Iñaki Lete1, José Luis Doval2, Ezequiel Pérez-Campos3, María Jesús Alonso4, Guillermo Sellers5, Rafael Sánchez-Borrego6. 1. a Faculty of Medicine, University of the Basque Country, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinical Management Unit , Araba University Hospital , Vitoria , Spain. 2. b Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department , Ourense Hospital Complex , Ourense , Spain. 3. c Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department , Associate University Hospital of Requena , Requena , Spain. 4. d Sexual Orientation Centre for Young People, Andalusian Health Service , Malaga , Spain. 5. e HRA Pharma , Madrid , Spain. 6. f Clínica Diatros , Barcelona , Spain.
Abstract
Objective: To estimate the differences in unintended pregnancies avoided using either levonorgestrel (LNG) or ulipristal acetate (UPA) emergency contraception (EC). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Survey carried out in Spain. Participants: 1000 Spanish women reporting unprotected sex in 2017. Main measurements: EC use, reasons for not using EC, calculation of the number of unintended pregnancies avoided. Results: 39% of Spanish women having had unprotected sex used EC. 61% of those women did not use EC and 11% did not know the existence of this resource. In 2017 the use of EC prevented 101,271 unintended pregnancies. If instead of using LNG every woman had used UPA another 15,979 additional pregnancies could have been prevented. Conclusions: If all Spanish women having unprotected sex used EC we could expect a significant decrease in the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions. Using UPA instead of LNG would have a greater impact on that reduction with the corresponding benefit for women and society as a whole.
Objective: To estimate the differences in unintended pregnancies avoided using either levonorgestrel (LNG) or ulipristal acetate (UPA) emergency contraception (EC). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Survey carried out in Spain. Participants: 1000 Spanish women reporting unprotected sex in 2017. Main measurements: EC use, reasons for not using EC, calculation of the number of unintended pregnancies avoided. Results: 39% of Spanish women having had unprotected sex used EC. 61% of those women did not use EC and 11% did not know the existence of this resource. In 2017 the use of EC prevented 101,271 unintended pregnancies. If instead of using LNG every woman had used UPA another 15,979 additional pregnancies could have been prevented. Conclusions: If all Spanish women having unprotected sex used EC we could expect a significant decrease in the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions. Using UPA instead of LNG would have a greater impact on that reduction with the corresponding benefit for women and society as a whole.