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as saying that he had written to the manufacture of the contraceptive injection, asking whether the product was outdated.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)