2024 U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use

An announcement on behalf of National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sent on August 6th, 2024:

Today, CDC released the 2024 U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (U.S. MEC) and the 2024 U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use (U.S. SPR). These documents provide current evidence-based contraception recommendations for health care providers. The goals of the U.S. MEC and the U.S. SPR are to support the provision of person-centered contraceptive counseling and services in a non-coercive manner and to remove unnecessary medical barriers to accessing and using contraception. 

The 2024 U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use addresses the use of specific contraceptive methods by persons who have certain personal characteristics or medical conditions. New guidance includes: 

• New recommendations for persons with chronic kidney disease with nephrotic syndrome, on hemodialysis, or on peritoneal dialysis.  
• Updated recommendations for persons with the following personal characteristics or medical conditions: breastfeeding, postpartum, postabortion, obesity, major surgery, deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism with or without anticoagulant therapy, thrombophilia, superficial venous thrombosis, valvular heart disease, peripartum cardiomyopathy, systemic lupus erythematosus, cirrhosis, liver tumor, sickle cell disease, and solid organ transplantation. 
• Recommendations on additional contraceptive methods, including a vaginal pH modulator and new doses or formulations of combined oral contraceptives, contraceptive patches, vaginal rings, progestin-only pills, and levonorgestrel intrauterine devices. 

The 2024 U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use focuses on provision of contraceptive methods and management of side effects and issues related to contraceptive method use. New guidance includes: 

• New recommendation for testosterone use and risk of pregnancy among transgender, gender diverse, and non-binary persons with a uterus. 
• Updated recommendations for provision of medications for IUD placement and for management of bleeding irregularities during implant use.  

You can stay informed on the latest contraception recommendations and clinical guidance by visiting https://www.cdc.gov/contraception/ where you can access CDC’s online and print resources, including: 

• Updated Contraception mobile app, available for iOS and Android 
• Updated U.S. MEC summary chart and U.S. SPR provider tools 

For questions about the updated 2024 U.S. MEC and 2024 U.S. SPR, email CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health at drhinfo@cdc.gov. 

We appreciate your partnership in ensuring wide dissemination of these important guidelines to reduce barriers to contraceptive use. 

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