Contraceptive News and Research

RSS

McLean wins NIH grant to explore links between COVID-19 vaccine and menstrual cycle changes

In research that will add important data to the experience of vaccines on women's health, Laura Payne, PhD, director of McLean Hospital's Clinical and Translational Pain Research Laboratory, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to explore potential links between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and menstrual cycle changes.

23 Sep 2021

Behavioral change strategies could help curb short birth spacing in Africa

Chichi Okafor, a 30-year-old Nigerian woman, unexpectedly became pregnant again before her daughter turned six months old.

9 Sep 2021

Researchers identify key protein that plays an essential role in male fertility

Mammalian sperm cannot fertilize an egg from the get-go. It's an ability acquired only after insemination, during passage through the female reproductive tract, and requires two consecutive, time-sensitive processes to provide sperm with the physical and biochemical traits necessary to complete their fundamental job.

20 Aug 2021

Long drives, air travel, exhausting waits: What abortion requires in the South

Just a quick walk through the parking lot of Choices-Memphis Center for Reproductive Health in this legendary music mecca speaks volumes about access to abortion in the American South.

3 Aug 2021

Contraception is free to women, except when it’s not

For Stephanie Force, finding a birth control method that she likes and can get without paying out-of-pocket has been a struggle, despite the Affordable Care Act's promise of free contraceptives for women and adolescent girls in most health plans.

23 Jul 2021

Novel two-component intervention may help prevent unintended pregnancy among women using opioids

Increases in maternal opioid use have led to an almost doubling in the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in the U.S. in the past 10 years.

16 Jul 2021

Small biotech companies join with pharmaceutical giants to manufacture drugs

Many of the most promising new molecules to treat diseases come from smaller biotechnology firms, which often lack resources to scale up production when it's time for their drugs to go to large-scale clinical trials or the market.

30 Jun 2021

Protein blueprint may aid in treatments for infertility and help protect future fertility

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have developed a blueprint for a protein that plays an important role in the development and regulation of reproductive organs.

22 Jun 2021

Lack of contraception data could conceal pandemic’s impact on women’s reproductive health

Limited data on the uptake of contraception prior to and during crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic could mean unforeseen issues for sexual and reproductive health services, research from the University of Warwick concludes.

17 Jun 2021

Study shows that breast cancer can be prevented with better contraception choices

Hormonal contraceptives, e.g. the pill, the patch, and the vaginal ring, contain synthetic hormones that prevent pregnancy by either stopping ovulation, changing the cervical mucus to stop sperm from passing through the cervix and finding an egg, or changing the womb's lining to prevent a fertilized egg from being implanted in it.

29 May 2021

COVID-19 may impact the heart health of young, healthy adults

New research published in Experimental Physiology highlight the possible long term health impacts of COVID-19 on young, relatively healthy adults who were not hospitalized and who only had minor symptoms due to the virus.

7 May 2021

Systematic review: Exposure to endocrine-disruptors could elevate breast cancer risk

Exposure to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals could elevate the risk of breast cancer, according to a new comprehensive systematic review of epidemiological research.

20 Apr 2021

Biden moves to overturn Trump birth control rules

The Biden administration Wednesday formally proposed the repeal of Trump-era regulations barring abortion referrals and making other changes intended to evict Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from the federal family planning program, Title X.

14 Apr 2021

Myths about modern contraceptive impact family planning in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cultural and social norms, and myths about how modern contraceptives affect men's virility are just some of the reasons why the uptake of contraception remains low in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite increasing demand.

9 Apr 2021

Study highlights how women's choice of birth control is affected by out-of-pocket costs

Getting a birth control implant used to cost some women hundreds of dollars, if they were among the nearly half of privately insured Americans covered by a health plan with a high deductible that they were responsible for paying.

7 Apr 2021

Contraception counseling, pregnancy planning are necessary to optimize health of women with heart disease

Pregnancy can increase the risk of morbidity and mortality in women with cardiovascular disease; however, many cardiologists are not having pre-pregnancy contraception discussions with their patients of child-bearing age.

5 Apr 2021

Democrats could undo Trump policies faster, But they’re not. Why?

Undoing many of the policies of his predecessor is one of President Joe Biden's top priorities. In early February, Biden even got a little defensive about all the executive actions he was taking in his first days in office to halt policies set by President Donald Trump.

26 Mar 2021

Women with diabetes less likely to use contraception after diagnosis, study finds

Uncontrolled diabetes increases maternal and fetal risks during pregnancy. As a result, the American Diabetes Association recommends that family planning should be discussed and effective contraception should be available to the more than three percent of (more than one million) reproductive-age women in the United States with diabetes.

18 Mar 2021

High levels of progesterone can reduce stress after concussion, speed recovery in females

Could birth control pills help young female athletes recover faster from concussions and reduce their symptoms?

16 Mar 2021

Women with non-O type blood who smoke, take oral contraceptives more likely to have a stroke

Non-O blood type may increase the risk of stroke among women who smoke and take oral contraceptives, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021.

11 Mar 2021