Femcon Fe: New Chewable Oral Contraceptive Introduced

The contraceptive pill market continues to diversify. Now there is a new contraceptive that tastes good and is chewable. The tiny, spearmint flavored prescription pill is now available at pharmacies. The new contraceptive wonder, Femcon Fe, contains the same hormones as the standard oral contraceptive.

Warner Chilcott, a company that makes women's health products and prescription dermatology, officially launched Femcon Fe in mid-December. Their goal with the launch was to target women who regularly forget to take their birth control pills. Dr. Lee Shulman, Chairman of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, stated about Femcon Fe, "I think it is a better approach in the group of women who have a very high rate of unintended pregnancy, which is younger women".

Studies have shown that nearly one-third to one-half of women who take birth control pills will miss one to two pills per month. Of course, this increases their risk of pregnancy. If women use birth control pills daily without missing any pills, only 0.1 percent of women would become pregnant each year. The actual rat of pregnancy among birth control pill users is 3% to 8%.

Warner Chilcott says Femcon Fe is as effective as standard birth control pills. Femcon Fe comes in the normal 28-day cycle with active birth control pills for 21 days and the inactive reminder pills for seven days. Women will be able to purchase a month's supply of Femcon Fe starting at $44 and probably higher in most pharmacies.

Femcon Fe is a chewable version of Warner Chilcott's Ovocon 35 birth control pill. Ovocon 35 has been on the market for almost 30 years. Femcon Fe was originally planned to be released under the same name, Ovocon 35, and samples were being distributed to doctors in September. Warner Chilcott realized though that the two versions of birth control pills with the same name would be confusing to both patients and pharmacists. The launch was delayed in order to change the name and trademark.

Femcon Fe's packaging is very convenient for women to carry in their purses due to the credit card size dispenser kept inside a velvet pouch. A Warner Chilcott representative says that the new sleek packaging "can be a bit more discreet than the big dial packs in which birth control pills are usually sold".

Women are being instructed to drink eight ounces of water with their Femcon Fe pill daily. As with other birth control pills, Femcon Fe does not protect women against sexually transmitted diseases. Using birth control pills always carries an increased risk for strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots in women who are smokers and over the age of 35.

Femcon Fe tablets contain 35 micrograms of ethanol estradiol, which is the estrogen from standard oral contraceptives. Femcon Fe also contains 40 micrograms of another hormone, progestin.