Abstract
Author(s): Marian Szamatowicz
In family planning, preventing an unwanted pregnancy is one of the most important problems in reproductive medicine. A survey of contraceptive methods reveals that hormonal contraception should be the method of choice. Combined hormonal contraception belongs to the most popular methods. It meets five important criteria. It is highly effective, but still it allows to reverse fertility, it is sufficiently safe, accepted by women (high degree of compliance), and offers numerous contraceptive advantages. The criterion of effectiveness plays the crucial role, because the use of combined hormonal contraception is meant to eliminate the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies, a potential source of abortions. Its effectiveness depends, however, on regular taking of hormonal contraceptives and on excluding the influence of the alimentary function on bioaccessibility of orally administered drugs. Combined transdermal hormonal contraception offers more chances for avoiding these problems.