This World Contraception Day, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, The Pleasure Project, and the UN’s Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP) launched a groundbreaking systematic review on sexual well-being and contraceptive use. Published in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM) Journal, the study is the first of its kind to explore how sexual pleasure, satisfaction, and concerns about sex life influence people’s decisions to discontinue contraceptive methods. The research sheds light on an often-overlooked dimension of family planning, emphasizing the importance of considering sexual experience in contraceptive programme design and implementation.
The launch event brought together policymakers, funders, health providers, designers, and the wider public to discuss the findings and their implications. The session included a welcome by Sapna Desai, Editor in Chief of SRHM, and a poem by youth advisor Theresa Mae Caragan, highlighting the human and lived experiences behind the data. The panel featured experts such as Dr. Lianne Gonsalves from HRP and WHO, Dr. Faysal El Kak of the World Association of Sexual Health and WISH Program, and Dr. Samukeliso Dube, Executive Director of FP2030, moderated by Anne Philpott, founder of The Pleasure Project.
The full paper, titled The Sex Effect: The prevalence of sex life reasons for contraceptive discontinuation: A systematic review and meta-analysis, became freely available online on 26 September 2025, coinciding with World Contraception Day. Authored by Mirela Zaneva, Nandita Thatte, Anne Philpott, Clara Maliwa, Rhiana Mills, and Lianne Gonsalves, the study highlights the critical need for contraceptive programmes to address sexual satisfaction and pleasure as central factors influencing method continuation, offering valuable insights for more user-centered reproductive health strategies.
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