Contraceptive patch to fight abortion rate

Norwegian teenagers have a high abortion rate - 2-3 times as high as in Finland or Italy -
and a contraceptive patch that is worn on the skin for a week is the latest weapon in the
fight against unwanted pregnancy, newspaper Dagbladet reports.

 


According to Statistics Norway (SSB), Norwegian teenagers had 2,200 abortions in 2002. One leading reason is sloppy or forgetful use of the pill, according to a survey SSB carried out for patch producer Janssen-Cilag.

Three out of four women admitted to the omission of a daily dose, and one out of four confessed to forgetting at least once a month. Women between the ages 15-25 were even worse, with one third saying they made a monthly error.

Skier Vibeke Skofterud was one of several celebrities that modelled the new contraceptive patch.
PHOTO: HEIKO JUNGE/SCANPIX
On Tuesday the contraceptive patch Evra, looking like the analogous method of taking nicotine, made its debut in Norway. The patch is worn for three weeks, and then the user takes a week off.

The treatment is said to produce similar side-effects to traditional contraceptive pills, and Janssen-Cilag said the effects wear off after a few months.

Mette Hvalstad Oestberg at SUSS, an organization dedicated to helping youths deal with sex and relationships, feared that the new contraceptive could reduce the use of condoms.

"And that worries me. I think there is too much focus on unwanted pregnancies instead of diseases. Free contraceptive pills to teenagers have reduced abortions in the age group. That is why I think authorities should also take the step of giving out free condoms," Oestberg told Dagbladet.


Aftenposten English Web Desk
Jonathan Tisdall