shows how normative ideas about heterosexuality leave men as appearing as an absent presence within women’s contraceptive decisions.

Every child a wanted child: mid-life women's experiences of contraception

This paper is based on qualitative research which found that the contraceptive pill had achieved a "hegemonic status" among some British women in their thirties. In addition, despite the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, the idea of using condoms was very unpopular, and the research suggests that this is linked to a reluctance to rely on male cooperation over contraception. This paper will further argue that the women generally chose methods that they felt would be in their own best interests, and were often exercising considerable agency within the constraints of their relationships. Moreover, by accepting the responsibility for contraception, the women not only gained sole control over their fertility, but contraception may be an area within heterosexuality where women can exercise power.

Embodied expertise: women's perceptions of the contraception consultation

This research, based on qualitative interviews and non-participant observation, emerges from a larger study investigating what factors influence the ‘contraceptive careers’ of British women in their 30s. The women informants recognized that contraceptive products often impacted on their health, but viewed them as distinct from ‘medical matters’. Rather than doctors being seen as having expertise, it was women health professionals, be they nurses, midwives, health visitors or doctors, who were perceived as the ones who ‘know’ about contraception, through an assumption that they are contraception users.This embodied knowledge is valued by the women above their formal medical training. I will also show how general practice surgeries and family planning clinics were viewed as gendered spaces, which altered the expectations and experiences of the women during contraceptive consultations. This study found that as ‘real’ expertise over contraception stems from embodied rather than textual knowledge, the women’s choices were grounded by a gendered sense of trust.

I got pregnant, I was so like ... crying inside...: experiences of women of Pakistani ancestry seeking contraception in the UK

South Asian women in Britain are less likely to use contraception than women in other ethnic groups. Previous studies have identified a lack of knowledge combined with low levels of English language and/or literacy as barriers to using contraception, but have not examined in detail women's experiences of accessing services. This qualitative study focused on the experiences of 19 Muslim women of Pakistani ancestry and the views of six health and community workers. The findings detail considerable institutional barriers to accessing contraceptive services, such as a lack of information and the paternalistic attitudes of some health professionals. The study suggests that, although all the women were motivated to access and use contraception, their ability to make informed choices was often limited. It was only when the women encountered advocates, who might be professionals or from their social networks, that they could begin to take control of their fertility. This study is consistent with earlier research and shows that lack of access to contraceptive services can have high personal and social costs for South Asian women.

Gender stereotypes: sexuality and contraception in Mexican university students of middle class

Since feminist studies and gender perspective, sexuality and reproduction continue to be a topic of interest in Mexico. The objective of this study was to identify gender stereotypes in sexuality and contraception practices in Mexican university students of middle class. We used a qualitative methodology with in-depth interviews, using as analysis axes the sexual and contraception practices. The results showed gender stereotypes in university students as active, seductive and conquerors, characterized by a double standard of morality in the type of relationship: Formal where love, affection, trust and commitment are present, and Informal, where a love relationship or sexual exclusivity is not incorporated.

Continuation rates and reasons for removal among Implanon® users accessing two family planning clinics in Queensland, Australia

Background - This study examined demographic profile, continuation rates and reasons for removal among Implanon^® users accessing two family planning clinics in Queensland, Australia. Study Design - A retrospective chart audit of 976 women who attended for implant insertion over a 3-year period between May 2001 and May 2004. Results - Continuation rates showed that at 6 months after insertion, 94% of women continued, 74% continued at 1 year and 50% continued at 2 years. Metropolitan women were more likely than rural women to discontinue use because of dissatisfaction with bleeding patterns. Cox regression analysis showed that those attending the regional clinic experienced significantly shorter time to removal. Conclusions - Implanon® continuation rates and reasons for removal differ between clinics in metropolitan and rural locations. A cooling-off period did not affect the likelihood of continuation with Implanon®. Preinsertion counselling should emphasize potential changes in bleeding patterns.

Effect of female sex hormones on Chlamydia trachomatis growth and gene expression

Transmissible diseases are re-emerging as a global problem, with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) becoming endemic. Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of bacterially-acquired STD worldwide, with the Australian cost of infection estimated at $90 - $160 million annually. Studies using animal models of genital tract Chlamydia infection suggested that the hormonal status of the genital tract epithelium at the time of exposure may influence the outcome of infection. Oral contraceptive use also increased the risk of contracting chlamydial infections compared to women not using contraception. Generally it was suggested that the outcome of chlamydial infection is determined in part by the hormonal status of the epithelium at the time of exposure. Using the human endolmetrial cell line ECC-1 this study investigated the effects of C. trachomatis serovar D infection, in conjunction with the female sex hormones, 17β-estradiol and progesterone, on chlamydial gene expression. While previous studies have examined the host response, this is the first study to examine C.trachomatis gene expression under different hormonal conditions. We have highlighted a basic model of C. trachomatis gene regulation in the presence of steroid hormones by identifying 60 genes that were regulated by addition of estradiol and/or progesterone. In addition, the third chapter of this thesis discussed and compared the significance of the current findings in the context of data from other research groups to improve our understanding of the molecular basis of chlamydial persistence under hormonal different conditions. In addition, this study analysed the effects of these female sex hormones and C. trachomatis Serovar D infection, on host susceptibility and bacterial growth. Our results clearly demonstrated that addition of steroid hormones not only had a great impact on the level of infectivity of epithelial cells with C.trachomatis serovar D, but also the morphology of chlamydial inclusions was affected by hormone supplementation.

Everyday life and the edges of existence : wrongs with no name or the wrong name?

Actions for wrongful life, as they have come unfortunately to be styled, encompass various types of claim. These include claims for alleged negligence after conception, those based on negligent advice or diagnosis prior to conception concerning possible effects of treatment given to the child's mother, contraception or sterilisation, or genetic disability. This distinguishes such claims from those for so called wrongful birth, which are claims by parents for the cost of raising either a healthy or a disabled child where the unplanned birth imposes costs on the parents as a result of clinical negligence. Two of the more controversial cases to have reached the High Court of Australia which are if interest to us here in the past decade are Cattanach v Melchior where the court, by a narrow majority (McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and Callinan JJ; Gleeson CJ, Hayne and Heydon dissenting) acknowledged recovery for wrongful birth. In the second joined appeals of Harriton v Stephens and Waller v James; Waller v Hoolahan the court overwhelmingly precluded a ‘wrongful life’ claim (Gleeson CJ, Gummow, Hayne, Callinan, Heydon and Crennan JJ; Kirby J dissenting). Both cases raised issues around the sanctity and value of life and the nature of harm and the assessment of damages, and this brief note affords us the opportunity to consider the way in which the ‘life as legal loss’ arguments were treated by the various judges in both cases.

The spermostatic and microbicidal actions of quinones and malemides : towards a dual-purpose contraceptive agent

There is an urgent need to develop safe, effective, dual-purpose contraceptive agents that combine the prevention of pregnancy with protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Here we report the identification of a group of compounds that on contact with human spermatozoa induce a state of “spermostasis,” characterized by the extremely rapid inhibition of sperm movement without compromising cell viability. These spermostatic agents were more active and significantly less toxic than the reagent in current clinical use, nonoxynol 9, giving therapeutic indices (ratio of spermostatic to cytotoxic activity) that were orders of magnitude greater than this traditional spermicide. Although certain compounds could trigger reactive oxygen species generation by spermatozoa, this activity was not correlated with spermostasis. Rather, the latter was associated with alkylation of two major sperm tail proteins that were identified as A Kinase-Anchoring Proteins (AKAP3 and AKAP4) by mass spectrometry. As a consequence of disrupted AKAP function, the abilities of cAMP to drive protein kinase A-dependent activities in the sperm tail, such as the activation of SRC and the consequent stimulation of tyrosine phosphorylation, were suppressed. Furthermore, analysis of microbicidal activity using Chlamydia muridarum revealed powerful inhibitory effects at the same low micromolar doses that suppressed sperm movement. In this case, the microbicidal action was associated with alkylation of Major Outer Membrane Protein (MOMP), a major chlamydial membrane protein. Taken together, these results have identified for the first time a novel set of cellular targets and chemical principles capable of providing simultaneous defense against both fertility and the spread of sexually transmitted disease.