Changes in contraceptive choice after emergency contraception

ObjectiveTo determine whether women use emergency contraception (EC) repeatedly instead of regular contraception methods if they have access to EC.MethodsData from the records of 9201 women who underwent EC 11 014 times in the years 2006 through 2008 at Hong Kong clinics were retrospectively analyzed. The χ2 test was used to look for associations between demographic characteristics and repeated EC use and the Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the significance of changes in contraceptive use over time.ResultsA total of 10 845 courses of EC pills and 168 intrauterine devices were provided to the 9201 women, 89.4% of whom used EC once and 8.5% twice within a year. Using EC more than twice was only associated with unstable relationships. The percentages of women using no contraceptives during intercourse decreased from 20.6% at baseline to 4.7% four to 6 weeks after EC, 4.0% at 6 months, and 3.4% at 12 months. The percentages of women using highly effective methods of contraception increased from 3.5% to 20.8%, 27.3%, and 27.7% at the same time points.ConclusionThe low rate of repeated EC use and the positive changes in contraceptive choice after EC are reassuring.