Breaking News: A big win for emergency contraceptive access!
After years of legal back and forth, it looks like Plan B One-Step—and possibly generic versions of it as well—will finally be available over the counter to all. Happy Friday indeed!
Are Depo shot users more likely to break a bone?
Whoa. Some very interesting news in our latest “Get on Top”:
For women who use the shot (a.k.a. Depo-Provera), there’s good news and there’s weird news. For years women have been warned that the shot can cause loss of minerals in their bones—which could mean they’re more prone to bone fractures. A new study from England found that women using the shot did have a higher risk of broken bones compared to women using other types of birth control—but that was the case before they ever used the shot.
The pill, only when you get lucky
What if there was a birth control pill you didn’t need to take every. single. day? If you like the sound of a pill that works to prevent pregnancy when taken within a few hours of sex, you’re not alone….
Not-so-shocking news: People like sex, whether or not it involves using a condom.
Happy National Condom Week! In case you haven’t stumbled upon this study yet, basically some kind researchers took it upon themselves to debunk the all-too-common myth that sex is no fun with condoms. Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that condoms do not prevent people from enjoying sex—good news since condoms are the only birth control method that protect from STIs. Check out a few other interesting tidbits from the study over in our news section.
Take action to expand Medicaid coverage in your state!
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is working with states to give more low-income Americans the chance to get healthcare through Medicaid. If every state expands Medicaid to the level proposed by the ACA, it could mean coverage for roughly 15 million people currently without insurance. Most states are deciding now whether to expand. Make your voice heard and spread the word!
Do YOU know when in her monthly cycle a woman's most likely to get pregnant?
If so, you’d be in the minority, at least among 18-29-year-olds. From our latest Get on Top, “Fertility unawareness”:
The good news? Young folks who have used fertility awareness or withdrawal (a.k.a. pulling out) for birth control have a better idea of when in a woman’s cycle she’s most fertile compared to folks who have never used those methods. The bad news? That’s not sayin’ much.
Almost 700 women in Michigan, ages 18-19, took part in a multi-year study that asked them about their sex lives and their use of birth control. About one in four of them felt stressed out or depressed at the start of the study… The women who felt stressed were more likely to use their birth control inconsistently compared to women who weren’t stressed (40% v. 25%). Same for women who felt depressed in comparison to those who didn’t (36% v. 26%).
Unplanned pregnancy costs U.S. taxpayers $12 billion a year. A big chunk of that number comes from the cost of providing health care for low-income women during and after the birth of their child through Medicaid. Medicaid covers 41% of births in the U.S.—the average cost for one of those births as of 2008 was $12,613. On the other hand, Medicaid spent an average of $257 to cover birth control for one person that same year. That comes out to $3.74 in taxpayer savings for every dollar invested in birth control through Medicaid.
The (amazing) effect of free birth control
Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly be any crazier about the Contraceptive CHOICE Project, they go and make this video. A few points we couldn’t resist highlighting in our “Get on Top” piece about this for Bedsider proper (and here, obvs):
- The CHOICE Project affected unplanned pregnancy rates. Among CHOICE participants 35 in 1,000 women had an unplanned pregnancy within a year, compared to the national rate of 52 in 1,000 women.
- The CHOICE Project majorly affected abortion rates. Only 6 in 1,000 CHOICE participants had an abortion, compared to the national rate of 20 in 1,000 women.
- Education’s half the battle. Toward the end, the video notes that making LARC methods more affordable is one part of the solution—many women don’t even know about these methods, or don’t think they’re an option for them.
Pretty impressive, right? Watch the video, read the article, tell a friend!
The Magical Powers of Semen...
New research on β-NGF, a protein found in semen, suggests that it may be able to trigger ovulation. Scary or fascinating?
