The Combined Contraceptive

Abstract

Eighty percent of women receive contraceptive advice and treatment through their GP. A sexually active woman has an 85% chance of becoming pregnant within a year without contraception and roughly one in three pregnancies are unplanned. Inadequate advice and choice results in women being dissatisfied with their method of contraception and not using methods correctly. Combined contraceptives are preferred by many women because they are reliable, yet easily and rapidly reversible, and are generally well tolerated. This article aims to give an overview guiding GPs in training on choice of the combined contraceptive as a method of contraception and prescription and monitoring of combined contraceptives in primary care.