Hormonal types of birth control are used by many women worldwide. The most common hormonal methods are birth control pills and injections. These methods often do not work as well as they could. Women may have problems using the birth control as planned. They may miss taking some pills. Other women may stop using a method due to bleeding changes. This review looked at whether more counseling helped women use these types of birth control.
We did computer searches for randomized trials comparing special counseling with usual counseling. In addition, we looked at reference lists to find trials. We also wrote to researchers to find more studies.
We found eight trials of moderate or low quality. Three trials had few women in them and four lost many women during the study. Six studies counseled women about the method and its side effects. Two trials focused on reminders for appointments or pill-taking. Only one trial of counseling found an important result. That study gave repeated, structured facts about an injected type of birth control. More of the women who got the structured facts kept using the birth control than the women who had the usual counseling. Also, fewer women who had the structured facts stopped using the birth control due to bleeding changes.
To prevent pregnancy, the birth control should be used as planned and the woman should keep using it. More trials of good quality are needed to see if more counseling helps women use their birth control method.