[Tolerance of the contraceptive implant by prescription context (postabortion or not): Prospective study on 127 consultants].

AIM

While contraceptive methods increased in number, the number of abortions has remained stable. The aim of this study was to estimate the satisfaction of women toward a contraceptive implant (Implanon(®)) available in France in order to clarify prescription.

METHOD

The survey concerned 127 women who visited Angers and Nantes family planning centres between January2009 and January2010 in two implant prescription contexts (postabortion or not). They agreed to answer a first questionnaire describing the reasons for their choice. A second questionnaire was sent six months after to assess its tolerance.

RESULTS

In our study, 82% of patients were using a contraceptive method prior to implant (68% in postabortion and 88% in the other group). The first reason for choosing the implant was the fear of forgetting - it was more important in the postabortion group (88% vs. 61%). The main side effects were amenorrhea (50%), weight gain (30%) and mood disorders (19%). More than one in two women (54%) was very satisfied by the implant. It should be noted that in one quarter of cases, women seek early withdrawal of the contraceptive implant (23% in postabortion and 21% in the other group), a rate that is 39% in patients under 25years and 47% in patients who reported a mood disorder.

CONCLUSION

There is a tendency to better tolerance of the implant out of a context of abortion. Furthermore, mood disorders appear to be poorly tolerated. These elements encourage greater caution in prescribing the contraceptive implant in postabortion, situation in which patients have already psychological disorders, and even more among younger patients.