Botswana health services introduce New Methods of Contraception

The Ministry of Health together with other health stakeholders this week introduced the first ever long acting reversible contraceptive methods.

The new contraceptive methods were announced by the Ministry of Health at a press conference in Gaborone. The contraceptive methods were introduced in a bid to help individuals and couples to be able to attain the desired family sizes as well as planned pregnancies.

These new contraceptives include implants, known as Implanon NXT, with one rod, containing Etonogestrel 68mg hormones. This form contraception is effective for a period of three years. There is also the Jadelle with two rods containing 75mg of Levonoegestrel hormones, which last for a five-year period.

Moreover, a vaginal ring was also introduced, which is a contraception method used for duration of three weeks and removed towards the fourth week to allow menstruation to take place. The Implants are inserted on the arm of a woman, while the vaginal ring is inserted into the vagina to prevent pregnancy.

Some of the advantages of implants is that they are 99.9 percent effective and easy to use. Once they have been inserted, one can later return to fertility once they have been removed. However, irregular bleeding and spotting may occur to some women as a result of using implants.

Moreover some women might experience some type of irregular unpredictable, prolonged, frequent, and infrequent or no bleeding when using implants.  Some of the side effects include; bruising, skin irritation, or pain around the insertion site.

The Acting Director of Department of Public Health, Veronicah Leburu made assurances that these new methods are scientifically recommended and have got no harm side effects, therefore the society should utilize them.