The first oral contraceptive was introduced in the United States during the 1960s, and, subsequently, there was an increase in women’s labor force participation rates. Although the economic role of oral contraceptives is still highly debated by scholars, previous studies have found that the pill had a statistically significant impact on women’s labor force participation rates. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women, I will analyze how hours worked, hourly wages, weekly earnings and occupations for women were affected by oral contraceptives. By controlling for various governing statutes that affected the availability of the use and distribution of oral contraceptives in different states, I am able to provide evidence highlighting the extent of the pill’s significance. I find that early legal access (ELA) to oral contraceptives that resulted from residential states legalizing abortion before others positively and significantly affects women’s hours worked, hourly wages, weekly earnings and whether or not women entered into professional occupations.

Background: Teen pregnancy is associated with an array of negative social and health related outcomes for the mother as well as the baby. The risk of becoming a parent before the age of 20 is clearly elevated for former child welfare clients. Aim: The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the elevated birth rates among female adolescent child welfare clients by examining the relationship between contraceptive behaviour and pregnancies. Method: The study was based on a set of compiled register data. The study population were all females between the ages 14 and 19 during the years 2006-2008 (n. 487 115). The study group of main interest were child welfare clients who were compared to peers in the majority population as well as international and national adoptees. Analysis was conducted with multivariate logistic regression and the observed association was controlled for maternal, socio-demographic and behavioural factors. Results: The two sub-populations of child welfare clients both had much higher rates of retrieved hormonal contraceptives compared to the majority population, the international and the national adoptees up to age 17. In the ages 18 and 19 the rates were instead lower than the majority population. The child welfare clients had a stronger association to births than all groups of comparison, which was consistent with earlier research. All findings persisted after controlling for socio-demographic, maternal and behavioural factors. Conclusion: The child welfare clients showed a specific pattern of contraceptive behaviour over the age groups which was not consistent with the groups of comparison or with the expected relationship to birth rates. This suggests that teenage births cannot unanimously be predicted by the rates of retrieved hormonal contraceptives. The results imply that other factors than those investigated in this study are more influential regarding the contraceptive behaviour of this adolescent population.

Syfte: Undersöka preventivmedelsanvändning, sexuellt riskbeteende gällande könssjukdomar och oönskade graviditeter samt skillnader i sexuellt riskbeteende mellan olika ursprung, självförtroende och ålder vid sexuell debut hos kvinnor i åldern 14-31 år. Metod: En enkätundersökning, konsekutivt urval, utförd på RFSU-kliniken under år 2011 inkluderade 419 kvinnor. Resultat: Kondom var det vanligaste preventivmedlet vid första samlaget och p-piller var vanligast vid senaste samlaget. Nästan hälften, 48,7 %, hade haft en könssjukdom, klamydia var vanligast. Över hälften, 60,2 %, hade riskerat att få en könssjukdom och 45,6 % hade riskerat att bli oönskat gravid under de senaste tolv månaderna. Den främsta anledningen till detta var på grund av att de struntade i kondom ”i stundens hetta”. Kvinnor som haft sin sexuella debut i yngre ålder angav oftare att de haft en könssjukdom och någon gång under de senaste tolv månaderna riskerat att bli oönskat gravid. Kvinnor som skattat sitt självförtroende som högt struntade oftare i att använda kondom ”i stundens hetta”. Slutsats: Över hälften hade ett sexuellt riskbeteende gällande könssjukdomar och oönskade graviditeter. Kvinnor som hade sin sexuella debut i yngre ålder samt kvinnor som skattade sitt självförtroende högt visade oftare på ett sexuellt riskbeteende. Det fanns ingen signifikant skillnad mellan svenskfödda och utlandsfödda gällande ett sexuellt risktagande. / Aim: Investigate contraceptive use, sexual risk behavior regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) and unwanted pregnancies and examine differences in sexual risk behavior regarding different backgrounds, self-confidence and age at first intercourse in women aged 14-31 years. Method: Consecutive sample including 419 women with a questionnaire, at a RFSU-clinic in Stockholm, 2011. Results: Condoms were most common at first intercourse and oral contraceptives most common at latest intercourse. Almost half had had an STD, Chlamydia the most common. Almost 60 % risked getting STD’s and 45,6 % risked unwanted pregnancies at sometime during the last twelve months. Main reason why participants risked this was because they ignored the condom in “the heat of the moment”. Women who had their first intercourse at a young age more often have had an STD and during the last twelve months risked an unwanted pregnancy. Women with a high self-confidence more often ignored using a condom in “the heat of the moment”. Conclusion: Over half of the participants had a sexual risk behavior regarding STD’s and unwanted pregnancies. Women who had their first intercourse at a young age and women with a high self-confidence showed signs of sexual risk-taking. There’s no significant difference between Swedish born and foreign born participants regarding sexual risk-taking.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Background: Unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among young people are priority public health issues in the UK. Social marketing is the preferred Government approach to intervention despite limited evidence on efficacy. There is need to understand its applicability and effectiveness in addressing the specified sexual health issues. Methods: Three studies were carried out, of which the first was a systematic review of 12 studies assessing the effectiveness of social marketing in reducing unintended teenage pregnancies. The second and third were consumer research applications examining factors associated with Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive (LARC) use and Chlamydia screening respectively. The second study involved analysing five ONS Contraception survey datasets while the third involved analysing Havering PCT Chlamydia screening records and qualitative data from 28 participants. Data were analysed using Stata.10 and Framework statistical packages and maps drawn using MapInfo.10.5. Results: The systematic review showed that nine studies achieved significant effects on at least one of the specified outcomes (reduced pregnancy rates and related behaviour changes). The second study showed that the NICE guidelines published in 2005 successfully addressed the disparity in LARC uptake previously experienced by women aged below 20. The third study identified females and non-white participants as more likely to take Chlamydia tests. Motivating factors for testing included convenient access to kits and fear of infertility, while barriers included ignorance and fear of results. Conclusions: Social marketing appears to be effective in reducing unintended teenage pregnancies but evidence is limited to particular outcomes and context. Consumer research provides vital intelligence about target populations necessary for designing effective interventions and addressing inequalities. However to assess its influence on outcomes, studies that feature all social marketing components are required. Overall there is need for more studies that specifically utilize social marketing principles to enable more robust evaluations.

This study adopted a case study design to understand women and contraceptive use in the Diepsloot community, an impoverished urban informal settlement, north of Johannesburg. It was guided by feminist and critical theory, and made use of the qualitative research paradigm. The history of the provision of reproductive health services in South Africa has been discussed as a process that has both marginalised the participation of previously disadvantaged communities and also limited the opportunities for effective contraceptive use in the post-apartheid era. The main objectives were to understand reproductive health experiences of women and their knowledge of modern contraception in relation to the ecological environment in which they are embedded. I used the non-probability purposive and theoretical sampling methods. The sample size was theory driven and largely determined by the type of data acquired after a series of interviews with twenty women over a five month period. Data collection ceased when data saturation was reached. Individual interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with twenty primary respondents. For triangulation purposes, primary health care service providers from the two local clinics were interviewed. Also one focus group discussion was done with a group of eight men; two traditional healers and the manager at the local Marie Stopes clinic were also interviewed for the same purpose. I used thematic analysis as the method of analysing the data. Thematic analysis moves beyond merely describing the data but identifies both the unspoken and obvious ideas within data. It was the intersectionality of contraceptive use and the unique lived experiences of disadvantaged women that had inspired the study and all methods employed were aimed at a deeper understanding of the effects of the cultural, social and economic environment on the reproductive health choices of the women. The data were analysed according to the seven themes that emerged from the study and these were: empowerment and reproductive health decision making, level of education as a determining factor in contraceptive use, contraceptive knowledge, contraceptive dialogue as a contributing factor to contraceptive use and choice, opinions on the prevention of pregnancy, spacing versus limiting the number of births and the availability and accessibility of modern contraceptive methods. The inextricable link between education, poverty and gender inequality highlighted the need to empower women in marginalised communities. Due to poverty and lack of education, most women were powerless and not independent to make favourable reproductive health decisions. Knowledge of modern contraceptive methods was limited and the most popularly used method was the contraceptive injection. The circumstances of the women in this study and those of the Diepsloot community speak to the broader economic issues of the country and reflect the need to prioritise women’s education; to create economic opportunities for women and to enhance the participation of the poor and marginalised communities. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This thesis explores issues of contraceptive use among members of both male and female genders. Although research has been conducted on teenage pregnancy, abortion, sexual behaviour, and contraceptive use with particular focus on the female population, a gendered study has yet to be conducted on contraceptive use among young adults, male and female that have just gone beyond their teenage years and are on the verge of entering into adulthood. Hence, this thesis reviews contraceptive use among young adult students (aged 18-25) of both genders using quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interviews) research methods. This study was based at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. A total of forty students (n=40) were sampled using the convenience sampling method. Twenty of the students were male, while the remaining twenty were female. The thesis adopts a theoretical approach that attempts to conceptualise the influence of patriarchy on contraceptive use among members of the female gender. Also, societal reproductive role fixing is contemplated by examining the ways through which societal construction of male and female roles and stereotypes affect contraceptive use among members of both genders. In this study, it is affirmed that societal attitudes, and misconceptions about contraceptive use play an important role in young adult, male, and female contraceptive use and attitudes towards. Evidence of this, from the survey and interviews conducted in the study, is the high use of the condom, amongst both male and female students compared with other available methods. Among female students, the use of the pill is at twenty-three percent (n=6), use of injectable methods is at thirty-one percent (n=8), while the use of the condom is considerably higher at fortysix percent (n=12). While among male students, the use of the withdrawal method is at nineteen percent (n=4), while condom use is at eighty-one percent (n=17). Both male and female reported that they were satisfied with their choice and use of contraception. The response rate for satisfied female clients was eighty-five percent (n=22), while among male clients, it was seventy-six percent (n=16). The high use of the (male) condom among female students was highly attributed to personal convenience and comfort with condom use as unmarried young women. While with both genders, with the male especially, it was attributed to the function of the condom as a safe sex method, rather than for pregnancy prevention Gender is, and will remain a relevant issue in sexual/reproductive health matters globally. This work represents a contribution to knowledge in this field. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of oral contraceptives (OC) on bone health in active women during early adulthood. Thirty-eight women between the ages of 18 and 35 years participated in this study. Participants were placed into two groups: 1) those who had taken OCs (Ortho Tri-Cyclen for a minimum of two years (n=22) and 2) those who had never taken OCs (n=16). The two groups were matched based on age, nutritional habits, percent body fat, and activity level. Participants completed a health history questionnaire, food frequency questionnaire, and received a full body scan via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). An independent t-test revealed no significant difference (p < 0.05) between the bone mineral density of the women taking OCs (1.188 g/cm2 ± 0.09) and those women who never consumed OCs (1.207 g/cm2 ± 0.09). The effect of taking OCs in a young healthy population of women appears to have no osteogenic influence on bone health. / School of Physical Education

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-48). / viii, 48 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) affects 3–8% of women in fertile ages. Combined oral contraceptives (OCs) are widely used and some users experience adverse mood effects. The cyclicity of PMDD symptoms coincides with increased endogenous levels of allopregnanolone after ovulation. Allopregnanolone enhances the effect of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the GABAA receptor, the principal inhibitory transmitter system in the brain. The sensitivity to other GABAA receptor agonists than allopregnanolone (i.e. benzodiazepines, alcohol and the 5 β epimer to allopregnanolone, pregnanolone) has been reported to depend on menstrual cycle phase and/or PMDD diagnosis. Isoallopregnanolone, the 3 β epimer to allopregnanolone, has previously been used to verify specific allopregnanolone GABAA receptor effects. Saccadic eye velocity (SEV) is a sensitive and objective measurement of GABAA receptor function. Aims: To study the pharmacological effects, and any effect on gonadotropin release, of intravenous allopregnanolone in healthy women. A second aim was to explore whether allopregnanolone sensitivity differs over the menstrual cycle or during OC use in healthy women, and thirdly in PMDD patients. Methods: Ten women were challenged with a cumulative dose of intravenous allopregnanolone in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. The effect on FSH and LH was compared to women exposed to isoallopregnanolone. A single dose of allopregnanolone was administered once in the follicular phase and once in the luteal phase in another ten healthy women and in ten PMDD patients, and additionally in ten women using OCs. Repeated measurements of SEV, subjectively rated sedation and serum concentrations after allopregnanolone injections were performed in all studies. Results: Allopregnanolone dose-dependently reduced SEV and increased subjectively rated sedation. Healthy women had a decreased SEV response in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase. By contrast, PMDD patients had a decreased SEV response and subjectively rated sedation response to allopregnanolone in the follicular phase compared to the luteal phase. There was no difference in the SEV response to allopregnanolone between women using oral contraceptives and healthy naturally cycling women. Allopregnanolone decreased serum levels of FSH and LH whereas isoallopregnanolone did not affect FSH and LH levels. Conclusion: Intravenous allopregnanolone was safely given and produced a sedative response in terms of SEV and subjectively rated sedation in women. The sensitivity to allopregnanolone was associated with menstrual cycle phase, but in the opposite direction in healthy women compared to PMDD patients. The results suggest mechanisms of physiological tolerance to allopregnanolone across the menstrual cycle in healthy women and support that PMDD patients have a disturbed GABAA receptor function. In addition, one of our studies suggests that allopregnanolone might be involved in the mechanism behind hypothalamic amenorrhea.