News

October 2020. On October 8th the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) reclassified ulipistral acetate (UPA) EC pill EllaOne to “non-prescription but non-over-the-counter medicinal product” (Resolution no. 998). To date, women under 18  needed a medical prescritpion, prior to purchasing UPA ECPs at the pharmacy. According to AIFA’s statment, this measure aims to further protect the physical and psychological health of adolescents, and…

October 2020. In Ireland, a web-based App for EC counselling has been developed by www.MyClinic365.com. The App is based on The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare guideline on EC and is available in English to everyone: MyClinic365 EC Prescribing App The MyClinic365.com team welcomes your feedback at info@myclinic365.com This App is a good complement to…

September 2020. The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care highlights and provides open access to this paper from its latest issue: Qualitative findings about stigma as a barrier to contraception use: the case of Emergency Hormonal Contraception in Britain and implications for future contraceptive interventions Rachael Eastham, Christine Milligan & Mark Limmer. See…

August 2020. In Australia, the Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health COVID-19 Coalition just published the consensus statement on the provision of emergency contraception, which includes recommendations for primary care, pharmacy and policy. Some of the recommendations are: For primary care: Women should be advised of all available emergency contraception (EC) methods at the point of contact. Interdisciplinary collaborations and…

July 2020. A mystery shopper study recently published in the BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health (PMID:32554399, Full text) explores the standard of care around accessing EC from community pharmacies in the United Kingdom. The study concludes that while availability of EC from pharmacies has improved access, the need to have a consultation with a pharmacist introduces…

June 2020.  The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) just adopted Resolution 2331 (2020) “Empowering women: promoting access to contraception in Europe”.  It is the first time in its history that the parliamentary body of the Council of Europe provides recommendations in a Resolution entirely dedicated to improving access to contraception in Europe. Among others,…

June 2020. The use of emergency contraception (EC) pills dropped in the United Kingdom during the months of lockdown due to COVID-19 crisis. According to news from the BBC and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, direct sales in the pharmacy fell by 50% from March to April. Prescriptions for EC  pills issued by National Health Service (NHS)…

June 2020. The fourth edition of ICEC and FIGO’s Emergency Contraceptive Pills Medical and Service Delivery Guidance is now available in French. “Pilules contraceptives d’urgence. Directives médicales et de prestation de services”, originally published in English in December 2018, serves as a key reference and training document for service provision of EC.  The French edition of this guidance…

June 2020. ECEC participated in the webinar organised by FP2020 “Emergency contraception and young people. Your questions answered” on June 16th. These are some of the issues addressed: What are the facts about young people’s use of EC? Does it match our assumptions? Is it safe for young people to use EC frequently? How frequent…

June 2020. In the past few months, during the lockdown due to COVID-19, there has been uncertainty about access to abortion, STI testing and emergency contraception (EC). In Switzerland, SANTÉ SEXUELLE SUISSE (the umbrella organization of sexual health centres) called upon its members to continue providing sexual and reproductive health counselling and services during the pandemic….