Pill Will Not Decrease the Rates of Unwanted Pregnancies

According to Sarah Jarvis, expert from the Royal College of Physicians, the contraceptive pill available without prescription won't lead to the reduction of unwanted pregnancies. She states that high rates of unwanted pregnancies among British teenagers are mainly the result of the fact that teens do not take oral contraceptives consistently.

Different studies state that about half of all women who take the pill, miss at least one pill in each cycle. Over 25 percent of women reported missing two or more pills. These categories of women have more chances of getting pregnant than those who take the oral contraceptives consistently, informs British Medical Journal.

The researcher outlines that emergency contraception, which is given without prescription, did little change in terms of unwanted pregnancies among British teenagers. She considers that some of the best solutions are reversible contraceptives, such as, for example, the spiral or contraceptives that can be placed under the woman's skin or injected. These contraceptives can last from three months to three years. They are more efficient than oral contraceptives and women don't have to worry about taking them correctly, said Jarvis.

"Increased uptake of reliable, non user-dependent methods, rather than making a potentially unreliable method of contraception more easily available, has to be the key," she said.

However, Dr Daniel Grossman of Ibis Reproductive Health, considers that the obligation to have a prescription for pills represents a barrier to the use of oral contraceptive in some women. Grossman outlines that in case governments look forward to reduce the rates of unwanted pregnancies and maternal deaths, it is important to consider making oral contraceptives available for as many women as possible at low or no cost.