EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION - WHY WOMEN DONT USE IT

Aim. The aim of the study was to examine knowledge of and perceived av ailability of the emergency contraceptive pill as well as reasons for its non use. Methods. One hundred women each attending Epsom day unit or the Auckland medical aid clinic in Auckland seeking termination of pregnancy, and 100 women seeking contraceptive advice from the Alice B ush centre in Auckland, were asked to take part in the study. Results. At Alice Bush centre 57% of women had previously used the emergency c ontraceptive pill compared with 43% women at Epsom day unit and 32% wo men at Auckland medical aid clinic. Only 7% of women attending Epsom d ay unit or Auckland medical aid clinic had used the emergency contrace ptive pill in the month they conceived. When asked why they had not us ed the emergency contraceptive pill 38% of respondents said they had n ot heard of it and 41% did not know where to obtain it. Pacific Island women were least likely to have heard of it. Approximately 50% knew t he correct time interval for using the emergency contraceptive pill. S ixty two percent attending the abortion clinics would have used the em ergency contraceptive pill if they had a supply at home and 57% stated they would have used it if it was available over the counter through pharmacies. Conclusions. The discrepancy between the numbers of women who knew of the emergency contraceptive pill (72%) and the numbers who used it to try to prevent pregnancy (7%) indicates that there are bar riers to obtaining and using the emergency contraceptive pill. This st udy demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the emergency contraceptive pi ll in women attending the abortion clinics. The majority of women seek ing termination of pregnancy would have used the emergency contracepti ve pill if they had it available at home or over the counter through a pharmacy. Doctors prescribing the pill and barrier methods of contrac eption should consider providing a supply of emergency contraceptive p ill at the same time and consideration should be given to over the cou nter prescribing of the emergency contraceptive pill in New Zealand.