Women looking for an alternative to birth control pills will have a new option available beginning in the Summer of 2002.
The FDA recently approved a 99 percent effective vaginal birth control ring that is administered only monthly and does not require pills or injections
NuvaRing, approved Oct. 2, is a flexible, two-inch ring that a woman inserts into her vagina once a month. According to a press release issued by the FDA, the ring releases estrogen and progestin, hormones similar to ones found in oral contraceptives, directly onto the vagina for three weeks. The ring is removed for one week, during the woman’s period. A new ring is inserted each month.
“If the ring takes less responsibility, then I’m interested,” said Heather Grosshans, a U of M student who currently takes birth control pills.
The development of NuvaRing is important to women who want to be on birth control but who do not want to take pills daily or get painful injections, according to Sandra Jones, women’s health consultant for the Memphis Health Department.
While NuvaRing might be good news for women seeking alternative birth control options, it might be a while before women can actually be prescribed the ring. The ring’s developers, Organon, Inc. and NV Organon, have slated the official U.S. release date for NuvaRing for mid-2002, citing an overhaul of their manufacturing processes as the reason for the delay, according to Organon’s Web site.
The two companies have been developing the ring since 1990.
Jones said a “lag time” between the FDA’s approval of a new drug and its appearance on pharmacy shelves stems from drug companies’ reluctance to invest money to manufacture a drug that may not be approved. Once the drug gets FDA approval, the companies then set into motion the plans to manufacture the product in mass quantities.
“Usually I’ll read about a product [like NuvaRing] in medical journals first, and it will be several months before I actually see it,” Jones said.
Jones said another convenience of NuvaRing is that while it is only available by prescription, women can insert the ring themselves each month. Injections, like DepoProvera, and birth control implants, like Norplant, must be administered by a doctor.
“This is something women can actually be in control of,” Jones said.
Side effects of the ring are consistent with side effects found in other contraceptive methods. NuvaRing may cause vaginal discharge, vaginitis and irritation. It may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Women who smoke are strongly advised not to use NuvaRing, according to the FDA.
Some worry that inserting the ring could be problematic.
“It sounds like if you didn’t know what exactly you were doing, the ring could be problematic,” Grosshans said.
However, the ring will release hormones effectively wherever it is placed inside the vagina, according to Organon’s Web site.
