Conference reports of scientific meetings do not automatically justi fy publication. Our decision to publish the Proceedings of this Sym posium was based on a number of reasons. The subject of more or less grave adverse side-effects of oral contra ception is of major importance for all women. If the research insti tutions of Gynecology make fundamental mistakes in this subject, then the trust in them will diminish substantially. National institutions will have to shoulder a part of that burden, too, if they do not suc ceed in timely prevention of grave and widespread health risks and damages. Adverse side-effects of oral contraception become only apparent in later life and probably only after a latent interval of at least 10 years. The German female population will be fully exposed to that situation during the next decade. Up to now about 40 % of the women aged 35 years or older have no experience with the pill. Ten years later nearly all of them shall have used the pill for a short period at least. If serious long-term side-effects exist, we have to build up our research strategy now to detect these health hazards in time. Large-scale studies cannot be generated just out of nothing, the development and review of ideas in a pilot phase is necessary. The pilot phase of a German long-term study began three years ago. We shall report our experiences of that pilot phase, because this might be of value for other projects of this kind.

1. Experience with Studies in Several Countries

1.1 Introduction to the German Study and Aims of the Symposium
1.2 A Coordinated Program at the NIH to Evaluate the Side-Effects of Methods of Contraception: Experiences and Problems
1.3 Oral Contraception Study of the Royal College of General Practitioners
1.4 Drug Surveillance by Case-Control Methods as Means for Detecting Side-Effects of Oral Contraceptives
1.5 Building a Flexible Program to Evaluate the Effects of Fertility Control
1.6 Breast Cancer and Postmenopausal Estrogen Therapy in Two Los Angeles Retirement Communities
1.7 The National Survey of Family Growth and the Health Examination Survey as Means for Studying Contraception
2. Pilot Projects of the German Study Group
2.1 The Pilot-I Study: Analysis of Drop-Outs and Some Results of a Pill-Taking Typology
2.2 The Pilot-I Questionnaire: Reliability and Applicability to a Nation-Wide Study
2.3 Longitudinal Results for One Year in the Pilot-I Study
2.4 The Munich Pilot Study of Out-Patients of the I. Universitätsfrauenklinik München in Comparison to Pilot-I
2.5 A Randomized Trial Comparing Pill and IUD (Pilot-III)
2.6 A Field Survey of Oral Contraceptives with Patient Pairs out of Gynecological Practices (Pilot-III)
2.7 The Literature Activities of the Project 'Side-Effects of Oral Contraceptives - Pilot Phase'
3. The Planning of a German Long-Term Study
3.1 Reflections on and Alternatives for a German Long-Term Study on Side-Effects of Oral Contraceptives
3.2 Discussion of the Alternatives for a German Long-Term Study
4. Indices
4.1 Author Index
4.2 Participant Index.