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The state of birth control in America

Contraceptives Must Be Covered By Company''s Healt
A woman holds prescription contraceptives in this 2001 file photo. The influential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it's safe to sell birth control pills over the counter.
Tim Matsui/Getty Images

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Many women will take a form of birth control at some point in their lives, but the options for birth control remain relatively limited. Hormonal pills developed more than 50 years ago still dominate the field and many newer forms have been scrutinized for causing other health risks.

In a recent New York Times Room for Debate, Natalie Rechberg, chief executive officer of natural fertility monitor supplier Valley Electronics AG, said women are too dependent on Big Pharma to prevent pregnancy:

Many young women have been taught only the basics about their their cycles. Focus has been on form rather than function. This is understandable, albeit unfortunate, when many are willing to hand over one of the most basic functions in life to a third party. In recent years, this has started to change, with women reevaluating the side effects of using hormonal methods...

Education, based on a solid framework of the female body and cycle, is needed to allow women to understand the potential risks and benefits of the different methods, and make an informed decision about what is right for them.

On The Daily Circuit, we discuss the current options available to women. What are emerging trends in the field?

LEARN MORE ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL:

• The New Old-School Birth Control
Tracking fertility effectively is more complicated than just counting days on the calendar. But it can work. (The Atlantic)

• No Pill? No Prob. Meet the Pullout Generation
A recent survey conducted by the delightfully named Dr. Annie Dude, a researcher at Duke University, found that almost a third of women between the ages of 15 and 24 have relied on coitus interruptus as a birth-control method.. (New York magazine)

• The Revolutionary New Birth Control Method for Men (Wired)