Prepare for failure of contraceptives: Expert
Prepare for failure of contraceptives: Expert
JAKARTA (JP): A family planning consultant called for better
public education on the use of contraceptives, especially
regarding the possibility of failures.
"We have always said that (family planning) is a human effort,
and cannot be guaranteed 100 percent," said Ieda Purnomo Sigit
Sidi, also a noted psychologist.
If a contraceptive fails, she said, women should be educated
enough to help them face an unplanned pregnancy.
"Doctors must help in counseling the women, who may face a
personal conflict of not wanting a baby but not being able to
reject it either," Sidi said. "The mother's psychological
condition could affect the baby's wellbeing in the future."
Sidi, a consultant at the National Family Planning Board, was
commenting on a report of a woman demanding that her obstetrician
be held responsible when she fell pregnant despite
him administering contraceptive injections.
The injection method has a failure rate of 0.001 percent, an
official at planning board said.
The Kompas daily quoted the doctor, Sabaruddin, as saying that
he had written to the manufacture of the contraceptive injection,
asking whether the product was outdated.
The woman, who was unnamed, was discovered to be pregnant when
she came for her second injection on April 11.
She had first received the three-monthly injection six weeks
after delivering her last child December 7, and had then said she
had not engaged in intercourse.
The manufacturer told Sabaruddin, a former head of the
Indonesian Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the
injections were still in good condition and that the
manufacturers, therefore, could not be held responsible for its
failure.
However, they said contraceptive injections should be
administered five days after delivery. This statement is
contradictory to the instructions on the package which said it
should be first injected on the fifth day of a women's cycle or
six weeks after giving birth.
They said the injection, made in the United States, received
approval from the Food and Drug Association in 1992. They also
reportedly rejected Sabaruddin's suggestions that the
instructions be changed as they would have to apply for approval
again.
Sabaruddin was not available for confirmation yesterday. (anr)