Withdrawal Method Is No Guarantee Against Unplanned Pregnancy — Gynecologist

Coitus Interruptus, commonly known as `withdrawal method’, one of the many methods of preventing unplanned pregnancy, does not guarantee 100 per cent efficacy, according to a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist.

Professor Abubakar Panti of the Uthman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) Sokoto, said this at a Zoom media training on reproductive health on Friday, in Awka.

The training was organised by Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMCH), in conjunction with German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Panti said the method was susceptible to failure, stressing that the method required a high-level of discipline on the part of the man, as the ejaculation time was the highpoint of sexual sensation.

According to him, there were cases where stubborn semen still found its way into the female to fertilise the eggs, thereby resulting in unplanned pregnancy.

He said lactation amenorrhoea, also known as `exclusive breastfeeding’’, was another effective way of preventing pregnancy, provided the woman was not menstruating, with chances of conception in the first six months put at two per cent.

Abubakar said the rhythm or calendar method, which conformed with the doctrine of most faith-based organisations, entailed the avoidance of sex during the period of ovulation, after detailed observation to determine the woman’s safe period.

He stated that there was the need to scale up family planning education and access to contraceptives, to check the prevalence of unplanned pregnancy associated with it.

The expert said Nigeria was the second largest country that records under five mortality with an average of 117 deaths recorded per 1,000 live births in 2019.

This was at variance with developed countries that had reduced child mortality due to gains from child immunisation, while Nigeria still had a high rate because the more women lose children, the more they wanted by getting pregnant.

Abubakar advocated for concerted efforts to get people to embrace contraceptive services that include permanent, temporary and emergency methods of family planning.

He said that the one per cent of consolidated revenue earmarked for health emergencies should be devoted to family planning education and procurement of contraceptives for onward distribution to the people.

Declaring the day open, Professor Emmanuel Lufadeju, said the training was meant to increase the capacity of journalists in reporting reproductive health issues and urged the participants to make good use of the lessons learnt.

Lufadeju, the National Coordinator, RMCH, said effective family planning could reduce child and maternal mortality by 30 per cent and enable Nigeria reap demographic dividends by ensuring that only an active and economically viable population was maintained as against the case of unchecked fertility.

The don said there was need for a community-based approach to family planning, through the distribution of contraceptives to those that needed them.

In her presentation, Shifa Mwesigye, a media expert, urged journalists to localise their reports in order to make a greater impact on the people within an area.

She said journalists should explain the impact of policies to the understanding of the ordinary person, as well as breakdown statistical figures, which usually put stories in context.