September 29, 2010

Text Message Reminders May Not Help Women Remember to Take Pill Says Study

Filed under: Birth Control Pill — Tags: birth control, messaging, pill, text message, texting — John @ 3:18 pm

Many are finding the results of a recent study to be quite surprising. Researchers conducted a study on a group of women to see if text message reminders help women remember to take their birth control pills. Text messaging reminders have shown to be quite beneficial to many other people regarding health reminders, however in this study, there was no significant benefit shown.

The study involved 82 women who were randomly assigned to either receive daily reminders in the form of text messages or to receive no reminders (this group of women were encouraged to use their own personal ways to remember). After 3 months had passed, both groups averaged the same number of monthly pills missed. In fact, both groups missed double the amount of pills per month than the research team had originally anticipated. This may mean the adherence in the general population of those using the pill may be significantly overestimated.

While the research seems to suggest that these text message reminders aren’t helpful, researchers do think that there were additional factors that might explain the results. The control group, those who did not receive text message reminders, may have been more motivated to create personal reminders and to make sure they took a pill every day. However, as the study advanced, the level of motivation dropped and participants became less worried about always remembering to take their pill. This is evident in the research as there was an increase in missed doses especially with those who did not receive text messages, as the study progressed.

Perhaps a longer study may be necessary to solve the problems faced during this recent one. Those in the study that were receiving daily text messages did report that they found it very helpful to have these reminders.

Birth Control Buzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, types of birth control(prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase pharmaceuticals on-line. For more information, call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.

Comments (0)

September 9, 2010

The Pill to Increase Brain Capability

Filed under: Birth Control Pill — Tags: birth control benefits, Birth Control Pill, brain, pill — Tanveen @ 9:42 am

For so many years the pill has been used by millions of women to prevent pregnancy. It is known that the pill reduces the risk of certain diseases. However, in a recent study it was found that using birth control pills could actually have a beneficial effect on the brain as well. It was discovered that those that used it resulted in a three percent increase of brain size.

Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician at Lenox Hill Hospital (New York) states that MRIs of women using the pill display certain regions of the brain to be larger than in women who do not use the pill. The areas in the brain were found to be larger had to do with speech, memory, and communication.

Having a larger brain does not necessarily mean it is better. It is suggested though that the areas of the brain that grow in a women due to the pill will result in greater brain power. For example, a woman may find that her memory is improving.

There are many theories that explain how the pill could improve the capability of the brain, however, it is not known for sure and has not been proven. As a result of this study much more research is being done in regards to how hormones can affect the brain and how the pill could possibly increase brain size.

Comments (0)