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Contraception - Management
How should I assess a woman for the combined contraceptive vaginal ring?
- In young women and women with special needs, assess their competence to decide, and support them in making their own decisions about contraception.
- Exclude pregnancy.
- Check the woman's blood pressure.
- Check the UK Medical Eligibility Criteria to ensure that there are no contraindications.
- Assess the risk for sexually transmitted infection and, when appropriate, advise testing, promote safer sex, and/or refer for counselling. Advise the woman that the ring does not protect against HIV or AIDS, or other sexually transmitted diseases.
- Specifically relating to the combined contraceptive vaginal ring, it should not be used if a woman has:
- Undiagnosed vaginal bleeding.
- Known or suspected malignant conditions of the genital organs, if sex steroid-influenced.
- Prolapse of the uterine cervix, cystocele and/or rectocele, or severe or chronic constipation (may cause difficulty with ring insertion, or increase risk of losing it).
- Hypersensitivity to the active substances and excipients of the combined contraceptive vaginal ring.
In depth
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