Opinion and experience of Brazilian women regarding menstrual bleeding and use of combined oral contraceptives.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To describe the opinion and experience of Brazilian women regarding menstruation and the use of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) to control monthly bleeding and induce amenorrhea.

METHODS:

Women attending regional public healthcare clinics for non-gynecologic conditions, and female members of staff from university schools unrelated to the field of medicine completed a questionnaire.

RESULTS:

Of the 1111 women interviewed, 64.3% reported disliking menstruation. The desired frequency of bleeding was never (65.3%), less than monthly (18.2%), and every month or more often (16.5%). More than 60% of the women reported that they would use COCs to control menstrual bleeding, 82.0% would use COCs to reduce the amount of bleeding experienced, and 86.1% would use COCs to induce amenorrhea. When compared with women who disliked menstruation, those who reported that they liked to experience monthly bleeding had fewer years of schooling (OR1.98; 95% CI, 1.30-2.97), low socioeconomic status (OR 1.66; 95% CI, 1.12-2.46), fewer days of menstruation each month (OR 1.62; 95% CI, 1.11-2.36), and 1 or more child (OR 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01-1.26).

CONCLUSION:

Many of the women surveyed disliked monthly menstruation and were interested in the use of COCs to control menstrual bleeding and induce amenorrhea.

• Authors: Maria Y Makuch, Maria J Duarte-Osis, Karla S de Pádua, Carlos Petta, Luis Bahamondes
• Journal: International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (Int J Gynaecol Obstet) Vol. 117 Issue 1 Pg. 5-9 (Apr 2012) ISSN: 1879-3479 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 22285856 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Contraceptives, Oral, Combined

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Amenorrhea (chemically induced)
• Brazil
• Contraception Behavior (psychology)
• Contraceptives, Oral, Combined (therapeutic use)
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Educational Status
• Female
• Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
• Humans
• Menstruation (psychology)
• Parity
• Premenstrual Syndrome (psychology)
• Social Class
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Young Adult