Effects of vaginal spermicides on pregnancy outcome.

The effects of spermicide use around the time of conception on fetal loss, birth weight and sex were examined using data from the 1976 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). There was no evidence that cessation of spermicide use at least one month prior to conception had any effect on the pregnancy outcomes examined. However, the proportion of female births was approximately 25 percent higher among women who used spermicides around the time of conception than among nonusers of spermicides. In addition, women who used spermicides after conception were found to have approximately double the rate of fetal loss experienced by former users, including those who had used spermicides close to the time of conception. The effects of spermicides on birth weight were not statistically significant.