Birth Control Health Center

News and Features Related to Birth Control

121. Getting Examined to Get the Pill
     

     May 1, 2001 -- Most women who use birth control pills expect to get a breast exam and pelvic exam each year when they see their doctor to refill the prescription. It's a familiar routine, and it allows the doctor to check for signs of sexually transmitted diseases and other harmful conditions. For m

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122. Obstetricians Say Morning-After Pills Can Prevent Half a Million Abortions
     

     April 30, 2001 (Chicago) -- Marshalling the influence of the 40,000-strong American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the group's incoming president put out a call to fellow doctors Monday to offer a prescription for the morning-after pill to all women of childbearing age as part of routin

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123. Contraceptives Don't Protect Against Leading Cause of Infertility
     

     -->April 17, 2001 -- Contraceptives are essential to preventpregnancy and in the case of condoms, crucial to protect against sexuallytransmitted diseases. Lots of studies have also suggested that condoms, birthcontrol pills, and other contraceptives offer protection against the leadingcause of infer

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124. The Pill Prevents ... Colorectal Cancer?
     

     April 19, 2001 -- The Pill may prevent more than just pregnancy. Combined findings from several studies point to a lower risk of colorectal cancer in women who have used oral contraceptives. According to a report in the British Journal of Cancer, women who took birth-control pills at any time in the

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125. Morning-After Pill Intensifies Internet Prescribing Debate
     

     March 9, 2001 (Washington) -- Need a prescription? More and more, Americans are turning to their computer for prescriptions instead of scheduling an appointment to see their doctor. A hotly debated phenomenon, Internet prescribing is convenient -- and sometimes cheaper -- than a brick-and-mortar pha

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126. Could a Pill Protect Like a Condom?
     

     March 2, 2001 -- Although condoms may have their drawbacks, they are effective when used properly in preventing both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. But what if a single pill could protect against both? New research reported in the March 2 issue of Science helps explain how the body fig

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127. Maker of Morning-After Pill Ready for Over-the-Counter Studies
     

     Feb. 14, 2001 -- The next step in making a morning-after pill available over the counter in the U.S. is about to begin. Executives at Women's Capital Corporation, maker of the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill, say the FDA-sanctioned studies are gearing up in Washington state and California. In th

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128. Emergency Contraception Without a Prescription
     

     Feb. 6, 2001 -- Surprisingly few women in the U.S. know that if they have unprotected sex they can still avoid pregnancy by using high-dose birth control within three days. The method is known as emergency contraception or the 'morning after' pill, and women's health advocates are trying to make sur

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129. Bill Introduced to Restrict Use of the Abortion Pill
     

     Feb. 6, 2001 (Washington) -- Some Republican lawmakers are once again mounting an effort to restrict the use of the highly controversial abortion pill RU-486. U.S. Rep. David Vitter, (R-La.), and U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, (R-Ark.), on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require physicians pres

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130. Only 'Wonder Man' Can Resist Male Contraceptive Shots
     

     Jan. 29, 2001 -- They call him the Wonder Man. All the other guys who volunteered to try a once-every-six-weeks male contraceptive shot saw their sperm counts drop to zero -- results good enough for a major pharmaceutical company to begin advanced clinical tests of the approach. Results from the rec

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