Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Use of Long-Acting Birth Control Methods Surges Among U.S. Women - The New York Times

The share of American women on birth control who use long-acting reversible methods like intrauterine devices and implants has nearly doubled in recent years, the federal government reported Tuesday.

The share of women on birth control who use the devices rose to 11.6 percent in the period from 2011 to 2013, up from 6 percent in 2006 to 2010, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The share is still smaller than for the pill (26 percent) or condoms (15 percent), but it is the fastest-growing method. In 2002, just 2.4 percent of women on birth control in the United States used the long-acting methods.

Women's health advocates say long-acting birth control is giving American women more say over when — and with whom — they have children. About half of the 6.6 million pregnancies a year in the United States are unintended, and health experts contend that broader use of long-acting methods could help reduce that number, because the methods work better than other types.

More ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/health/use-of-long-acting-birth-control-methods-surges-among-us-women.html?