How emergency contraception methods prevent pregnancy

Women's Biology

Review and critique of a current article relating to women's biology

How Emergency Contraception Works to Prevent Pregnancy

Emergency contraceptives are drugs used to prevent pregnancy after women indulges in unprotected sex. There is a slight difference between birth control methods and use of contraceptives in preventing unplanned pregnancy. It is significant for women and men to learn and choose the appropriate method that guarantees their well-being. Use of contraceptives prevent fertilization of the ovum, while as birth control pills prevents pregnancy, and includes use of contraceptives such as, IUDs, sterilization, and abortion. This article reviews the health effects of various emergency contraceptives on female reproductive functions. The author argues that limited knowledge about Emergency contraceptive contributes to its overuse or its underuse and enhanced knowledge could trigger development of new ways, maximize use of current methods and increase acceptability of emergency contraceptives (Berger, 2012).

Critique

The major mechanism of action for LNG and UPA is preventing the rupture of follicles and ovulation. However, rarely prevents ovulation, and, it there is therefore, a need to develop effective emergency contraceptive methods. However, UPA causes a direct inhibitory effect on follicular rupture, which becomes effective when used after ovulation. The primary role of using Cu-IUD is to prevent fertilization through the production of copper ions on sperm viability and function. The method is also effective while used in the oocyte and endometrium to help prevent pregnancy when sexual intercourse happens after ovulation, which probably contributes to its high efficiency (Berger, 2012).

Adequate knowledge about the use of EC is necessary to avoid the consequences of either unplanned pregnancies. Insertion of CU-IUD is the most effective EC method used during the menstrual cycle and a lasting contraception. Physicians recommend using a single dose of UPA immediately after indulging in unprotected sex and below the period of 5 days. In absence of UPA, LNG provides an alternative of treatment that is available and has minimum number of side effects (Berger, 2012).

Even with the available Emergency Contraceptives, there is a need to develop efficient emergency contraceptive methods. This will ensure a high efficiency and cover complete chances of fertility, since the ideal purpose of EC is preventing pregnancy incidents. Therefore, increased knowledge of EC will increase the rate of acceptance to prevent unplanned pregnancy.

Review and critique of a women's health website

Indigenous women such as, Aboriginal and Torres Strait experience poor health attention compared to the non-Indigenous women. There are perhaps significant health benefits for Indigenous women through enhanced prevention, early diagnosis to address the higher level of risk factors and the burden of disease with prior inception and lesser survival rates. The national women's health is in the process of development to address the health needs of indigenous women. Most indigenous women experience health problem because of the many responsibilities entrusted on them. They are responsible for their own health and the health of their families.

In addressing the health issues surrounding indigenous women, strategies implemented by the government entails acquaintance and awareness of their past, experience, culture and rights. It is also important to know how indigenous women conceptualize health issues. Australian Indigenous Healthinfonet is a women's health website run by Edith Cowan University. It costs money to run a Web site. The Australian government through the department of Health and ageing is the core-funding agency of this website.

In addition, the Australian government is also the sponsor. Therefore, it is capable of limiting the contents contained in the website. The source of site's funding restricts the type of content and objectives of the site owners. This is because the sponsor has an objective of reaching out to a greater audience in addressing sensitive issues. Therefore, any content presented in the website is carefully evaluated to ascertain any unbiased agendas. Furthermore, a legitimate website must have a purpose clearly stated which helps in evaluating the trustworthiness of the information presented. In our case, the purpose of this website is' Helping to 'close the gap' by providing the evidence base to inform practice and policy in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health."

The information presented in the website relies on the objectives of both the site owner and the sponsor. In this case, the information comes from both the health sectors, for instance, medical journals and education sectors. The link indicates the source of information. The reliability of the information selected depends on the number of reviews made about the source. If various people with competent medical qualification review the material before presentation, such information become reliable to the public and applied in various cases.

For reliability purposes, the posted information must be reviewed and update regularly to ascertain validity. Even without altering the information, those visiting the site must be sure that the site owners reviews the information presented. After reviewing the information, the site owner shows the date and time the information was reviewed. In order to avoid misuse and distortion of the information posted, websites have policies that establishes links to other sites.

Other websites pay for a link posted on the website, but they must meet a certain criteria. For instance, the link for the source of information must be related to the information presented in the website. For examples, if the website's information is about women's health, any links to the website must have information related to women's health. Websites regularly track the number of visits on the websites and identify the pages used, and the websites that requests the visitors to either subscribe or sign up for membership. The site owner must find a way of interacting with the visitors in order to collect views, and feedbacks about the efficiency of the services offered. Based on the terms and conditions, the quality of services offered, I would always visit the site again.

Uterine fibroids are a common problem in all ethnic communities. They are particularly problematic in women of Afro-Caribbean ancestry. Most women require no intervention for their fibroids, but rather a conservative treatment. The management of uterine fibroids requires the balance of the complications of the fibroids against the risks of the treatment alternatives. Uterine fibroids are tumors that develop on the smooth muscles on the uterus. The tumors have a prevalence ranging between 20 to 50% of women based on the age, ethnicity and the intervention used in detecting the problem (Donnette & Horace, 2012).

In a recent research study conducted, these tumors were present in over 77% of post-mortem specimens examined. In that research, more than 50% of women tested asymptomatic. Hormone estrogen influences the development of uterine fibroids, is present after the menarche, and disappears after menopause. Usually, the patient feels inferior and the most affected women are from African ancestry. Some of the common problems of uterine fibroids include menorrhagia with symptoms of anemia, dysmenorrhoea, pressure signs, abdominal swelling, and infertility. Infertility is a severe consequence of the fibroid except in situations of sub-mucosal fibroids. Other health complications comprise, degeneration, torsion, prolapse of a sub- mucous fibroid, urethra obstruction, venous thromboembolism, intestinal obstruction, and malignant alteration (Donnette & Horace, 2012).

The purpose of this 7 days journal is to provide a review of the scientific evidence of the benefits of physical activity on health and well-being, focusing mainly on the prevention of non-communicable diseases / chronic diseases.

7-Day

Journal

Physical activities

Day 1

Physical aerobic activity for 30 minutes to increase heart rate

Day2

Walking briskly for 30 minutes and Jogging to burn calories

Day3

Engage in vigorous intensity activities and light activities, such as walking to the parking lot, washing dishes, lifting light objects

Day 4

Perform bouts that lasts for about 10 minutes or more

Day 5

Performing sit-ups; bicycling, aerobic dance

Day 6

Lap swimming, playing squash and racquetball

Day 7

Running, lifting light weights

Evaluation

Undertaking various physical activities plays a larger role in ensuring health and well-being of persons. There is scientific evidence that supports the benefits obtained from engaging in physical activities. Vigorous physical activity benefits many body parts, for instance, the heart, skeletal muscles, bones, immune systems and the nervous system. Physical activities also reduce prevalence to chronic diseases, and other risk factors, which include; blood pressure; level of blood cholesterol, body mass index (BMI) among others. In addition, physical activities play other roles in various diseases such as, type 2 diabetes and heart diseases among others. World Health Organization reveals that physical inactivity is one of the major leading risk factor for global mortality. Furthermore, statistics indicate that physical activities causes over 6% of deaths globally, which accounts for about 3.2 million deaths yearly (Ries & Tigerstrom, 2010).