Arduous search for birth control methods that work for our bodies

 For seven years, Rachel Kazungu has had a bitter taste in her mouth after using different contraceptives, which she says almost cost her life.

The 32-year-old started using the contraceptives immediately she delivered her first baby at the age of 24 and since then, she has used at least four different methods before settling on the current one that she is using. Thanks to the non-hormonal one, she is now at peace knowing that she is protected from an unwanted pregnancy.

“The first time I was introduced to contraceptives by a health care worker, I started using the daily pills. I would bleed and at times even forget to take the pills,” she says.

Ms Kazungu, who operates a saloon in Marembo, Mombasa County, added weight and developed high blood pressure when she was on the pills.

At the hospital when she asked about the best methods to use that could suit her, she was hurriedly screened and shown different methods. She chose the pill.

She was later told that for her to know the best method that suited her, then she had to go for a blood test,  which would cost her money.

“While I was choosing the pills, I  was not told about the possibility of developing high blood. Instead, the health worker assured that many women were using the method with minimal and bearable side effects,” she says

“So, I went for it.”

After three months of missing her periods,  she bled heavily for a whole month.

She stayed for a month without using any contraceptive though she would use emergency pills after sex on her unsafe days, which worsened her symptoms. Since her partner did not want to use a condom, she decided to try another method, the injectable one.

“For the first two months, the bleeding was just okay, and I thought I had gotten the right method. But by the third month, my weight shot up from 76 to 97kilogrames.  I was ever  tired and lazy on top of heavy bleeding,” she tells the Healthy Nation.

She started experiencing nausea in the morning as if she was pregnant.

She went to the hospital to request for a change and she was told to keep using the injection ‘since it takes time before it gets used to the body.’

She was on and off hoping that the side effects would subside when her body got used to the medication but still she suffered.

“When I requested for a change none of the doctor’s thought that my condition was caused by the methods I was using instead, they were telling me to lose weight to lower my pressure,” she says.

She only noticed that the contraceptives were the cause of her woes after she had a sit down with some of her friends.

Since she coulnd’t do without a contraceptive, she switched to an implant (for three but after six months she experienced the same problems, tried to preserve and she could not.

She removed the method and after four months of not using any, she was expectant with her second child.

For the last four years, she has been using a non-hormonal, copper intrauterine device popularly known as the coil which she says has so far been good.

“You cannot believe that I am the same person I was five years ag.   I have lost a lot of weight, my pressure normalised and the morning nausea went. I am lucky I found the right method for me. It is a struggle for women,” she says.

Ms Kazungu is not alone in experiencing severe side effects while using hormonal contraceptives, for Eunice Kyalo, 30, ever since she started using contraceptives, she has had the worst migraines and nausea .

Luckily for her, she had to use only two methods and settled on the third one which has worked well for her.

The mother of two used started with the three months injection immediately after she got her first baby.

She used this for a year.

“When I started the first three months it was worse, then I got used to it, the last months were not pleasant at all, terrible headache, body pains, severe bleeding and nausea all in the name of a contraceptive,” she says.

She discontinued, switched to an implant after being advised by her friends since most of them were using it that it is the best.

She tried this for another two years with the same problems but whenever she sought advice from the health care workers, she was advised not to remove it until it adapts with the body.

“I persevered but when the symptoms were worse, I went to a different hospital and had it removed. Though I waited for two years, I suffered,” she says.

Two years after the birth of her second boy, she started using the daily pills, which she says have worked well without any complications.

“As soon as I started using the pills, my periods normalized before, I was having irregular periods, this has since changed to regular, my headache went, I am very energetic, no painful cramps,” she says.

Dr John Ongech, a leading obstetrician and gynecologist in the country, told the Healthy Nation that women react differently to different contraceptives.

“Others would react so badly with the hormonal methods while others are just okay, others would react to the non-hormonal while others are fine with it, that’s why it is always advisable that before you settle on any method, ensure that you are given the disadvantages and advantages of each method so that one is able to make an informed choice, “Dr Ongech said.

He said for a health worker to be able to determine which methods suit a user, then they have to ask questions regarding the user’s health, lifestyle and contraceptive preferences.

According to the Reproductive and Maternal Service Unit of the Health ministry, under the family planning methods more women are now practising natural family planning even as the uptake of modern contraceptives among married women also increases by five per cent.

Prof Peter Gichangi, the principal investigator at Performance Monitoring for Action Kenya, said the traditional methods were equally important since there are individuals who still benefit from them.

“This is usually an individual choice. If couples agree to use either safe periods or the withdrawal method, then it is okay,” said Prof Gichangi, who is also a lead researcher at the International Centre for Reproductive Health Kenya.

Natural methods have no side effects. They include the lactational amenorrhoea method, coitus interruptus (withdrawal), calendar method or rhythm method, cervical mucus method and abstinence.

“Women may choose to use these methods because they have a religious objection to contraception or because they prefer to use a hormone-free method. However, these methods are less effective than modern contraception,” Dr Gichangi said.

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