A study published by O’Neil-Callahan et al in Obstet Gynecol Nov. 2013 issue showed the following:

Compliance with long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) use at 2 years was 77% as compared to 41% of non-LARC use.

This means that if you are concerned about your daughter’s compliance with the use of her contraceptive you should bet on either an IUD (intrauterine device) or an implant.

So apparently the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (commercially available as Mirena) has a continuation rate of 79% at 2 years. This is almost similar to the copper IUD at 77%.

Rates were 43% for oral contraceptive pills, 41% for vaginal ring, 40% for the patch (commercially available as OrthoEvra) and 38% for the depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (commercially available as DepotProvera).

It is clear that if you place a patient on LARC they are more likely to still be on that contraceptive 2 years later which could suggest higher satisfaction levels but it could also be related to having to plan removal. In both cases the patient is protected from undesired pregnancy.

Categories: Gynecology, Health

Tags: birth control, contraceptive, iud, mirena, orthoevra, patch, pill, ring, shot