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Contraception

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Checked: 23-04-2023 by Rob Adams Next Review: 21-04-2023

Overview

For an overview of contraception choices and safety see the following:

Contraception - assessment - Clinical Knowlege Summaries(updated Feb 2023)
UK Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (UKMEC) - you can download a digital or PDF version of the UKMEC guidelines from this link.
Combined and progestogen only hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer risk March 2023 - this data suggests all hormonal methods of contraception carry a 20-30% increased risk of breast cancer diagnosis over a 15-year period (during the 5 years of current use and the excess risk 10 years after stopping), but risks need to be explained in relation to a woman’s small existing baseline risk

For patient advice on contraception choices then see:

Unity - Advice on contraception for patients

Prescribing

Please see the BNSSG formulary page for local prescribing advice on oral COC, oral POP, patches and parenteral progesterone only options:

7.3 Contraception (Remedy BNSSG ICB)

For more detailed advice on Long Acting Contraception and Emergency Contraception see:

Pharmacies can also initiate and continue prescriptions for oral contraception

Please see the Aide Memoire Contraception And Hypertension Services for details.

There is a map indicating which pharmacies offer this service. The status of each is shown with "live" pharmacies depicted in green.

Resources

Fraser Criteria - competency guidelines for under 16s

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.