Impact of the French 3rd and 4th generation pill scare in women seeking termination of pregnancy

Ophélie Caillot (1) , Marc Aubry (2, 3, 4) , Solène Duros (1) , Laurence Boyer (1) , Claude van Valenberg (1) , Jean Levêque (5, 1) , Vincent Lavoué (1, 5)

1 CHU Pontchaillou [Rennes]
2 Biosit : Biologie - Santé - Innovation Technologique - Structure Fédérative de Recherche en Biologie et Santé de Rennes
3 IGDR - Institut de Génétique et Développement de Rennes
4 Plateforme Génomique Santé Biogenouest®
5 OSS - Oncogenesis Stress Signaling

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the contraceptive profile of women seeking termination of pregnancy following the debate on 3rd and 4th generation pills in France in 2012.Materials and methods Single-center case-control study comparing the attitude to contraception before (between 02/15/2012 and 07/16/2012) and after the debate (between 02/25/2013 and 06/24/2013).Results A total of 291 patients consulted before and 601 after the debate. We showed that there were more students (+9.5%), more single women (+8.3%) and fewer working women (–7.7%) in the cohort after the debate. After the termination procedure, prescriptions for long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods increased (+7.8%, P = 0.03), in particular in patients aged 25 or younger, including nulliparous (+12.6%, P = 0.02).Conclusion The media alert about the pill led to a change in the contraceptive standard in the post-abortion period and altered patient profiles. An increase was notably observed in certain vulnerable populations (high school students, unemployed and single women). It remains to be seen whether these changes are transient or permanent.

Keywords: Abortion; Long-acting reversible contraception; Contraception; Pill scare; Pill

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Gynecology and obstetrics

Ophélie Caillot, Marc Aubry, Solène Duros, Laurence Boyer, Claude van Valenberg, et al.. Impact of the French 3rd and 4th generation pill scare in women seeking termination of pregnancy. Journal de Gynécologie Obstétrique et Biologie de la Reproduction, 2017, 46 (1), pp.69-76. ⟨10.1016/j.jgyn.2016.03.014⟩. ⟨hal-01308004⟩