Articles: prospective-studies.
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Fertility and sterility · Dec 1983
Clinical TrialA prospective multicentre trial of the ovulation method of natural family planning. III. Characteristics of the menstrual cycle and of the fertile phase.
Seven hundred twenty-five women of proven fertility recorded the presence of cervical mucus at the vulva in 7514 menstrual cycles. The mean cycle length of the 6472 "normal" cycles was 28.5 days (standard deviation +/- 3.18). ⋯ Its mean length was 9.6 (+/- 2.6) days. The probability of pregnancy was maximal on the peak day and declined on the days before and after the peak.
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Fertility and sterility · Nov 1981
A prospective multicentre trial of the ovulation method of natural family planning. II. The effectiveness phase.
A five-country prospective study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of the ovulation method of natural family planning. After successful completion of a teaching phase of three cycles, 725 subjects entered a 13-cycle effectiveness phase and contributed 7514 cycles of observation. The overall cumulative net probability of discontinuation for the effectiveness study after 13 cycles was 35.6%, 19.6% due to pregnancy. Pregnancy rates per 100 woman-years calculated using the modified Pearl index were as follows: conscious departure from the rules of the method, 15.4; inaccurate application of instructions, 3.5; method failure, 2.8; inadequate teaching, 0.4; and uncertain, 0.5.
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Oct 1981
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialA randomized prospective study of the use-effectiveness of two methods of natural family planning.
The final results of a prospective comparative study of two methods of natural family planning indicate a significant difference in the 12 month net cumulative pregnancy rates between the ovulation and symptothermal methods. These differences are on the order of two to one in favor of the symptothermal method. ⋯ Dropout rates for both methods were high. Lack of interest or dissatisfaction with the method was the major reason for dropout training while pregnancy or desire for pregnancy were the major reasons for dropout during the formal phase of the study.
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Fertility and sterility · Aug 1981
Clinical TrialA prospective multicentre trial of the ovulation method of natural family planning. I. The teaching phase.
The percentage of 869 women in five countries capable of being taught to recognize the periovulatory cervical mucus symptom of the fertile period was determined in a prospective multicentre trial of the ovulation method of natural family planning. The women were ovulating, of proven fertility, represented a spectrum of cultures and socioeconomic levels, and ranged from illiteracy to having postgraduate education. In the first of three standard teaching cycles, 93% recorded on interpretable ovulatory mucus pattern. ⋯ Forty-five subjects (5%) became pregnant during the average 3.1-cycle teaching phase. The average number of days of abstinence required by the rules of the method was 17 in the third teaching cycle (58.2% of the average cycle length). To what extent the findings of this study can be extended to other couples remains to be demonstrated.
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J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. · Sep 1979
Plasma levels of adrenocorticotropin and cortisol in women receiving oral contraceptive steroid treatment.
The secretion rate and plasma concentration of the adrenocortical steroid cortisol is modified in subjects treated with estrogenic and/or progestational steroids. The effects of contraceptive steroids on the secretion of ACTH are poorly documented, however, In the current investigation, we found that concentrations of ACTH and cortisol in plasma obtained at 0800--0900 h from a group of women with normal cyclic menses (n = 4) ranged from 78--120 pg/ml and 77--137 ng/ml, respectively. ⋯ In women treated with Norinyl 1 + 80 (1.0 mg norethindrone plus 0.08 mg mestranol), plasma concentrations of LH, FSH, 17 beta-estradiol, and progesterone were significantly lower (P less than 0.001) than plasma levels of these hormones in normal women during the ovarian cycle. The mean daily plasma concentrations of ACTH were significantly lower (P less than 0.001), whereas plasma cortisol levels were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) in women treated with oral contraceptive steroids compared to the levels of these hormones in the untreated ovulatory women.