Women had perfect compliance with the pill in 77 percent of their monthly cycles, compared with 88 percent for the patch. Side effects from the patch were more common than from the pill, and included site reactions, breast pain and tenderness, and discomfort around the time of menstruation. These were generally mild and well-tolerated, the researchers say. While oral contraceptives are in theory extremely effective, they're quite sensitive to proper use. A 1995 survey found that compliance failure rates in the first year for women on the pill ranged between 7.3 percent and 8.5 percent, Koltun says.
Women are busy today, and having to worry about taking a daily pill has been taken for granted.
Larger studies of the patch may show that it is even more effective than the pill because of its improved compliance, he says. But the fact that women don't have to worry about taking a drug every day will likely be a strong draw, she says. Sitruk-Ware says between 10 percent and 15 percent of women who use birth control will be applying the patch. This study was funded by R.W. Johnson. But, he says women shouldn't have overblown expectations.