The Associated Press This is the world’s first
contraceptive patch, made by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., a
subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
By Marjorie Hernandez
Daily Bruin Reporter When fourth-year English student Peggie
Jimenez began her relationship with her now long-time boyfriend,
she made a conscious decision to use birth control. Like many young
women, Jimenez explored the different options available, but found
her choices for contraception limited. “I’m never happy
with contraception,” Jimenez said. “I’d rather
not take it, but it’s what you have to do if you don’t
want to have children. Â And I definitely don’t want to
have children right now.” According to the Planned Parenthood
Federation of America Web site, 85 percent of women who don’t
use contraceptives during vaginal intercourse become pregnant each
year, with pregnancy rates highest among women between 20-24 years
of age. Birth control methods in United States remained stagnant
for the last two decades, leaving many women few options for
preventing pregnancy. Currently, hormonal, barrier and surgical
sterilization are the most common contraceptive methods used in the
United States. “I started working in family planning 20 years
ago, and the options that we have now basically are the same that
we had then,” said Ann Brooks, nurse manager of women’s
health at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.
According to Brooks, the lack of contraception that prevents
pregnancy and protection from STDs stems from the lack of financial
gain for the medical industry. “The cynic in me believes that
everything is driven by the dollar,” she said. “It
wasn’t until people became very concerned about AIDS that
they started demanding it.” But in the near future, women may
soon have more birth control options available.
Hormonal methods One hormonal method available is oral
contraceptives, typically known as “the pill,” which
suppress ovulation with the combined hormones estrogen and
progestin. If used correctly (the woman must take the pill
every day at the same time directed), the pill is 99.9 percent
effective in preventing pregnancies, according to Brooks. The pill
may offer additional benefits such as regulating periods and has
also been proven to decrease risk of ovarian and endometrial
cancers. Ortho-Tricyclen, one of the many different forms of the
pill, has also been approved by the FDA as a form of acne medicine,
bumping the label from the seventh to the No. 1 selling oral
contraceptive. Side effects, however, include nausea, weight gain,
headache, irregular bleeding and breast tenderness. Women over the
age of 35 who smoke and have a medical history of blood clots or
breast or endometrial cancer may be advised not to use the pill.
Many women who find the required daily dose of the pill
inconvenient may find monthly shots such as Lunelle or the 12 week
injection Depo-Provera more convenient forms of birth control.
Lunelle, a monthly shot, provides synthetic estrogen and
progesterone into the arm, buttocks or hip. Regularly costing
around $25 to $30 a month, the Lunelle shot is currently available
to students at the Arthur Ashe Center for $9 per monthly dose.
Lunelle works similarly to the pill by suppressing ovulation. But
the shots also come with different side effects as well as
benefits. About 50 percent of women on Depo-Provera stop having
their periods after a year, and 80 percent stop bleeding after two
years, according to Brooks. The three month shot may also have side
effects with long term use, possibly osteoporosis, Brooks said.
Other birth control methods available at the Ashe center include
the Emergency Contraceptive Pill, formerly known as the
“Morning After Pill.” The two doses of synthetic
hormones disrupts ovulation or interferes with the attachment of
the fertilized egg on the uterine lining. If taken within 72 hours
of unprotected sex, the ECP lowers the risk of pregnancy up to 89
percent. According to Brooks, there is currently a movement in
isolated areas of California to make ECP available either over the
counter or by consultation with a pharmacist. The pills are
currently available only in clinics and by prescription in most
states. “I don’t think any other clinician in
women’s health services have any objection about giving the
Emergency Pill to someone for future use,” she said. “I
would rather have somebody have it at home if they think they might
have a need for it.” The costs of ECP at the Ashe Center is
$12.50 for students. Match-sized rubber rods inserted under the
skin of the upper arm, the progestin Norplan, is another method
that releases the contraceptive steroid levonorgestrel. Emerging
forms of birth control includes the Ortho Evra, a seven-day patch
placed in the abdomen or buttocks that releases a steady dose of
estrogen and progesterone. After the fourth patch of the weekly
cycle, the woman will menstruate. The patch is currently awaiting
FDA approval. A new intrauterine device called Mirena was also
approved earlier this year. The T-shaped plastic device delivers a
small amount of progestin to the inner wall of the uterus. The IUD
creates a mild inflammation, preventing the sperm from fertilizing
the egg or by blocking the egg from implanting in the uterus.
Although about two million women in Europe have been using Mirena
for the past 10 years, IUDs are fairly uncommon among university
students, according to Brooks.
Barrier methods Barrier methods include the male condom, which
prevents pregnancy by blocking the passage of the sperm to the
vagina. Latex condoms are currently the most effective method for
reducing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Approved by
the Food and Drug Administration in 1993, the Reality Female Condom
is available without prescription and intended for one time use.
Shaped similarly to the male condom, the closed end of the
lubricated polyurethane sheath is inserted into the vagina, while
the open end partially covers the labia. The diaphragm and cervical
cap are two other popular forms of female barrier contraceptives.
Vaginal spermicides that contain sperm-killing chemicals are also
available at the Ashe Center. Irreversible methods of contraception
also include surgical sterilization, which prevents the egg from
traveling to the uterus The myriad birth control methods available
and those waiting to be introduced to the general market give women
more choices and allows them to have greater control. “Once a
girl enters puberty, her life completely changes after that,”
Jimenez said. “It’s a beast of a burden, but at least
now we have different choices of contraceptives.”