Current methods and attitudes of women towards contraception in Europe and America

Table 3 Women’s experiences with their current and previous methods of contraception

	UK	Germany	Spain	Italy	USA
Satisfaction with current method,%	(n=507)^a	(n=514)^a	(n=510)^a	(n=503)^a	(n=507)^a
Very satisfied	53	54	41	27	52
Satisfied	31	33	41	57	26
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	9	8	7	9	12
*Experienced side effects,%**
Current method (n)^a	18 (313)	9 (321)	16 (308)	5 (342)	20 (262)
Previous method (n)^a	51 (491)	29 (501)	45 (468)	26 (479)	52 (465)
With contraceptive pill (n)^b	78 (258)	79 (148)	87 (217)	87 (131)	81 (244)
With hormone injections (n)^b	24 (258)	9 (148)	1 (217)	0 (131)	18 (244)
With implants (n)^b	7 (258)	3 (148)	0 (217)	0 (131)	1 (244)
With IUD/IUS (n)^b	10 (258)	12 (148)	5 (217)	5 (131)	5 (244)
With vaginal ring (n)^b	0 (258)	8 (148)	6 (217)	2 (131)	5 (244)
With transdermal patch (n)^b	0 (258)	3 (148)	3 (217)	2 (131)	4 (244)
Common side effects experienced with the contraceptive pill,%	(n=202)^c	(n=117)^c	(n=189)^c	(n=114)^c	(n=198)^c
Weight gain	51	44	50	51	45
Mood swings	39	35	30	29	38
Headaches	25	26	32	27	26
Irritability	26	26	21	16	33
Change in libido	24	30	30	7	23
Breast tenderness/enlargement	24	26	26	16	22
Short temper	23	11	20	14	24
Migraines	22	21	17	20	14
Pre-menstrual bloating	22	9	14	15	15
Pre-menstrual syndrome	20	13	10	4	20

*Incidence of side effects with methods not listed was ≤1% in all countries.
^aNumber of women responding to the question;
^bTotal number of women who experienced side effects either with their current or previous method.
^cTotal number of women experiencing side effects, currently or previously, with the contraceptive pill.

ISSN: 1742-4755