At the
Sorbonne, Coutinho studied with professor Claude Fromageot, which led to his interest in hormonal mechanisms, a topic on which he became a specialist and continued to research. On his return from France he became an associate professor of physiology at UFBA, but not for long as he was invited to be a fellow of the
Rockefeller Foundation in the area of
reproductive endocrinology, there he worked at the "Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research", which has become "Rockefeller University". Following giants of human reproductive research such as A. Csapo and G. Corner (discoverers of
progesterone) Coutinho began studying steroids with progestagenic effects, and in particular was able to identify the role of ions,
calcium and
magnesium as peripheral agents in the action of progesterone. After leaving New York, Coutinho became the director of clinical research of the Climério de Oliveira Maternity Clinic of the Federal University of Bahia. Under his directorship the center became the first Human Reproduction Research Center of the
World Health Organization in Latin America. The discovery pushed Coutinho's research into the limelight, making him one of the world authorities in
endocrinology and
family planning. During that period Coutinho made family planning his cause célebre, and began creating family planning programs in collaboration with a number of countries and institutions, including that of China organized by the, then,
University of Shanghai. Coutinho was the founder of the first large-scale free family planning centers in Brazil. The centers named CEPARH are open to the public and treat thousands of low-income women per year at no charge. After
Ciclofem, Coutinho was the pioneer of the studies that led to the discovery of the use of
Depo-Provera, the first injectable contraceptive method with prolonged effects. Coutinho also proposed the first contraceptive pill containing
norgestrel, which is today the most used contraceptive pill method in the world. That discovery was followed by the first reduced dosage pill. Other discoveries by Coutinho include subcutaneous prolonged effect contraceptives (6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years and 6 years), two intrauterine devices known as the Lorena Cross and the Caravaca Cross and Lovelle, the vaginal pill. Coutinho was also responsible for the discovery of treatments for women with infertility caused by
endometriosis, a topic on which he became a world expert, being the host and president of the 4th World Congress on Endometriosis. Coutinho published the first studies on the reduction of Miomas in 1982. Coutinho was one of the founders of the "International Committee for Contraceptive Research" – ICCR, of the "Population Council", notorious for their work on IUDs medicated with copper and Norplant the subdermal hormonal implant with levonorgestrel. He was also director of the human reproduction council of the "Steering Committee of the Task Force on Infertility of the Expanded Programme in Human Reproduction" of the
World Health Organization. Coutinho was a member of 32 medical societies. By the year 2000 he had participated as a guest lecturer in 253 congresses. He published 350 scientific studies, mostly in international medical journals such as
Nature,
Endocrinology, Fertility and Sterility, and
The American Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Contraception. He has published ten books. His book
Is Menstruation Obsolete?, co-authored with
Sheldon Segal in 1996, is in its 8th edition. The English version of this book was published by Oxford University Press and has received praise from medical journals such as
The Lancet,
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the British Medical Association's reviewer who called it a masterpiece. == Discoveries ==