Mental Health

On World Contraception Day, let’s talk about a topic that’s sensitive to men and women. Having worked in healthcare and spent a lot of time with doctors, clinicians’ nurses, and radiographers, here is what I know for sure. Women go to extreme levels to prevent pregnancy; the same can’t be said for men. Most will just say they don’t want a baby, and that will be all they will contribute to the conversation. Where I come from, they will even tell you what not to use. Take an IUD, for example. They will say they don’t want it because they can feel it, and I don’t think I have ever heard anything that doesn’t make any sense. That’s a conversation for another day. Some will tell you not to use any because it will make you dry on your lady parts. That information they will have gotten from the most non-reliable source ever. But hey, he calls the shorts, so now the woman will be stuck with either having kids she can’t afford or going to extreme measures to find a method she can hide.
Women, it is your responsibility to prevent pregnancy,if not for anything, given that 90% of a baby’s responsibility will be on you until they can talk and walk. Unless you are a deadbeat mom, in which case that’s a different conversation. Babies are a lot of work, and you deserve to have them when you are ready. There are so many side effects that will come with the many methods available, so make sure you get all the information you can get from your healthcare provider. No method is 100% effective; you need to make sure your partner knows that. Have a conversation about what would happen should it fail. Listen to everything they say and what they don’t say so you know where you stand. The science surrounding family planning methods actually contains less information than the myths available. Focus on the science,focus on the facts, and more importantly, listen to your body. Whenever something changes, find out what can be done about it,find out to what extent it can go, and for the love you have for yourself, tell your healthcare providers the truth. From the onset of getting a family planning method, be honest about your cycle,number of partners, and previous history of using emergency pills. Tell us about any chronic illnesses you might have. This will help us in determining which method would be better; there’s no such thing as the best. The best method is to abstain.