WHO issues new guidelines expanding contraceptive options, including mifepristone
The World Health Organization on September 23, 2026, published new guidelines on expanding contraceptive options. The guidance adds an emergency contraception option, broadens how existing methods can be used, recommends against two products, and sets out for the first time what future male contraceptive methods should aim to achieve.
WHO estimates that 164 million women who want to delay or avoid pregnancy are not using contraception.
Emergency contraception
WHO now recommends mifepristone as an additional emergency contraception option, taken as soon as possible and within five days of unprotected sex. According to WHO, the evidence shows that mifepristone at doses of 10-50 mg is likely to be as safe and effective as other emergency contraceptive methods.
Pills and implants
WHO recommends that combined oral contraceptive pills can be taken for extended periods of up to six months, or continuously for up to one year, as alternatives to cyclical use.
The guidelines also support the use of contraceptive implants for up to five years. WHO says this could reduce the need for replacement procedures, clinic visits and associated costs.
Methods WHO does not recommend adding
WHO called for more research on ormeloxifene before it is included in family planning programmes, saying current evidence on its safety is limited.
The guideline also recommends against adding quinestrol-containing contraceptive pills to national contraceptive programmes, citing limited evidence and reports of serious adverse events.
A first profile for male contraception
WHO has developed its first Target Product Profile for male contraceptive methods. The document sets out the characteristics that future methods should aim to meet, including safety, effectiveness, acceptability and affordability. It is a guide for developers, not a recommendation of any current product.
"Choice is a gender equality issue," said Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO's Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing.
Why it matters
WHO guidelines are used by countries to shape national family planning programmes and the methods they offer. The new recommendations add an emergency contraception option, give more flexibility in how pills and implants can be used, and steer programmes away from methods WHO considers insufficiently supported by evidence. Decisions about individual contraceptive use are made with health care providers.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
