Electronic Card Reminds Women to Take Contraceptives
Do you have trouble remembering to take your birth control pills?One of the biggest disadvantages to oral contraceptives cited by women in a 1998 Gallup Survey of Oral Contraceptive Use Among Women 18-44 was remembering to take their pill every day. Studies indicate that almost half of women who use oral contraceptives forget to take at least one pill every month.
Of the 2.8 million unplanned pregnancies that occur each year in the United States, approximately 1 million are caused by misuse, failure, or discontinuation of the birth control pill. Now, women have an option that helps them to remember to take their oral contraceptives at the same time each day. Organon, Inc., maker of the oral contraceptive Mircette, has developed a credit card size electronic reminder card.
To use the card a woman pushes a small button on the card when she takes the first pill from a pack of oral contraceptives. The card sounds an alert at the same time each day for three months reminding her to take her pill. If remembering to take your oral contraceptive is a problem for you, ask your physician for the reminder card. The reminder card is available free from physicians beginning September 1, 1999, and with all new prescriptions of Mircette.
