Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2008;30(2):55-60
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032008000200002
PURPOSE: to compare two strategies of access to emergency contraception: only information and information with previous delivery of this contraceptive method, and its relationship with the use of this method and the regular use of contraceptives. METHODS: from August 2004 to January 2005, 18 to 49-year-old volunteers, attended at reproductive health clinics from six Brazilian towns were recruited. The subjects were randomly distributed in a group getting information about emergency contraception (Control Group), or in a group getting information about this method and previous delivery of the contraceptive (Medicated Group). Follow-up visits occurred into four and eight months. Person and McNemar's tests were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: from the 823 recruited subjects, 407 completed the 8-month-observation period and were the sample analyzed. Most of the subjects (61%) did not use the emergency contraceptive. The subjects from the Medicated Group used more emergency contraceptives (57%) than the ones from the Control Group (18%), and they did it more precociously, concerning the time since the unprotected sexual intercourse. There was a significant increase of regular use of contraceptives among the subjects who used emergency contraceptives in the Medicated Group (88% versus 97%) and a statistically nonsignificant decrease in the Control Group. CONCLUSIONS: information and previous delivery intensified the access and use of emergency contraceptives, and did not reduce the regular use of contraceptives, including condoms.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2007;29(5):230-234
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032007000500002
PURPOSE: to analyze the factors associated with the reproductive future of patients wishing to become pregnant after having being submitted to tubal ligation (TL), attended at a public service. METHODS: a prospective study including 98 patients previously submitted to TL, who came to the Human Reproduction Center of the University Hospital of Brasilia (HUB), from January 1996 to January 2004, wishing to become pregnant again These patients were followed up from their first appointment till the end of the study, when they answered a structured questionnaire about the social demographic aspects at both the moment they asked for the TL and the reversion of the procedure. RESULTS: the patients’ average age at the TL procedure was 25 years old. Among them, 55.1% were younger than 25, 46.9% had three or more children, and ten of them had only one child. The most common reasons for the TL procedure were: contraception (48%), financial difficulties (25.5%) and marital problems (15.3%). The major causes for wishing a new pregnancy were: a new relationship/marriage (80.6%), the desire of having another child with the same partner (8.2%), and the death of a child (6.1%). The regret time informed by most of the patients was between two and four years, and the search for reversion was between six and ten years. About 83.6% of the sample referred lack of information about the procedure and the difficulties of reversion. Twenty patients were submitted to TL reversal procedure; from the ten who became pregnant, only six delivered babies, after a full-term pregnancy. Eight patients were referred to in vitro fertilization treatment, four of them became pregnant and two delivered healthy babies. CONCLUSIONS: TL in young vulnerable women, not informed about the definitive condition of the method, may increase the search for attended reproduction services and impair their reproductive future, as far as only 8.1% of the sample delivered babies and reached their goal.