AFRO-NETS> 40th Anniversary of U.S. Introduction of The Pill

[The Alan Guttmacher Institute <agi-admin@sparky.agi-usa.org>]

40th Anniversary of U.S. Introduction of The Pill
-------------------------------------------------

40th Anniversary of U.S. Introduction of The Pill Celebrated in Special 
Forum of Family Planning Journal

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Food and Drug Admini-
stration's approval of oral contraceptives in May 1960, the March/April 
2000 issue of The Alan Guttmacher Institute's peer-reviewed profes-
sional journal Family Planning Perspectives:
http://www.agi-usa.org/journals/toc/fpp3202toc.html

features a special Forum section of essays by prominent reproductive 
health experts. The approval of oral contraceptives revolutionized 
women's ability to control their fertility. More than 10 million U.S. 
women -- about one-quarter of contraceptive users -- currently rely on 
the pill for birth control and birthspacing; more than 50 million are 
estimated to have ever used this method. The Family Planning Perspec-
tives forum, "The Pill at 40 -- A New Look at a Familiar Method," ad-
dresses the role and influence of oral contraceptives in society today: 
--
"Whose Pill Is It, Anyway?"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3208900.html
by Anita L. Nelson 

--
"The Pill and Men's Involvement in Contraception"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3209000.html
by Jacqueline E. Darroch 

--
"Mothers, Daughters and the Pill"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3209100.html
by Paula J. Adams Hillard 

--
"Black Women and the Pill"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3209200.html
by Dorothy Roberts 

--
"Will the Pill Become Obsolete in This Century?"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3209300.html
by John Guillebaud

Provocative questions raised in these essays include the following: 

- Has the pill freed women from the risk of pregnancy, only to subject 
  them to physicians' rigid ideas of how they should use this method? 

- Is the pill a way for black women to gain bodily autonomy or a tool 
  used by white society to limit black fertility? 

- Has the pill given women more control over contraception, only to 
  burden them with responsibilities they would prefer to share with their 
  partners?

The current issue of Family Planning Perspectives also presents new 
studies on the timing of prenatal care, contraceptive practice and un-
met need for family planning services:

--
"Psychosocial Factors and the Timing of Prenatal Care Among Women in 
New Jersey's HealthStart Program"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3205600.html
concludes that multiple, complex factors affect when high-risk women 
begin prenatal care. 

--
"Contraceptive Use in Canada: 1984-1995"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3206500.html
reveals that contraceptive use among Canadian women dropped in the last 
decade, leaving Canada's overall contraceptive prevalence among the 
lowest in the industrialized world. 

--
"Are There Unmet Family Planning Needs in Europe?"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3207400.html
concludes that while unmet need for family planning is pronounced in 
some European countries (with room for improvement in the services pro-
vided), overall, there is not a significant unmet need. 

--
"Relationship Dynamics, Ethnicity and Condom Use Among Low-Income 
Women"
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3208200.html
presents an analysis of attitudes, behaviors and beliefs in a couple's 
relationship -- relationship dynamics -- and how these dynamics vary by 
ethnicity and might affect condom use. One striking finding was that 
women who shared financial decision-making with their partner were al-
most 80% less likely to be a consistent condom user, and women who did 
not participate in financial decision were more than 90% less likely to 
do so, than women who made monetary decisions independently. The over-
all findings have important implications for HIV prevention programs.

All current and archived articles can be downloaded from The Alan Gutt-
macher Institute's Web site:
http://www.agi-usa.org

To subscribe to Family Planning Perspectives, visit:
http://www.agi-usa.org/shopper/periodicals.html

or call 
The Alan Guttmacher Institute 
Tel: +1-800-765-7514
mailto:agi-admin@sparky.agi-usa.org

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