Gross sales of emergency contraception are estimated to rise by round 10% within the US within the week after the New 12 months vacation, suggesting that this era is related to elevated dangers of unprotected intercourse in contrast with different holidays, finds a research revealed within the Christmas concern of The BMJ.
Different holidays corresponding to Valentine’s Day and Independence Day had been additionally related to a rise in gross sales, however to a lesser extent.
Though this annual spike in gross sales may appear humorous, the researchers level out that as many US states have elevated restrictions on abortion “it’s indicative of unmet contraceptive want that requires additional consideration.”
New 12 months’s Eve celebrations are related to elevated sexual exercise, which is much less prone to be protected resulting from elevated alcohol consumption. New 12 months’s Eve can also be linked to greater charges of sexual assault and restricted entry to different types of contraception resulting from restricted opening hours of clinics, medical places of work and outlets.
To evaluate gross sales of emergency contraception following the New 12 months vacation, the researchers analysed retail scan information for levonorgestrel, a medicine which has been accessible over-the-counter with no age restrictions since 2013.
Regardless of its frequent nickname because the “morning after capsule,” levonorgestrel is efficient when taken inside 96, and probably 120, hours after unprotected intercourse although is extra prone to work the earlier it’s taken. This makes well timed entry of crucial significance.
They centered on gross sales within the week following New 12 months’s Eve and New 12 months’s Day from 2016 to 2022 in US stores together with grocery shops, drug shops, mass merchandisers, membership shops, greenback shops, and navy shops.
To account for potential adjustments within the inhabitants liable to being pregnant, weekly gross sales had been divided by the dimensions of the feminine inhabitants aged 15 to 44 years previous.
General, gross sales of levonorgestrel elevated by 0.63 items per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 44 years previous within the week after New 12 months’s Eve. Based mostly on inhabitants estimates in 2022, this equated to virtually 41,000 extra tablets offered that yr.
The researchers additionally thought of different holidays which can be related to greater unprotected sexual exercise, together with Valentine’s Day, Independence Day and St Patrick’s Day.
Valentine’s Day was related to a rise in gross sales about half of the dimensions of the New 12 months’s improve: 0.31 items per 1000 girls. US Independence Day was related to a 0.20 improve in gross sales and St Patrick’s Day was related to 0.14 improve.
Holidays corresponding to Mom’s Day, Father’s Day and Easter, weren’t related to a rise in gross sales.
The researchers level to some limitations. For instance, emergency contraception gross sales are usually not synonymous with use and the information don’t embrace emergency contraception acquired via medical clinics, impartial pharmacies and on-line gross sales. Variations in how and which holidays are celebrated and the way reproductive healthcare is accessed might also restrict the generalizability of the findings to different settings, they add.
However, they are saying their outcomes counsel that the character of sure celebrations may make them vital public well being targets they usually counsel that “concentrating on behavioral dangers, prevention methods to mitigate sexual violence, and enhancing entry to contraception round holidays might restrict the dangers related to unprotected vaginal intercourse.”
“Greater than ever, emergency contraception is a critically vital choice for folks within the US, significantly these residing in areas with bans or extreme restrictions on abortion,” they write.
“Future work will discover how different dynamics at play within the US context, together with state abortion restrictions, have an effect on emergency contraception buying conduct and indicate potential public well being interventions to offer contraceptive care to those that want it probably the most.”
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Journal reference:
Wagner, B., & Cleland, Ok. (2023). Retail demand for emergency contraception in United States following New 12 months vacation: time sequence research. BMJ. doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-077437.
