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ARV, hormonal contraception and the risk of unplanned pregnancy

From Treat Yourself Right • 19 June 2009

It is difficult to say how great the risk of unplanned pregnancy is when taking ARVA medication or other substance which is active against retroviruses such as HIV. that interacts with hormonal contraception.

One retrospective study 1 (a study that looks back at medical records) found that 10 women out of 2,053 fell pregnant while taking hormonal contraception. Ten of these were taking the Pill (brands not recorded), and one was taking Depo-Provera (ARV not recorded).

Of the failures on the Pill, eight women were taking nelfinavir, one saquinavir and two efavirenz. Nelfinavir was found to significantly increase the risk of contraceptive failure, so this agent should be avoided if taking oral contraception.

  1. 1. Clark et al. Journal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 37, 1, September 2004 pp 1219-1220.

Treat Yourself Right

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