Abstract
User satisfaction and the physical and psychological effects of five commonly used
contraceptive methods were investigated in a population survey among 1466 West German
women. The focus was on effects attributed by current and past users to these methods,
rather than objectively assessed effects, to shed further light on personal experiences
that are highly relevant to the user but often remain unknown to prescribers and unreported
in the medical literature. Within the overall sample, 1303 women were surveyed concerning
their current or past use of oral contraceptives (OC), 996 regarding condoms, 342
with respect to intrauterine devices (IUD), 428 in regard to natural family planning
(NFP), and 139 in relation to sterilization (respondents completed questions about
each method used). It emerged that satisfaction was greatest with sterilization (92%
of users), followed by OC (68% of ever users), IUD (59%), NFP (43%), and condoms (30%).
Almost one in three NFP users had experienced an unwanted pregnancy during use of
this method, as compared with one in 20 OC and condom users. The majority of users
reported no mood changes during use of the methods studied. The percentages reporting
negative mood changes (various items were scored) were up to 16% among OC users, 23%
among condom users, and 30% among NFP users. The latter observations suggested that
subjective side effects of a contraceptive agent on mood generally reflected, at least
in part, the user’s sense of confidence in the method concerned (notably, with regard
to efficacy and safety). Oral contraceptives, IUD, and sterilization had a broadly
positive impact on sex life, whereas that of condoms was often negative. Whereas OC
users often reported less heavy and painful menstruation (in up to 56% of cases),
IUD were associated with heavier, prolonged, and more painful menstruation (in up
to 65% of cases), as also was sterilization, although to a lesser extent (in up to
32% of cases). Overall, the study findings indicated that OC and sterilization had
less negative impact on physical and psychological functioning than the other methods
studied, in contrast to what the general public often believes.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 4,
1999
Received in revised form:
May 3,
1999
Received:
December 11,
1998
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
