Imperfect Use of Hormonal Contraceptives Can Affect Your Emotional Well Being How would you rate your use of combined hormonal contraceptives - are you the perfect tudent', using them exactly as you have been instructed by your health care professional or do you regularly rely on emergency contraception (Plan B or the 'morning after pill') for 'damage control'. If you are not at the 'top of the class' for your contraceptive behavior, you may also be playing swings and roundabouts with your emotions. The outcome of a study of 26,250 women, aged 18 to 49 has just been published and confirms that being inconsistent with your contraceptive regime can adversely affect your health, your schooling, your job and your relationship with your partner. The study was carried out over a three month period in Spain where women completed a questionnaire at outpatient clinics of the departments of gynecology and family planning centers of public and private institutions throughout across the country in 2006.

The lead investigator of the study, Dr Inaki Lete, Hospital Santiago Apostol, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, collated information about attitudes and the psychological impact of imperfect use of hormonal contraceptives from women who used three different hormonal contraceptive methods, being the combined pill, (65%) the skin patch (12%) and NUVARING(R) (23%) (etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol vaginal ring).