For most women, the decision on which form of contraception to use is not normally complicated. But if you’re a woman with certain medical conditions, including diabetes, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, you smoke or had a stroke, your options may be different.
The use of some forms of contraceptives with these and other conditions can pose health risks.
Patients typically rely on health care providers to help with their contraceptive decisions. When health professionals need to know about new medical information, they turn to the latest published scientific information.
Rachel Bonnema, M.D., an internal medicine physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, recently published an article that provides health professionals an update of contraceptive choices for women with underlying health conditions.
The review was published in American Family Physician, a journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
“We thought an update was imperative in order for women to receive adequate contraceptive counseling,” Dr. Bonnema said. “Women don’t necessarily know what’s the best option. Their health professional can help them choose a method that will work best for them.”
The article focused on women of reproductive age who have medical conditions. It includes information about new types of contraceptives that some health care providers might not be familiar with. These include newer formulations of oral contraceptive pills,oral contraceptive pills that reduce the number of menstrual cycles to four a year, contraceptive patch and a contraceptive ring and single-rod implantable device.
“Many women have seen television advertisements about new methods but don’t know how they differ. That’s why it’s so important for health providers to have that conversation with patients to find out what they want to get out of their birth control,” Dr. Bonnema said. “There are so many options, and we’re gaining a better understanding of how to choose the right one. There’s no best method. It depends on what is best for the patient and her overall health.”
For more consumer information on the various contraceptive options, go to http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/contraceptive/016.html.