Hormonal Contraceptives for Technicians

This CE activity was originally published in The Rx Consultant.  If you received credit for it previously, you cannot receive credit for it again.

There are 61 million women of childbearing age (15–44) in the US. About 43 million of these women are at risk of unintended pregnancy; they are sexually active and do not want to become pregnant. About two-thirds of them use a contraceptive method correctly and consistently. Oral contraceptives have been in use for over 50 years and are one of the most popular contraceptives; this method is used by 26% of contraceptive users. Most oral contraceptives contain 2 hormones, an estrogen and a progestin (combined oral contraceptives; COCs). Progestin only pills (POPs) are also available. Certain other hormonal methods (vaginal ring, transdermal patch, injectables) are used by additional 7% of women.1 In the US, an increasing number of states allow pharmacists to provide contraceptives to women without a prescription; this will be the focus of this issue.

About 14% of women at risk of unintended pregnancy are not using contraception (or have long gaps of non-use) and another 18% use contraception but do so inconsistently. Among women using a contraceptive consistently, only 5% experience an unintended pregnancy. In contrast, about 85% of sexually active women who do not use contraception become pregnant within 1 year.

Healthy People 2020, a 2010 report from the US Department of Health and Human Services, provides science-based 10-year objectives for improving the health of all Americans.2 Family planning objectives include:

• Increase the number of women at risk of unintended pregnancy who use contraceptives.
• Reduce the proportion of women who experience pregnancy despite use of a reversible contraceptive method.
• Reduce pregnancies among adolescent women aged 15-19 years.
• Increase the percentage of women aged 15 to 44 years who adopt or continue use of effective methods of contraception.