Getting the right family planning method

Jael Lieta, 28, first heard of family planning from a friend who advised her to go for it immediately after she had her first child, now aged 12.

“I went to a doctor who was offering the services for free and, without any knowledge or counselling, got an implant, which was supposed to last for five years,” she recalls.

“I decided on the implant because I wanted something that would last, but the side-effects were so bad that after two years, I had it removed. I lost too much weight,” she says.

After that, she used the natural method but after four years, she had another child. “I did not want another child soon after my second born, so once again I went for an artificial method. But after my experience with the implant, I wanted a different method,” she says.

She had an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) commonly known as the coil, inserted, but it turned out to be worse than the implant.

“It started with cramp-like pains in my tummy, then got worse. I had frequent headaches, dizzy spells and was always tired. I took anti-malaria tablets but they did not help,” she says. “They would come like normal pre-menstrual cramps but my periods just did not come. I kept spotting for a whole month.”

Worried, she went to see a gynaecologist to find out what the problem was.

After taking her history, he decided to find out whether the coil was in position. It wasn’t, and a search for the device yielded nothing.

LOOKING FOR THE COIL

“I was referred to a facility that deals with the family planning services where, for two days, my insides were prodded by the doctors as they tried to find the coil,” she says.

The first doctor at the clinic tried to locate it but failed, so she called a more experienced colleague, who also searched for it, again in vain.

“They told me to go for an x-ray, which I did, and went back early the next morning. The x-ray showed that the coil, had indeed, moved,” she says.

She was, thereafter, referred to a gynaecologist, who said the coil might have been improperly inserted, or that the person who had inserted it had not checked the size of her uterus before inserting the device.

“I felt terrible for those two days as they tried to locate the coil,” she says of the invasive procedure.

“They said they didn’t want to rupture my uterus.”

“It’s risky,” she heard one of the doctors say. “We do not know when the coil disappeared so they should have done a pregnancy test first. An X-ray was not the best option.”

Then followed a pelvic scan, which showed that she was not pregnant.

“The bladder keeps coming and going…ooh there it is, back and full…now let’s find this thing,” the doctor said and whistled as he kept moving the mouse-like thing on my tummy,” Ms Lieta recalls one doctor saying. “There it is! I have found it and the position is not good.”

He quickly printed the report from the ultra sound with a worried look and sent them to the gynaecologist.

“We have found the coil, and because it is off position, we have to do a minor surgery to remove it,” he informed her.

After her experience, Ms Lieta swears, “Never again will I use any family planning method. I have suffered a lot and none of them has worked for me.”

She says she came across a number of other women who had also developed complications arising from family planning methods.

LONG-TERM METHOD

Elizabeth is one such person. A first-time user, she had only heard about family planning from her friends. “I was getting into a serious relationship but did not want to have a baby soon so I wanted a long-term method. I went for the coil, and that was the first and the last time I will ever use a family planning method.”

“After one year of using the coil, I got pregnant. I was shocked because according to medics, the probability of one getting pregnant when using a contraceptive is very slim.

The problem then became how to remove the coil while she was pregnant. Elizabeth had come to terms with her situation and was anxiously waiting for the arrival of her baby.

However, she says, “The doctors convinced me that the coil would interfere with my baby if it was not removed.

Go to the Citizen to read the full article.