Posts

Showing posts with the label Birth control

Female hormonal contraception linked to higher HIV risk

Image
Posted: 04 October 2011 PARIS: Women who use hormonal birth control are roughly twice as likely to become infected with HIV or pass on the AIDS virus to their partner, according to a study published on Tuesday. The research was carried out among 3,790 heterosexual couples in Africa where one partner had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while the other was uninfected. The findings, if confirmed, could have huge repercussions for policies on contraception and HIV prevention. The authors say it strengthens the need for safe-sex messages, in which the condom is promoted as a shield against the AIDS pathogen. The couples were monitored for an average of 18 months during which 167 individuals became infected, 73 of them women, according to the paper appearing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases . Transcribed into a benchmark of prevalence, HIV transmissions were 6.61 per 100 person-years in couples where women used hormonal contraception, compared to 3.78 per 100 person-...

Unprotected sex on the rise among Singapore youth

Image
Is Singapore becoming "more open"? Or simply following the downward path of the surrounding influences? ----- SINGAPORE: New survey data released in conjunction with World Contraception Day shows that unprotected sex is on the increase among young people in Singapore. Sixty-one per cent of 200 sexually active young people between the ages of 16 and 19 surveyed in Singapore have had sex without contraception with a new partner, a 12 per cent increase from the previous survey done in 2009. The multi-country survey, which is supported by a coalition of 10 international organisations with an interest in sexual health, said there is a significant disconnect between young people's attitudes to accepting responsibility for contraception and what they are doing in their day-to-day lives. It added that the results also highlight that confusion around contraceptive options is still widespread, with highly unreliable contraceptive methods , such as the "withdr...