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Objective: To investigate potential associations between dietary patterns (defined using factor analysis) and difficulty conceiving., Design: Case-control study nested in a Spanish cohort of university graduates (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra [SUN] Project)., Setting: Female university graduates all over Spain participating in the SUN Project., Patient(s): A total of 485 women, aged 20-45 years, reporting having presented with difficulty getting pregnant, and 1,669 age-matched controls who had at least one child., Intervention(s): None., Main Outcome Measure(s): Reported difficulty getting pregnant. Data were collected from baseline and follow-up questionnaires of the SUN Project., Result(s): Two dietary patterns were identified. They were labeled as "Mediterranean-type" and "Western-type" patterns. A lower risk of difficulty getting pregnant was apparent in the highest quartile of adherence to the Mediterranean-type pattern compared with the lowest quartile (odds ratio 0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.35-0.95). Greater adherence to the Western-type dietary pattern showed no association with this outcome., Conclusion(s): A greater adherence to the Mediterranean-type dietary pattern may enhance fertility. Further evidence about the relationship between this dietary pattern and fertility is needed to develop nutritional interventions for women desiring to get pregnant., (Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Some methods of family planning, such as oral contraceptives, emergency pill or intrauterine device, may occasionally work after fertilization. These effects may be important to some women. We explored Spanish women's attitudes towards contraceptive choices that may have occasional post-fertilization mechanisms of action., Study Design: Cross-sectional study in a Spanish representative sample of 848 potentially fertile women, aged 18-49. Data were collected using a 30-item questionnaire about family planning. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with women's attitudes towards post-fertilization effects., Results: The majority of women were married, had completed high school and had at least one child. Forty-five percent of women would not consider using a method that may work after fertilization and 57% would not consider using one that may work after implantation. Forty-eight percent of the sample would stop using a method if they learned that it sometimes works after fertilization, increasing to 63% when referring to a method that sometimes works after implantation. Women who believe that human life begins at fertilization, those who believe it is important to distinguish between spontaneous and induced embryo losses and women who report having a religion were less likely to consider the use of a method with some post-fertilization effects., Conclusion: The possibility of post-fertilization effects may influence Spanish women's choice of a family planning method. Information about mechanisms of action of birth control methods should be disclosed to women so that they can make informed choices., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Informed consent in family planning includes knowledge of mechanism of action. Some methods of family planning occasionally work after fertilization. Knowing about postfertilization effects may be important to some women before choosing a certain family planning method. The objective of this survey is to explore women's attitudes towards postfertilization effects of family planning methods, and beliefs and characteristics possibly associated with those attitudes., Methods: Cross-sectional survey in a sample of 755 potentially fertile women, aged 18-49, from Primary Care Health Centres in Pamplona, Spain. Participants were given a 30-item, self-administered, anonymous questionnaire about family planning methods and medical and surgical abortion. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with women's attitudes towards postfertilization effects., Results: The response rate was 80%. The majority of women were married, held an academic degree and had no children. Forty percent of women would not consider using a method that may work after fertilization but before implantation and 57% would not consider using one that may work after implantation. While 35.3% of the sample would stop using a method if they learned that it sometimes works after fertilization, this percentage increased to 56.3% when referring to a method that sometimes works after implantation. Women who believe that human life begins at fertilization and those who consider it is important to distinguish between natural and induced embryo loss were less likely to consider the use of a method with postfertilization effects., Conclusion: Information about potential postfertilization effects of family planning methods may influence women's acceptance and choice of a particular family planning method. Additional studies in other populations are necessary to evaluate whether these beliefs are important to those populations.