Naga introduces new family planning method

FAMILY PLANNING METHOD. A City Population and Nutrition Office personnel conducts Progestin Subdermal Implant insertion, the most recent family planning method offered by the government. JBN/CPNO

NAGA CITY --- The City Planning and Nutrition Office of the local government unit here has introduced in February, this year, the most recent family planning method described as more acceptable birth control.

Called Subdermal Progestin Implant (SPI), this new family planning method is an effective approach to seeing the global need for more beneficial and convenient manner of birth spacing among women.

The implant is being inserted under the client’s upper arm skin. It releases the hormone progestin to stop her from getting pregnant. The hormones in the birth control implant prevent pregnancy in two ways: Progestin thickens the mucus on cervix, which stops sperm from swimming through to a woman’s egg.

Teresita A. del Castillo, CPNO head, explained that these contraceptive systems provide low, stable levels of synthetic progestin for periods of months to three years. She advised couples to wait at least eighteen months before getting pregnant again to maintain the best health for the mother and child.

With regards to the misconception that it causes abortion among users, Del Castillo said that the DOH had already clarified the matter through an issuance of the Food and Drug Administration Advisory No. 2017-302 (Results of the FDA’s Re-evaluation of Contraceptive Products for Recertification) that declared PSI as among the contraceptive products that are non-abortifacient.

Like any other contraceptives publicly available, the PSI has some temporary side effects like headache, acne or pimples, weight gain, and breast pain, minor bleeding, vaginal itching, and menstrual cramps. Joy Macaraig, CPNO population program officer IV, said that the DOH strongly promotes the use of implants for couples who wish to space their pregnancies.

The implant consists of a single, matchstick-sized rod that contains the hormone progestin. The contraceptive implant is inserted in the left arm of right-handed women and vice-versa, and can provide protection up to three years.

Macaraig advised first-time users “to leave the bandage on the wound for a day to prevent contusion, to avoid getting the wound wet for 3-5 days, clean the wound every day, avoid sexual contact for a week, consult a doctor for any unusual feeling after the procedure, and return to CPNO after three months and every year thereafter for a check-up.”

There are more than 200 women who were inserted by the CPNO with PSI since February, this year.