Return to fertility after cessation of a continuous oral contraceptive
Received 15 October 2007; received in revised form 8 February 2008; accepted 13 February 2008. published online 07 May 2008.
Objective
To evaluate the return to fertility among women planning to become pregnant after the use of a continuous regimen of levonorgestrel 90 μg and ethinyl E2 20 μg.
Design
Descriptive analysis of pregnancy outcomes after participation in a contraceptive trial.
Setting
Multicenter trial.
Subject(s)
Participants in a phase 3 contraceptive trial who discontinued to become pregnant.
Intervention(s)
Eligible subjects were contacted at 3 and 12 months after treatment discontinuation to determine if and when they had conceived.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Kaplan-Meier analysis displaying the time until conception after oral contraceptive discontinuation.
Result(s)
In the phase 3 trial, 34 of 2,134 subjects cited a desire for pregnancy as a reason for discontinuation. Of these, 4 were already pregnant before stopping treatment, 4 initiated other contraception, and 5 were lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 21 subjects at risk of pregnancy, the pregnancy rate was 57% at 3 months, 81% at 12 months, and 86% (18 of 21) (95% confidence interval 64% to 97%) at 13 months after discontinuation of treatment.
Conclusion(s)
These findings suggest that a continuous oral contraceptive with levonorgestrel 90 μg and ethinyl E2 20 μg does not delay the return to fertility.
aDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, PENN Fertility Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
bWomen's Health, Clinical Research and Development, Wyeth Research, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
Reprint requests: Kurt Barnhart, M.D., M.S.C.E., 3701 Market St., Ste. 801, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (FAX: 215-615-4200).
Supported by a grant from Wyeth Research, Collegeville, Pa.
K.B. was an investigator for this poststudy follow-up and received research funding from Wyeth Research, Collegeville, Pa. Other sources of research funding and/or financial relationships include Novo Nordisk (consultant), Organon (speaker and investigator), Johnson & Johnson, Duramed, Xanodyne, Boehringer Ingelheim, Third Wave, Pfizer, and MGI Pharma (investigator). S.M., G.G., and G.C. are employees of Wyeth Research. Other financial affiliation for G.G. is Johnson & Johnson. S.M. and G.C. have no other financial affiliation to disclose.
ABSTRACT