To Daniel Mishell, Jr., M.D., the Lyle G. McNeile Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology and chair of the USC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, these discrepancies show why we still need to develop new methods of birth control. More than half of the women who terminate their pregnancies say their birth control method failed. Finding new methods might mean more women will actually use, and benefit from, birth control. At any given moment, as many as 10 clinical research studies are taking place here. Much of the USC research has focused on hormone-based methods .
Hormones are the body's chemical messengers that regulate a woman's fertility cycle.
When using The Pill, women cease to ovulate and produce a type of mucus in the cervix that blocks sperm passage. When it is used correctly, The Pill rivals sterilization in terms of effectiveness. But The Pill has its drawbacks. Skipping just three pills in a cycle leaves a woman unprotected against pregnancy. The estrogen in the pills puts some women at risk of developing venous blood clots.