FAMILY-PLANNING REQUIREMENTS IN THE ADULT CONGENITAL HEART-DISEASE CLINIC

Objective-To determine whether women with congenital heart disease wer e receiving appropriate advice on contraception. Setting-Adult congeni tal heart disease clinic in a tertiary cardiac referral centre. Design -Questionnaire administered to 35 consecutive female patients attendin g the adult congenital clinic, The cardiologist assessed what the risk would be if each patient used an oestrogen containing contraceptive p ill (OCP). Results-Of the 33 patients admitted to the study 6 patients thought their heart condition precluded them from taking an OCP when in fact it did not and 3 incorrectly said that an OCP would be suitabl e for them. Three women with relatively minor lesions had been incorre ctly denied the OCP and 2 further patients were using inappropriate me thods. There had been 6 unwanted pregnancies in the total group. Concl usions-Many women with congenital heart disease do not know the most a ppropriate method of contraception for them or have received incorrect advice. It is often patients with less severe lesions who receive the most inappropriate advice. It is clear that the family planning needs of this population are currently poorly catered for. Each unit must e nsure that the information necessary in making informed decisions on c ontraception is available to the doctor advising on family planning.