Indian women should be encouraged to use combined contraceptive vaginal ring

This article is to spread awareness among Indian women regarding vaginal contraceptive ring use. Since the introduction of hormonal contraceptives, combined oral pills (COCs) have become the method of choice for many women. Although COCs have improved significantly, they have got some disadvantages. This has prompted development of non-oral hormonal contraceptive methods. One of them is combined contraceptive vaginal ring (CCVR). Most studies found out that CCVR was associated with good cycle control and was not associated with vaginal or cervical abnormalities. Treatment related adverse effects like headache, leucorrhoea, nausea, etc and systemic side effects are minimal. Most women found the ring easy to insert, easy to remove and were satisfied with ring usage. So it can be concluded that CCVR is an effective contraceptive with good cycle control that is well tolerated. It is associated with high user and partner acceptability and minimal local and systemic effects. Therefore gynaecologists and policy makers should give more emphasis on its routine use.