Long-acting hormonal contraception

For 30 years, the combined oral contraceptive pill has been an almost automatic choice for effective contraception in sexually active adolescent women. Nevertheless, consideration of the criteria of a hypothetical "ideal" contraceptive suggests that long-acting progestogen-only methods may have considerable advantages for some adolescents. These would include greater efficacy, easier compliance, avoidance of estrogenic side effects, and potentially greater privacy. The disadvantages of menstrual irregularity, progestogenic side effects including weight gain, and the initial greater medicalization of the method, particularly implants, must be weighed against the wishes and preferences of the adolescent. A number of studies of the uptake and utilization of these methods in adolescence have arisen, particularly from the United States. These are reviewed together with experience from programs in the United Kingdom.