BACKGROUND: The availability of various oral contraceptive (OC) pill formulations with different hormone compositions suggests that there is potential to align a particular product with an individual user's needs and preferences. To explore this concept further, a survey was conducted of current users of OCs to define and confirm areas of specific needs, and to gain insight into their views and preferences for OC formulations. METHODS: During November and December 2015, women users (n=615) of OCs in five Central and Eastern European countries were surveyed in face-to-face interviews conducted by experienced interviewers. The survey questionnaire comprised 34 questions about the use of and specific needs for OCs. RESULTS: Four basic needs of women taking OCs were identified: reliable contraception, reversibility of contraception, no effect on body weight and safety. Overall, 85% of surveyed women indicated that prevention of pregnancy was the main reason for taking OCs. Weight gain was the side effect of greatest concern with OC use (46% spontaneous answer; 65% aided answer). Independent behavioural segmentation analysis identified four groups - Solved Cycle Problems (46% of participants), Low Hormone Content (22%), Lifestyle (17%) and Beauty (14%) - which characterised the women according to needs and preferences beyond the basic needs of OCs. Each group had unique features and distinct preferences for different formulations of OCs. CONCLUSIONS: Aligning product advantages with specific individual needs may enhance users' overall experience with OCs as a contraceptive option.

• Keywords
• Eastern and Central Europe, needs and preferences, oral contraceptives, survey, women users,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Women who are regularly cycling exhibit different partner preferences than those who use hormonal contraception. Preliminary evidence appears to suggest that during pregnancy women's partner preferences also diverge from those prevalent while regularly cycling. This is consistent with the general assertion that women's mate preferences are impacted by hormonal variation. During pregnancy, women's preferences are thought to closely resemble those displayed by women who are using hormonal contraception. Here, based on this literature, we compared levels of sexual desire among pregnant women who met their partner while using hormonal contraception and pregnant women who met their partner while regularly cycling. We predicted that women who met their partner while using hormonal contraception would experience higher levels of in-pair sexual desire during pregnancy since these women will have partner preferences that more closely match those prevalent at the time of their partner choice. Our results provided support for the idea that previous contraceptive use/non-use may impact subsequent sexual desire for the partner during pregnancy. Pregnant women who met their partner while using hormonal contraception (N = 37) were shown to have higher levels of in-pair sexual desire than those who met while regularly cycling (N = 47). In contrast, levels of extra-pair desire were not related to previous use/non-use of hormonal contraception. These findings were robust when controlling for a number of relevant individual difference variables known to impact sexual desire. Our results contribute to our understanding of factors affecting relationship functioning during pregnancy.

• Keywords
• Congruency hypothesis, Desire, Menstrual cycle, Oral contraception, Pregnancy,
• MeSH
• Contraception Behavior * MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Contraceptive Agents pharmacology   MeSH
• Libido MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Motivation MeSH
• Sexual Behavior drug effects   MeSH
• Sexual Partners * MeSH
• Pregnancy MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Pregnancy MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Contraceptive Agents MeSH