Giving Compass' Take:

• Laneta Dorflinger explains that new contraceptive technologies are needed to fill existing gaps in options for pregnancy prevention. 

• What needs remain? Who is already working to close these gaps? 

• Learn how to find and fund scientific research


Why do women who do not want to get pregnant choose not to use modern family planning methods? The two most common answers given by married women were health reasons/side effects or fear of side effects (26 percent) and claims of infrequent sex or not being sexually active (24 percent). Among unmarried women, infrequent sex (49 percent) was the top reason.

Equally informative are recent FHI 360 findings from a user preference study in Uganda and Burkina Faso showing that 75 percent of women currently using a method would be open to trying new technologies.

What are we doing to address these concerns and to fill remaining gaps in the method mix? Clearly not enough … and clearly not fast enough! The truth is the contraceptive product development cycle is long (10-15 years or more), complex (with numerous clinical studies/trials required to prove safety and efficacy), and financed with fewer public and private investment dollars than most therapeutic areas.

In the nearer term, we need to continue to refine existing products to improve their side effect profiles. For hormonal methods, the goal should be to hone in on the lowest doses required to ensure efficacy, while looking to extend duration of effectiveness and improve ease of use.

In the mid-term, we need to identify new delivery platforms that allow for self-administration — which will let potential users control their fertility discreetly and more conveniently, a preference noted by many in a recent study of Sayana® Press.

In the longer term, we need transformational approaches. Just as the pill revolutionized birth control 60 years ago, the next generation of contraceptive technologies should aim to do the same. Like many other areas of medicine, future contraceptive technologies may shift from a one-size-fits-most approach to individualized solutions.

Read the full article about contraceptive technologies by Laneta Dorflinger at Degrees.