BEST CONTRACEPTIVE FOR FEMALE ATHLETES?
Report #7206
Many female athletes don't want to become pregnant. What's their best contraceptive?
In one large study, not a single female athlete used the rhythm method (1), and most shouldn't because heavy training is often associated with irregular periods, so they couldn't possibly know when they are going to release an egg. Even if they stop menstruating altogether and do not release an egg on one month, they can still release an egg on the next. The most popular contraceptives, by far, for female athletes are barrier methods, with more than 45% using diaphragms, contraceptive jellies and condoms (2). Athletes rarely use I.U.D's or birth control pills. Intrauterine devices increase a woman's chances of developing uterine infections, excessive bleeding during periods and tubal causes of infertility. Birth-control pills are also not very popular/ with fewer than 5% using them. Progesterone in birth control pills can limit endurance, particularly in hot weather, because they raise body temperature and increase the work load on the heart (3). 6% of female athletes use tubal sterilization on themselves and 4% use vasectomies on their partners. 10% practice abstinence.
The new progesterone tubes that are implanted under the skin, and are effective for 5 years, appear to be the ideal contraceptive for female athletes.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
1) Shangold AM J. of Obs and Gyn 1982(Aug);143(8):862-869. 2) Prior Sports Med. 1985;2:287-295. 3) JG Martin, MJ Buono. Oral contraceptives elevate core temperature and heart rate
during exercise in the heat. Clinical Physiology 17: 4 (JUL 1997):401-408. Address MJ
Buono, San Diego State Univ, Dept Biol, PEB-307, San Diego, CA 92182 USA.
Reported 9/1/97; Checked 9/5/05