*Researchers from Stanford University in California have discovered an on-demand contraceptive for women.
The contraceptive is a combination of the morning-after pill and an arthritis drug that disrupts “ovulation at peak fertility,” according to the study, as reported by Daily Mail.
Researchers claim the drug cocktail “may be the best” birth control option when taken orally just before sex.
READ MORE: Male Birth Control Pill Found Effective, Trials Expected to Begin This Year [VIDEO]
Here’s more from the New York Post:
For the study, nine women aged 18 to 35 were given a one-time dose of 30 milligrams of ulipristal acetate — a morning-after pill — and 30 milligrams of meloxicam — an arthritis drug — during the luteal surge, or the days leading up to ovulation when it is hardest to disrupt. The research concluded that ovulation was disrupted in six of the women, with eight of them meeting some criteria for incomplete ovulation.
“Many people still have unmet contraceptive needs,” said study author Dr. Erica Cahill, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Stanford University. “This is especially true for people looking for a method that they only have to use when sexually active that is more effective and less intrusive than condoms, diaphragms, withdrawal or spermicide, the only available pericoital [used at the time of sex] or on-demand methods at this moment.”
The findings were published in the April 25 issue of BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health. The researchers said the results are “promising’ and suggest the drug combination can interrupt ovulation ‘when conception risk is highest.”
However, they noted further studies are needed into the side effects the drug cocktail may trigger.
“I think we are many, many years away from coming out with something like this for regular usage, and I would be concerned that women would use it regularly every time they have sex,” said Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale University School of Medicine. Minkin was not involved in the study.
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