“Forced to bear a child, scorned for rejecting one”

By Michelle S. Aulakh & Veechika

Every year, 26th September is recognized as World Contraception Day.

But why do we celebrate it? What's the significance of this day?

World Contraceptive Day is an annual global movement to raise contraception awareness. The objective is to empower women to make educated reproductive health decisions with the hope that every pregnancy is planned. It's the right of all couples and people to choose the number and spacing of their children freely and responsibly.

Importance

• The use of contraceptives can help minimize sexual health risks.

• Contraceptives help women plan and prepare for pregnancy.

• Contraceptives help in family planning, including planning, delaying and spacing of pregnancies for improved birth outcomes.

• Along with pregnancy prevention, contraceptives can also reduce the risk of certain reproductive cancers.

• Contraceptives can also help in treating some menstrual disorders.

• Contraceptives help in sustainable population growth and lead to the economic development of the country.

Methods of contraception

(Warning: Visit your urologist or gynecologist before making any decisions)

• Combined oral contraceptives(COCs), commonly referred to as ‘the pill’: designed to be taken orally, and if handled correctly, it alters menstruation and prevents ovulation.

• Progestogen-only pills (POPs) or ‘the minipill’: The mini-pill mainly works by making the cervical mucus at the neck of the womb thicker, so that sperm cannot get through to meet an egg.

• Implants: A surgical method that thickens cervical mucus to block sperm and egg from meeting and prevents ovulation.

• Progestogen-only injectables: Thickens cervical mucus to block sperm and egg from meeting and prevents ovulation.

• Monthly injectables or Combined Injectable Contraceptives (CIC): Prevents ovulation.

• Combined contraceptive patch and combined Contraceptive Vaginal Ring (CVR): Prevents the release of eggs from the ovaries (ovulation).

• Intrauterine device (IUD) (copper-containing): The copper component damages sperm and prevents it from meeting the egg.

• Male condoms and Female condoms

• Male sterilization (Vasectomy) or Female sterilization (Tubal Ligation)

• Lactational amenorrhea method (LAM): Prevents ovulation.

• Standard Days Method or SDM and TwoDay Method: Prevents pregnancy by avoiding unprotected vaginal sex during most fertile days.

• Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Method and Sympto-Thermal Method: Prevents pregnancy by avoiding unprotected vaginal sex during fertile days.

• Emergency contraception pills (ulipristal acetate 30 mg or levonorgestrel 1.5 mg): Prevents or delays the release of eggs from the ovaries—pills taken to avoid pregnancy up to 5 days after unprotected sex.

• Calendar method or rhythm method: The couple prevents pregnancy by avoiding unprotected vaginal sex during the 1st and last estimated fertile days by abstaining or using a condom.

Still A TABOO

Even today, in many parts of the world, contraceptives are still a TABOO.

Many people struggle to navigate their sexual and reproductive health due to taboos, stigma, and a lack of knowledge on the subject. A sizable proportion of the youth population is unaware that sexual intercourse can result in pregnancy.

According to UNICEF's 2014 National Youth Survey, while most young people aged 15–29 were aware of condoms as a means of contraception, less than half knew how to use them.

Many teenagers have little choice but to seek information on their own.

Youngsters would enter ‘sex' or something similar into Google and read some ill-informed and ill-researched material. When they try to watch AIDS-related programmes on TV, their parents often switch it off, claiming it was inappropriate for them to watch all of these things.

According to a recent Reproductive Health Survey conducted in 2010 with funding from UNFPA, USAID, and UNICEF, reproductive health awareness is considerably lower in rural regions than in urban ones. Inequalities remain among ethnic groupings as well.

Rural regions have lower rates of modern contraception use and higher rates of child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and abortion due to a lack of access to information and quality services, particularly for adolescents and youth. According to surveys, rural women are more prone to use abortion to reduce their family size.

Today, we fight against many esteemed men who have spoken against the use of contraceptives for young women. Further, we hope to bring a positive change in the ratio of contraceptive usage.

Lastly, if you look at ‘it’ as a mistake, then you are the one who will be affected the most in making the correct choice.

We wish you a happy life ahead on the occasion of World Contraception Day.