Emergency Birth Control Use Urged

The 37,000 members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will receive letters next week urging them to get up to speed on the use of emergency contraceptives and be prepared to offer it to their patients in appropriate cases.

The guidelines are only the second time that ACOG has issued its “Practice Patterns” directive that serves to present evidence to physicians regarding the safety, efficacy, risks and benefits of a treatment or procedure.

There has been a gap between the knowledge that emergency contraception--the use of specific doses of birth control pills taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse--is effective, and doctors’ advocating its use, acknowledged Dr. Stanley Zinberg, director of practice activities for ACOG.

“We believe that sufficiently conclusive data are available to allow us to make recommendations,” Zinberg said. “What is very clear is that we must continue to educate physicians that emergency oral contraception offers an important option for women.”

Earlier this year, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee released a statement on the safety and efficacy of emergency contraception. But the actual number of women taking advantage of the treatment is thought to be relatively small.

A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that while a majority of doctors said they were “very familiar” with the treatment, they prescribed emergency contraceptives very infrequently. The survey also found that only one-third of the women polled knew that anything could be done within a few days after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy.

“We’re delighted,” said Cindy Pearson, a spokeswoman for the National Women’s Health Network in Washington, D.C., a consumer advocacy group. “It’s a fairly weighty document within the organization. So it should get the notice of the doctors who receive it.”

The first Practice Patterns directive was issued in August 1995, to advise doctors of the safety of vaginal birth after a Caesarean section in appropriate candidates.