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The Norplant six-capsule levonorgestrel contraceptive implant system provides up to five years of reversible birth control that is as effective as sterilization. Although Norplant was welcomed by U.S. women, problems with insertion and removal of the implants soured attitudes toward subdermal contraception soon after its 1991 introduction. This five-year clinical trial conducted at U.S. and Dominican Republic sites by Population Council investigators, with support from the pharmaceutical industry, found that a two-rod levonorgestrel system is effective and has a clinical profile similar to Norplant.
Among 594 users, the three-year cumulative pregnancy rate was 0.8 per 100 women, with no pregnancies occurring in years four or five; the averag…