Choosing the right contraceptives (1)

It might come as a shock to you if I tell you that in Modern India almost 50 per cent of the pregnancies still come as unplanned and unwanted. A recent health survey concluded that it happens even in the most educated families. With increasing number of women concentrating on their careers and delaying their marriages and pregnancy, the practice of contraception assumes even more importance. One of the secrets to lead a healthy, happy and balanced family life is to have proper knowledge and usage of contraception.

Here’s a list of some popular contraceptive methods along with their risks and benefits:

1. Oral Contraceptive Pills

• More than 100 million women worldwide use the contraceptive pill. The Pill is a tablet containing two female hormones – an oestrogen and a progestogen. These two hormones stop you from ovulating (producing an egg) each month. And if you don’t ovulate, you won’t get pregnant.
• Risk: Weight gain and high blood pressure
• Benefits: One of the safest methods of contraception; reduced risk of ovarian cancer - Pill-users have a 12% reduction in their risk of developing cancer
• Medical advice: Women on pills should go for pill-checks every six months to their gynecologist
• Warning: Do not forget to take it daily or as advised by your doctor
  

2. Female Sterilisation

• Sterilisation means preventing the woman from becoming pregnant by means of a fairly straightforward operation in which her Fallopian tubes are blocked or cut through – which makes it very difficult for her eggs to reach her womb.
• Risk: There is a small ‘failure rate’ for this operation generally estimated at around 1 in 200.
• Benefits: A permanent method; a woman who has been sterilised, but then really wants to have a baby, does nowadays have the opportunity of ‘in vitro fertilisation’ (IVF treatment).
• Medical Advice: If you are seriously overweight, it can be quite tricky for the surgeon to get at your tubes. Also, if your general health is poor, then you might not be an ideal candidate for surgery.
• Warning: If you ever miss a period after the surgery, you should get a pregnancy test done. Pain is often a warning sign of an ectopic pregnancy. If in doubt, call your doctor.

CLICK HERE for Part 2 of the series >>