Toronto, Ontario, September 19, 2006 – Being a young woman in today’s world is all about getting what you want, as quickly as possible. In terms of birth control, that means having access to a low-dose birth control pill that offers cycle control from the beginning. Luckily for young Canadian women this option is now available.

Breakthrough bleeding (unexpected bleeding between periods) continues to be one of the most common reasons why women stop their oral contraceptives (OCs) or switch to a less-effective method without telling their healthcare professional. It generally occurs in the first three months on a new pill. The discontinued use of an OC may increase an individual’s risk of unintended pregnancy while improper use could lead to spotting or breakthrough bleeding.

Adds Dr. Andrea Lobo, FM of the House Community Health Centre for Youth, “Many physicians deem breakthrough bleeding a normal side effect of hormonal contraception and counsel patients to wait up to six months before discussing other options. This is often a burden to patients.”

Linessa Now Available in Canada
Linessa (desogestrel, ethinyl estradiol tablets) offers women a low-dose OC that is 99% effective and offers excellent cycle control.

Among the 2768 Linessa users, less than 1% (0.8%) of these young women discontinued Linessa because of breakthrough bleeding. This result is significantly lower than what is seen in other studies, where up to 12% of women discontinued their OC use because of bleeding irregularities.

“Women should choose a contraceptive that best suits their lifestyle and addresses their concerns about side effects. Further, cycle control should be an important consideration when choosing an OC and Linessa provides women with a low-dose contraceptive option that is effective, has excellent early cycle control, and may result in less breakthrough bleeding” adds Dr. Lobo.

Organon – with shared head offices in Roseland, NJ, USA and Oss, The Netherlands – creates, manufactures and markets innovative prescription medicines that improve the health and quality of human life. Through a combination of independent growth and business partnerships, Organon strives to remain or become one of the leading biopharmaceutical companies in each of its core therapeutic fields: fertility, gynecology, anesthesia and neuroscience. Research areas also include immunology and oncology.
Organon products are sold in over 100 countries, of which more than 60 have an Organon subsidiary. Organon is the human health care business unit of Akzo Nobel.

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