Predictable benefits of folate-containing combined oral contraceptives after abortion in women: review

Abstract

Despite all prevention and education campaigns, the rate of unintended pregnancies is 40% of the more than 200 million pregnancies occurring worldwide. About half of them end in abortion. Women in the 2030 age group, where abortions peak, have not yet fulfilled their reproductive plans. The lack of competent post-abortion rehabilitation for women, including contraception counselling, results in one in three choosing a less effective method, and one in four not using any contraceptive methods at all. According to the The World Health Organization Guidelines for Safe Abortion, all women should use hormonal contraception after spontaneous or induced abortion. Combined oral contraceptives (OCs) with 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol in combination with drospirenone, which has strong antigonadotropic activity, can effectively suppress hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis excitability after abortion. OCs can be used to prevent neural tube defects in the case of pregnancy after withdrawal of OCs. The use of folate-containing OCs is a sensible means of folate supplementation in women of reproductive age that may guarantee a future healthy pregnancy and overall health.