Use of Emergency Contraception in a Group of Female University Students

Abstract

Objective: to identify the use of emergency contraception (ec) on a group of female university students (fus). Material and methods: descriptive and cross-sectional study with non-random sample. In 2009, it was made a pilot test with 44 users; the final instrument was applied between August 2009 and April 2010 to 107 students from the Ciudad Universitaria campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, unam. The information was processed using the spss program. Results: the ages of girls requesting more ec were between 19 and 21 years; 87% said to know its use. In the six previous months 27.1% had used once ec; 15% used it on two occasions. The contraceptive method used by 8 of every 10 students was the condom. Conclusions: the frequency of the use of the ec indicates that the University students use it as if it were a sequential method of birth control, which could lead to damage their health, as well as a greater number of unplanned pregnancies due to hormonal imbalances.