[The Greek Orthodox Church and position regarding birth control].
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For the purpose of this review, ¿barriers¿ are defined as any method used during or after intercourse that physically or chemically isolates semen. Latex condoms for men are the best studied physical barrier and offer high efficacy as both a contraceptive and as protection against several major sexually transmissable diseases (STD), particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Limited acceptability and dependence on male cooperation limit their ¿use effectiveness¿ in non-commercial sex or when the receptive partner is disempowered. Polyurethane male condoms may improve acceptability and prove stronger and more durable. Female-dependent methods require further study which may net real benefits for containing the spread of STD/HIV infections in the short to medium term. Female condoms and newer non-toxic intravaginal chemicals offer much promise. Similarly, the female diaphragm warrants further investigation and should be given more prominence at least as a second-line measure. Withdrawal and post-coital intravaginal chemical prophylaxis may have been previously underestimated as occasionally useful strategies, particularly for reducing the risk of pregnancy and HIV infection for those that were otherwise unprepared for sex. The only role for vasectomy is as a contraceptive measure, while vaginal or anal douching is contraindicated as a reproductive health measure because of the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease and other ectopic pregnancy. There is ample room for developing a more diverse range of better barrier products as well as better promoting those methods that already exist. We already have the means available to us to halt the spread of HIV. Moral arguments against barrier methods have no scientific basis.
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When properly taught and practised, natural family planning can be a highly effective form of birth regulation. Recent studies indicate low failure rates of less than three pregnancies per 100 women years for couples with a strong motivation to follow the method. Studies show that pregnancy rates are high when the rules for avoiding pregnancy are not adhered to. Successful natural family planning can lead to heightened self esteem and marital enrichment.
The high frequency of anovulation during adolescence raises the question of whether a method for the recognition of ovulation by self-detection of cervical mucus patterns is useful in teenagers. We performed a secondary analysis of 1049 completely recorded cycles of 235 teen women 15-17 years of age with a gynecologic age from less than 1 to 7 years. These subjects had learned to monitor their fertility patterns using the Billings Ovulation Method. The cycles were analyzed by the length of the mucus and luteal phases and recorded "peak symptom." Ovulatory cycles were grouped by the length of the luteal phase, short (4-8 days) and average (8-18 days), and plotted against gynecologic age. The frequency of anovulatory cycles was comparable to Vollman's age-stratified monophasic cycle groups. Ovulatory patterns were found at gynecologic ages of 1 year, 49%; 2 years, 60%; 3 years, 72%; 4 years, 61%; 5 years, 86%; and 6 years, 71%. The study proved that teen-age women can distinguish patterns of ovulation and anovulation by self-detection of cervical mucus.
Patterns of vaginal bleeding are an important factor in the acceptability of contraceptive methods. The analysis of data obtained from daily menstrual diary records is a major methodological problem to which no satisfactory solution exists. This review describes approaches to the analysis of bleeding patterns among contracepting and non-contracepting women and reviews the difficulties involved. The reference period method, introduced to avoid the arbitrary rules and definitions required for an analysis based on the concept of a menstrual cycle, is discussed and its limitations presented. The review draws on reports of meetings convened by the World Health Organization and the University of Exeter Family Planning Unit to discuss issues in the analysis. Previously unpublished methods are summarized and areas of controversy and topics for further research are identified.
Basal body temperature (BBT) readings are handicapped as fertility predictors by exogenous influences on women's temperatures, many of which could be adjusted for by the presence of a non-cycling control. We, a married, cohabiting couple, tracked our BBTs for two months. We found substantial temperature covariability. When there were difficult-to-explain changes in the female partner's temperature, similar changes in the male partner's temperature suggested that these fluctuations were not attributable to ovulation. Additionally, a clear mid-cycle widening of our temperature gap suggested that ovulation had occurred. This is a limited trial of a new method. However, the potential for substantially improving the accuracy and usefulness of a globally utilized method, coupled with its inexpensiveness, ease, and painlessness, call for a larger study.
A retrospective study of 1,311 women making initial family planning visits to metropolitan-area health department clinics found that many women switch methods or discontinue use in the first year following the clinic visits. Among a subgroup of women, most of whom selected the pill as their primary method and who used the pill for at least one of the months in the study period, almost half either changed methods or used no method at some point during a follow-up period averaging eight months. This includes 13 percent of women who made two or more changes. In addition, only 42 percent said they took a pill every day, and only half of these said they always took their pill at about the same time every day. Despite such irregularities, pill users were approximately one-third as likely to get pregnant during the study period as women making an initial family planning visit to a health department clinic who did not use the pill at all.
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