LONDON, July 27 Although the devices are barely used in developed countries, implantable contraceptives are extremely effective, according to a British review.
The review analyzed studies of three kinds of contraceptive implants -- Implanon, Jadelle and Norplant -- that tracked women in nine studies for two to five years and found a total of five pregnancies among the 2,776 participants.
"No one implant was found to be any more or less effective," study co-author Rebecca French of University College London said in a statement.
Surveys conducted in the United States that asked women about pregnancies that occurred while they were using birth control suggest that five in 10,000 women who use implants will become pregnant during a yearlong period, according to French.
By contrast, U.S. studies suggest that about three in 1,000 women who correctly use the pill for a year will get pregnant. The number is estimated to be eight in 1,000 among women who miss some pills, French said.
Implantable contraceptives are very effective methods for preventing unplanned pregnancy, according to the review published in The Cochrane Library.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
