Contraception in Obese Women: Key Considerations & Benefits
Explore the challenges and importance of contraception for obese women, including risks, effectiveness, and impact on pregnancy. Learn about the significance of appropriate contraceptive methods for this population.
Contraception in Obese Women: Key Considerations & Benefits
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Presentation Transcript
OBesity Project Contraception
“Obese women are at a higher risk of pregnancy complications.”
Problems with Interpretation of Research • Usually underpowered for obesity • Usually retrospective • Self reporting of BMI • Weight underreported and height over reported • Underreporting of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion • Many studies done before obesity increases • Done where obesity less and/or contraceptive use is better
Importance of Contraception • Obese patients less likely to use effective contraception • Unclear whether related to patient, provider or a system issue • Obese women are more likely to be: • Older, black, hispanic, married, less educated, and underinsured
Importance of Contraception • Although obese women have decreased fertility, most ovulate regularly • Obese women engage in sexual activity as frequently as all other weight categories • Contraception will always prevent more pregnancies than no contraception
Importance of Contraception • Obese adolescents • Earlier coital debut • Higher rates of unprotected intercourse • Obese adult and adolescent women • Similar or increased risk of pregnancy as normal BMI
Obesity and Contraceptive Effectiveness • Oral contraceptives • Conflicting studies on effectiveness in obese women • Obese women are as compliant as normal BMI women in taking pills • Overall, obese women appear to have a similar or slightly higher risk of pregnancy on oc’s • Bariatric surgery may decrease effectiveness due to decrease in absorption
Obesity and Contraceptive Effectiveness • Etonogestrel(Implanon) contraceptive implant • No information available for women >130% ideal body weight • Sterilization: Laparoscopic and hysteroscopic (Essure, Adiana) • No change in effectiveness but procedures may be more difficult
Deep Venous Thrombosis (VTE) and Estrogen Containing Contraceptives • Low dose estrogen • Incidence increases from 5-10 cases in nonusers to 15-30 cases in users per 10,000 women per year • At baseline, obesity doubles the risk of VTE compared to normal BMI
Deep Venous Thrombosis (VTE) and Estrogen Containing Contraceptives • VTE risk with OCPs still remains below pregnancy/postpartum • Contraceptive patch risk of VTE has conflicting risks but still below the risk of pregnancy/postpartum • No good information on risks in patients with co-morbidities like hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or diabetes • No safety information in women with BMI >40
Contraceptive Benefits • Prevention of unplanned pregnancy in a high risk population • Hormonal contraception has been shown to decrease the risk of endometrial hyperplasia and cancer • OC’s reduce risk of Ovarian Cancer
Contraception and Body Weight • Combined hormonal- no associated weight gain • Levonorgestrel-releasing IUD-small weight increase • Etonogestrol Implant-probably no increase • DepoMedroxyprogesterone acetate-more likely gain than loss, especially in obese teens • Non-hormonal-no weight increase • Non hormonal Contraception-no change in weight
Contraceptive Points to Remember • CONTRACEPTION IS SAFER THAN PREGNANCY • Little information is available about safety of contraceptive use in women with a BMI=/> 40 kg/M2 • Pregnancy responsible for more permanent weight gain than contraception • Use of procedural methods highest in women with BMI > 25 • Hormonal contraception highest in women with BMI <25