Women can now safely take combined birth control pills continuously for up to a year without the usual monthly break, and get five years of protection from a single contraceptive implant, under new global guidance issued by the World Health Organization.
The guidance, called "WHO guidelines on expanding contraceptive options," was released on 23 September 2026 and is built to give people more ways to plan whether and when to have children, using methods that already exist but have not always been offered with full flexibility.
Until now, combined oral contraceptive pills have typically been taken in monthly cycles, with a short break or a week of placebo pills built in.
WHO now says the pills can be taken for extended periods of up to six months, or continuously for up to a year, as an alternative to that cyclical pattern.
For someone already using the pill, this could mean fewer scheduled breaks and, WHO suggests, less disruption to their routine.
Contraceptive implants, small rods placed under the skin of the upper arm that release hormones slowly, are now backed by WHO for use up to five years.
Longer-lasting implants mean fewer clinic visits and fewer replacement procedures, which matters in places where getting to a clinic is itself a barrier and where each visit carries a cost.
WHO also recommended mifepristone as an additional emergency contraception option, to be taken as soon as possible and within five days of unprotected sex.
According to WHO, mifepristone taken at doses of 10 to 50 milligrams is likely to work about as safely and effectively as other emergency contraceptive methods already in use.
Not every option under review was approved.
WHO said there is not yet enough safety evidence to recommend ormeloxifene for family planning programmes and called for more research before it is considered.
WHO also recommended against adding contraceptive pills containing quinestrol to national programmes, citing limited evidence and reports of serious adverse events.
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An estimated 164 million women who want to delay or avoid pregnancy are currently not using any contraception, WHO said, a gap the new guidance is meant to help close by giving countries a wider, evidence backed menu of methods to offer.
"Choice is a gender equality issue," said Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO's Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, in a statement released alongside the guidance.
Allotey said contraception is not one size fits all, and that people need options weighed against convenience, how invasive a method is, reliability and whether it is actually accessible where they live.
Real choice, she said, means having the confidence and control to choose a method, change it, or stop it.
The guidance also turns attention to men, who currently have very few contraceptive methods under their own control: condoms, withdrawal, and vasectomy.
Despite that narrow list, WHO said around 30 percent of couples worldwide already rely on a method that sits with the male partner.
A WHO linked global survey found that more than 75 percent of couples surveyed said they would be willing to use a new male contraceptive method if one existed, and more than 85 percent of women said they would trust their male partner to take responsibility for contraception.
The findings challenge a long standing assumption in the field that men would not use new contraceptive methods even if they were developed.
To act on that, WHO has published its first Target Product Profile for male contraceptive methods, a technical document setting out the safety, effectiveness, acceptability and affordability that future male contraceptives should meet. It is meant to give researchers, funders and drug developers clearer direction so that new products actually match what people say they want.
Several hormonal and non-hormonal male contraceptive candidates are already in advanced clinical trials, and WHO said new reversible options for men could reach the market within the next five to ten years, though none are approved or available yet.
For now, the practical change is for people using contraception today: more flexibility in how long a pill or implant can be used, and one more option if emergency contraception is needed, all backed by an international guideline meant to widen what is offered at clinics rather than narrow it.
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