Contraceptive News and Research

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Exploring immunogenicity, boosting efficacy and safety of modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic vaccine

Researchers evaluated the immunogenicity, boosting efficacy, and safety of single-dose and two-dose MVA-BN (modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic) vaccinations in comparison to replicating smallpox vaccines.

7 Dec 2022

New drug candidates for male birth control may be on the horizon

For decades, researchers have been working on "male birth control" - and studies show there is a demand.

30 Nov 2022

Patient mistrust and poor access hamper federal efforts to overhaul family planning

Two years ago, after an emergency cesarean section at a Mississippi hospital, Sherika Trader was denied a tubal ligation. Trader, now 33, was told that to have her tubes tied, she had to have a second child or a husband's permission, even though she wasn't married.

21 Nov 2022

Research in young rats shows how hormonal contraceptives may affect the brain

Reproductive health experts consider hormonal contraceptives good choices for adolescents because they're safe and highly effective at preventing pregnancy, but one aspect of their effect on the teenage body remains a mystery – whether and how they modify the developing brain.

16 Nov 2022

More babies, lower risk of endometrial cancer

While many highly industrialized and developed countries report falling or negative population growth rates due to a rapid decrease in the number of babies born each year, a new report adds more strength to the evidence that bearing a baby has a protective effect on the endometrium, the lining of the womb, reducing the risk of endometrial cancer.

8 Nov 2022

Post-‘Roe,’ contraceptive failures carry bigger stakes

Birth control options have improved over the decades. Oral contraceptives are now safer, with fewer side effects. Intrauterine devices can prevent pregnancy 99.6% of the time. But no prescription drug or medical device works flawlessly, and people's use of contraception is inexact.

7 Nov 2022

Health Heroines: Supporting Women and Striving for Universal Health Coverage

In this interview we speak to Ms. Anita Kouvahey-Eklu, a recent Heroines of Health award winner, about her work in addressing gender inequalities within healthcare.

From Women in Global Health 7 Nov 2022

For Republican candidates, talk about moms and babies is a thorny issue

A month before Election Day, as Republicans in Congress dodged questions about a proposal to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tweeted that he wanted to talk about moms and babies.

4 Nov 2022

Combined oral contraceptive pills do not appear to exacerbate macromastia-related symptoms

Combined oral contraceptives (COCs) containing both estrogen and progestin do not contribute to the development of enlarged breasts (macromastia) – nor do they increase the risk of breast regrowth in adolescents and young women following breast-reduction surgery, reports a study in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

29 Sep 2022

Texas, battling teen pregnancy, recasts sex education standards

J.R. Chester got pregnant the summer before her senior year of high school. A bright student with good grades, she gave birth, graduated, and was pregnant again when she arrived at college that fall.

20 Sep 2022

The predominant lineage in Europe of gonococcus is resistant to one of common drug treatments

A study featuring the participation of Fisabio (Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region), dependent on the Conselleria de Sanitat Universal i Salut Pública, has found that the predominant lineage in Europe of gonococcus—the bacterium which causes gonorrhea—is resistant to one of the two drugs, among others, most commonly used today to treat this disease.

19 Sep 2022

BU researcher awarded $7.2 million grant to develop mAb-based contraceptive products

Deborah Jean Anderson, PhD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, has received a four-year, $7.2 million grant from the NIH's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development renewing support for a Contraceptive Research Center at BUSM to further her research to develop innovative monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based contraceptive and multipurpose prevention technology (MPT) products.

15 Sep 2022

Many preventive medical services cost patients nothing. Will a Texas court decision change that?

A federal judge's ruling in Texas has thrown into question whether millions of insured Americans will continue to receive some preventive medical services, such as cancer screenings and drugs that protect people from HIV infection, without making a copayment.

9 Sep 2022

Animal models for studying the impacts of hormonal contraception

In a recent study published in the Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology journal, researchers assessed the impact of hormonal contraceptives (HC) on the brain and stress.

8 Sep 2022

A GOP talking point suggests birth control is not at risk. Evidence suggests otherwise.

Republicans who oppose abortion have new talking points — birth control will remain easily available in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision overturning the federal right to abortion, and when Democrats say otherwise, they are just trying to scare voters.

5 Aug 2022

In California, abortion could become a constitutional right. So could birth control.

Californians will decide in November whether to lock the right to abortion into the state constitution.

5 Aug 2022

Study finds molnupiravir well-tolerated, and effective in vaccinated and unvaccinated

Researchers report the phase II efficacy and safety of molnupiravir in both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals.

27 Jul 2022

Frequent aspirin use associated with lower ovarian cancer risk in people with multiple risk factors

Frequent aspirin use is linked with lower ovarian cancer risk in individuals with multiple risk factors, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

26 Jul 2022

Study provides estimates of worldwide contraceptive use by country, age group, and marital status

Published today in The Lancet journal by the Global Burden of Disease study, the most comprehensive assessment of worldwide contraceptive need and use estimated that over 160 million women and adolescents with need to prevent childbearing remained without contraception in 2019 – despite major increases in use at a global level since 1970.

22 Jul 2022

Three things about the abortion debate that many people get wrong

In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the federal right to abortion, things are more than a little confused.