One-shot contraceptive is new honeymoon mantra of Newlywed women in Ahmedabad

Newlywed women in Ahmedabad keen to have a carefree honeymoon are opting for injectable contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

The ‘birth control shot’ — as the injectable contraceptives are popularly known — is ideal for women preparing to go on a honeymoon as, unlike the pill, one shot gives protection against pregnancies for three months.

“The main advantage of the shot over the oral contraceptive is that it saves women the daily hassle of taking the pill,” said Dr Alpesh Gandhi, chairperson, practical obstetrics committee
of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI). “A single shot can prevent pregnancy for
three months.”

Senior gynaecologist Atul Munshi said that, in the last few years, there had been a steady growth in the use of injectable contraceptives in Ahmedabad. “But most doctors advise the birth control shot more to new mothers who do not want to become pregnant again soon, than to newlywed women,” he said.

Dr Prashant Acharya of the genetic and fetal medicine committee of FOGSI agrees with Munshi. He said that injectable contraceptives have high progesterone content, unlike oral contraceptives which have moderate progesterone levels.

“Due to the high progesterone content, the chances of side effects are higher if a woman opts for the injectable contraceptive,” he said, adding that the shot is safer for lactating women.

But all doctors are unanimous in advising caution. “Newlywed women must consult their doctors about its possible side-effects,” said Dr Purvi Nanavati, a city-based gynaecologist. “Some women experience nausea, weight gain and sometimes mid-cycle bleeding, too, because of the injectable contraceptives.”

The doctors, however, also say that the birth control shot does not affect a woman’s libido and is more reliable. Moreover, it is not very expensive either. One injection, which is effective for three months, costs just Rs250.

Explaining how the birth control shot works, experienced technicians in the medical community say most injectable contraceptives are a long-acting form of progesterone, a hormone that is naturally manufactured in women’s ovaries.

It is taken within five days of the onset of menstruation,
after the unfertilised egg has been washed out from a woman’s uterus.

The contraceptive works by confusing the ovaries into believing that an egg is still there, and that no new egg is needed, the technicians said.