Birth Control Health Center

News and Features Related to Birth Control

51. Protein Clue for Male Contraceptive
    

    Nov. 1, 2006 -- The hunt for a male contraceptive pill may have a new target: a protein called Gba2. Male mice lacking that protein are infertile, scientists report in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Curbing Gba2 might serve as a male contraceptive, the researchers suggest. They included Davi

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52. The Pill May Raise Breast Cancer Risk
    

    Oct. 31, 2006 -- Women who take oral contraceptives have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer early in life, with the risk being greatest for women who use oral birth control before they have their first child, a new analysis suggests. Researchers combined the findings from 34 previ

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53. Male Contraceptive Drug in the Works
    

    Oct. 30, 2006 -- Scientists report promising results with a male contraceptive drug tested on rats. The drug, called Adjudin, is a long way from human use. But lab tests on rats showed no signs of side effects, and the drug's effects wore off in 20 weeks. The researchers included Chuen-yan Cheng, Ph

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54. Ortho Evra Patch: Clot Risk Updated
    

    Sept. 20, 2006 -- The Ortho Evra patch is getting new labeling with more information on the risk of nonfatal blood clots associated with the patch. The clotting risk isn't new, and the patch's warning about that risk isn't being strengthened. The label change simply adds information from two observa

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55. Morning-After Pill Is Over the Counter
    

    Aug. 24, 2006 -- The FDA has approved Plan B, the so-called morning-after emergency contraceptive, to be sold without prescription to women age 18 and older. Plan B's maker, Barr Pharmaceuticals, expects to introduce over-the-counter sales to women 18 and older by the end of the year. To get Plan B,

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56. Morning After Pill Over the Counter?
    

    Aug. 1, 2006 -- Plan B, the so-called morning after pill, is once again at issue before the FDA. Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, yesterday called on the drug's maker to revise its application for over-the-counter status for the drug. von Eschenbach suggested the company seek to ma

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57. A Pill Is Born
    

    I'm just a pill. Yes, I'm just a pill. And I'm sitting here ... Oh, hi. My name is Nupil. I'm a new drug, or at least I hope to be. Right now, the FDA is deciding whether to approve me. See that big office building? That's the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. It's as important as it sounds.

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58. FDA OKs New Implantable Contraceptive
    

    July 18, 2006 -- The FDA today announced approval of an implantable contraceptive called Implanon, which is effective for up to three years, according to its maker, Organon. About the size of a matchstick, Implanon is implanted by health care workers in the inner side of a woman's upper arm. Implano

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59. Seasonique Birth Control Pill Approved
    

    May 26, 2006 -- The FDA has approved Seasonique, an extended-cycle birth control that gives women four periods per year instead of 12 (one per month). Seasonique is "the next generation" of Seasonale, an extended-cycle birth control pill launched in 2003, states a news release from Barr Pharmaceutic

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60. FDA OKs New Birth Control Pill
    

    May 26, 2006 -- The FDA has approved Seasonique, an extended-cycle birth control pill that gives women four periods per year instead of 12 (one per month). Seasonique is "the next generation" of Seasonale, an extended-cycle birth control pill launched in 2003, states a news release from Barr Pharmac

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