Brought to you by the members of Maximizing Access & Quality Initiative

IUD Toolkit

Up-to-date evidence and best practices related to the Intrauterine Device

Brought to you by USAID's Maximizing Access & Quality Initiative

World Health Organization's Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (Third Edition)

[Full Text: , 176 p., 1 MB

Executive Summary (Pages 1-26) , 26 p., 422 kb
Low-dose combined oral contraceptives (Pages 26-52) , 26 p., 165 kb
Combined injectable contraceptives, patch & ring (Pages 53-72) , 20 p., 114 kb
Progestogen-only contraceptives (Pages 73-94) , 22 p., 114 kb
Emergency contraceptive pills (Pages 95-96) , 2 p., 34 kb
Intrauterine devices (Pages 97-118) , 22 p., 133 kb
Barrier methods (Pages 119-132) , 14 p., 73 kb
Fertility-awareness based methods (Pages 133-136) , 4 p., 18 kb
Lactational amenorrhea method (Pages 137-138) , 2 p., 12 kb
Coitus interruptus (Pages 139-140) , 2 p., 19 kb
Surgical sterilization procedures (Pages 141-160) , 20 p., 92 kb
Summary tables (Pages 161-170) , 10 p., 118 kb
Annexes (Pages 171-176) , 6 p., 33 kb]

Summary: This document reviews the medical eligibility criteria for use of contraception, offering guidance on the safety of use of 19 different methods for women and men, including IUDs, with specific characteristics or known medical conditions. The recommendations are based on systematic reviews of available clinical and epidemiological research and are reached by consensus among the most important organizations working internationally on reproductive health. This document is intended to be used by policy makers, program managers, and the scientific community, and aims to support national programs in the preparation of service delivery guidelines.

Source: World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive Health and Research. (2004). Geneva.

Request a copy of this document: WHO welcomes requests for hard copies of its publications, especially from readers in developing countries. However, owing to the very large number of requests WHO receives each day, at the present time there is a delay of between four and six weeks in processing the requests.

WHO urges readers with Internet access (especially those in developed countries) to access its materials from the WHO Web site and request hard copies of publications only when it is absolutely essential. Thank you for your understanding.

Please provide the full postal address to which documents should be sent.

By post:

World Health Organization
Department of Reproductive Health and Research
Documentation Centre
1211 Geneva 27

Telephone: 0041 22 791 4447/3346
Fax: 0041 22 791 4189
By e-mail: rhrpublications@who.int

See also:

Portuguese/Africa: [Full Text: , 172 p., 1.7 MB
      Resumo Executivo (Pages 1-27) , 27 p., 717 kb
      Anticoncepcionais Orais Combinados de Baixa Dose (Pages 28-54) , 27 p., 241 kb
      Anticoncepcionais Injectáveis Combinados, AT & AV (Pages 55-73) , 19 p., 186 kb
      Anticoncepcionais só de Progestógeno (Pages 74-97) , 24 p., 189 kb
      Anticoncepcionais Orais de Emergência (Pages 98-99) , 2 p., 61 kb
      Dispositivos Intrauterinos (Pages 100-120) , 21 p., 244 kb
      Métodos de Barreira (Pages 121-134) , 14 p., 138 kb
      Métodos Baseados na Percepção da Fertilidade (Pages 135-137) , 3 p., 78 kb
      Método da Amenorréia da Lactação (Page 138) , 1 p., 72 kb
      Coito Interrompido (Page 139) , 1 p., 74 kb
      Anticoncepção Cirúrgica Voluntária (Pages 140-158) , 19 p., 156 kb
      Tabelas Resumo (Pages 159-168) , 10 p., 172 kb
      Anexos (Pages 169-172) , 4 p., 137 kb]
Portuguese/Brazil: [Full Text: , 174 p., 1.7 MB
      Resumo Executivo (Pages 1-28) , 28 p., 747 kb
      Anticoncepcionais Orais Combinados de Baixa Dose (Pages 29-55) , 27 p., 240 kb
      Anticoncepcionais Injetáveis Combinados, Adesivo Transdérmico e Anel Vaginal (Pages 56-74) , 19 p., 187 kb
      Anticoncepcionais só de Progestógeno (Pages 75-98) , 24 p., 188 kb
      Anticoncepcionais Orais de Emergência (Pages 99-100) , 2 p., 75 kb
      Dispositivos Intrauterinos (Pages 101-121) , 21 p., 244 kb
      Métodos de Barreira (Pages 122-135) , 14 p., 139 kb
      Métodos Baseados na Percepção da Fertilidade (Pages 136-138) , 3 p., 77 kb
      Método da Amenorréia da Lactação (Page 139) , 1 p., 71 kb
      Coito Interrompido (Page 140) , 1 p., 73 kb
      Anticoncepção Cirúrgica Voluntária (Pages 141-159) , 19 p., 155 kb
      Tabelas Resumo (Pages 160-169) , 10 p., 170 kb
      Anexos (Pages 170-174) , 5 p., 137 kb]
French: [Full Text: , 195 p., 856 kb]
Spanish: [Full Text: , 190 p., 915 kb]
Russian: [Full Text: , 170 p., 1.4 MB
      Pages 1-28 , 28 p., 516 kb
      Pages 29-52 , 24 p., 183 kb
      Pages 53-68 , 16 p., 142 kb
      Pages 69-90 , 22 p., 176 kb
      Pages 91-110 , 20 p., 164 kb
      Pages 111-134 , 24 p., 186 kb
      Pages 135-150 , 16 p., 128 kb
      Pages 151-164 , 14 p., 103 kb
      Pages 165-170 , 6 p., 173 kb]