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Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers

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Family Planning

A GLOBAL HANDBOOK FOR PROVIDERS

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Correcting Misunderstandings (see also Questions and Answers)

Combined oral contraceptives:

  • Do not build up in a woman’s body. Women do not need a “rest” from taking COCs.
  • Must be taken every day, whether or not a woman has sex that day.
  • Do not make women infertile.
  • Do not cause birth defects or multiple births.
  • Do not change women’s sexual behavior.
  • Do not collect in the stomach. Instead, the pill dissolves each day.
  • Do not disrupt an existing pregnancy.
Why Some Women Say They Like
Combined Oral Contraceptives
  • Are controlled by the woman
  • Can be stopped at any time without a provider's help
  • Do not interfere with sex
 

 

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