Topic: Women's HealthBirth Control
Unintended pregnancies continue to be a major problem that affects not only the individual,
but the larger society as well. In 1994, the last year for which data are available,
half (49%) of the 6 million pregnancies in the United States were unintended.
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Contraceptive Patch
Approximately 53% of unintended pregnancies occurred among women who were using some form of contraception in
the month they conceived. Many of these women may have become pregnant due to failures of their contraceptive
method or because their contraceptive was difficult for them to use consistently and correctly.
Ortho Evra is the first transdermal patch approved for the prevention of pregnancy. Comparative trials have
shown that Ortho Evra has efficacy similar to the oral contraceptives Mercilon (not available in the United
States) and Triphasil for the prevention of pregnancy when used as directed.
Because Ortho Evra is a small,
thin and smooth patch, you can easily wear it under your clothes.
Adverse effects with Ortho Evra
are similar to those reported with combined oral contraceptives, with the exceptions of mild-to-moderate
application-site reactions and an increased frequency of breast symptoms. The most commonly reported adverse
reactions were breast symptoms, headache, application-site reactions, nausea and vomiting, dysmenorrhea,
and abdominal pain.
In clinical studies, the patch appeared to
be less effective in women weighing more than 90 kg than in
women with lower body weights.
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