Microgestin 1.5/30 (21) (norethindrone acetate/ethinyl estradiol)

No dosing information is available for this tab.

Norethindrone acetate is administered orally.

Estrogen-progestin combination contraceptives are administered orally, intravaginally, and percutaneously by topical application of a transdermal system to the skin.

No dosing information is available for this tab.

No dosing information is available for this tab.

There is no enhanced messaging for this drug.

There are no contraindication interactions for this drug.

There are no severe interactions for this drug.

There are no moderate interactions for this drug.

There is no enhanced messaging for this drug.

There are no contraindication contraindications for this drug.

There are no severe contraindications for this drug.

There are no moderate contraindications for this drug.

There is no enhanced messaging for this drug.

There are no severe adverse reactions for this drug.

There are no less severe adverse reactions for this drug.

No enhanced messaging available.

No enhanced messaging available.

Although progestins have been used beginning in the first trimester of pregnancy to prevent habitual abortion or to treat threatened abortion, there is no adequate evidence from well-controlled studies to substantiate the efficacy of progestins for these uses; however, there is evidence of potential adverse effects on the fetus when these drugs are administered during the first 4 months of pregnancy. In addition, in most women, the cause of abortion is a defective ovum, which progestins could not be expected to influence. Because of their uterine-relaxant effects, progestins may delay spontaneous abortion of fertilized defective ova. Masculinization of the female fetus has reportedly occurred when progestins were used during pregnancy. Clitoral hypertrophy and fusion of the labia have been reported in a few female neonates born to women who had received medroxyprogesterone during pregnancy; hypospadias in male neonates born to women receiving progestational agents occurs at approximately twice the rate of occurrence in male neonates born to women not receiving the drugs. An association between intrauterine exposure to female sex hormones and congenital anomalies, including cardiovascular and limb defects, has been suggested. (See Cautions: Pregnancy, Fertility, and Lactation, in Estrogen-Progestin Combinations 68:12.) Use of progestins, including norethindrone, is not recommended during the first 4 months of pregnancy. If a woman becomes pregnant while receiving norethindrone or is inadvertently exposed to the drug during the first 4 months of pregnancy, she should be advised of the potential risks to the fetus.

Norethindrone should not be used to induce withdrawal bleeding as a test for pregnancy.

Although preliminary evidence suggested that oral contraceptives could cause serious fetal toxicity when administered to pregnant women, current evidence does not suggest an association between inadvertent use of oral contraceptives in early pregnancy and teratogenic effects (including cardiovascular and limb defects, which have been reported following use of sex hormones). In addition, extensive epidemiologic studies have revealed no increased risk of birth defects in neonates born to women who used estrogen-progestin contraceptives prior to pregnancy. However, since the risks of estrogen-progestin contraceptive use clearly outweigh any possible benefit in women who are pregnant, these agents are contraindicated in such women. Although estrogens and/or progestins were previously used to treat threatened or habitual abortion, there is considerable evidence that estrogens are ineffective and no evidence from well-controlled studies that progestins are effective for these uses. Progestin-only or estrogen-progestin contraceptives should not be used to induce withdrawal bleeding as a test of pregnancy.

Data concerning pregnancy outcomes following unsuccessful emergency postcoital contraception with estrogen-progestin combinations are limited, in part because such women may choose abortion following failure of postcoital contraception. Pooled data from several controlled trials that followed pregnancies that occurred despite postcoital estrogen-progestin combinations indicate delivery of 45 healthy neonates, 1 neonate with absent left kidney, and 2 neonates with minor anomalies. In addition, numerous studies evaluating teratologic risk of conception during cyclic (routine) oral contraceptive regimens (for both currently available low-dose oral contraceptive regimens and older, high-dose preparations (e.g., 150 mcg of ethinyl estradiol daily) that are no longer available) indicate no increased fetal risks. Exposure to the amount of estrogen-progestin in postcoital contraceptive regimens is not large when compared with the total amount of the estrogen-progestin cyclic (routine) oral contraceptive regimens, and there currently is no evidence of substantial risk to the fetus with such short-term exposure. Estrogen-progestin postcoital contraceptive regimens are contraindicated in pregnancy because of lack of efficacy, not because of adverse effects on the fetus.

In women who have missed 2 consecutive menstrual periods during estrogen-progestin conventional-cycle contraceptive use, the drug should be withheld until pregnancy has been ruled out. In women using a fixed-combination extended-cycle oral contraceptive (e.g., LoSeasonique(R), Seasonale(R), Seasonique(R)), the possibility of pregnancy should be considered after one missed menstrual period. When the woman has not adhered to the prescribed oral contraceptive regimen, the possibility of pregnancy should be considered after one missed menstrual period and the drug should be withheld until pregnancy has been ruled out. A back-up method of contraception should be instituted until the possibility of pregnancy has been eliminated. If pregnancy is confirmed, the woman should be informed of the potential hazard to the fetus and the advisability of continuing the pregnancy should be weighed against the risks of exposure of the fetus to the drugs.

Progestins are reportedly distributed into milk. The manufacturers warn that the possible effects of progestins in milk on nursing infants have not been determined.

Estrogen-progestin contraceptives may decrease the quantity and quality of milk if given in the immediate postpartum period. Small amounts of the hormonal agents in estrogen-progestin contraceptives are distributed into milk and adverse effects such as jaundice and breast enlargement have been reported in nursing infants of women receiving cyclic regimens; therefore, because of the theoretical risk, some clinicians recommend that lactating women receiving high-dose postcoital contraceptive regimens use alternative milk sources for their infants for at least 24 hours after completion of the regimen. When possible, the use of cyclic estrogen-progestin contraceptives should be deferred until the infant has been weaned. Long-term follow-up after oral contraceptive use showed no apparent clinical effect on breast-feeding mothers or children whose mothers were breast-feeding and using oral contraceptives.

No enhanced messaging available.