As much as there is need for use of contraceptives among sexually active women in Kenya, a significant number still do not use birth control and their reasons vary with health risks being their biggest concern.
Jane Awuor, a wife and mother of three says she quit using contraceptives because the ones she has tried do not augur well with her body,"
"When I tried pills, I had very irregular periods that would come twice a month and last a week. The flow would be heavy and the cramps too painful. I tried, the injection and increased weight so I just quit. I do not want the other methods,"
She says she now counts her safe days before she sleeps with her husband and admits it has strained her marriage.
Contraception also known as birth control prevents pregnancy by interfering with the normal process of ovulation, fertilization, and implantation.
Contraceptives are devices or drugs serving to prevent pregnancy.
Though the use of contraception is for either or both of the couple, women tend to take the initiative of using contraception.
The unmarried once sited infrequent involvement is coitus as the main reason why they do not use contraceptives.
"I get to see my boyfriend once in three months' time so I do not see why I should use contraceptives. We do protected sex when we hook up," Wairimu a University student says.
Others do not use contraceptives because of the myths associated with the same. "I was told I might become barren if I use the Depo injection," one said.
Akeyo said her boda boda husband forbade her from using contraceptives because he heard from his friends that it made women cold and unresponsive in bed," she said.
Men cannot be trusted to withdraw Dr. Clarkson Amollo, a Migori based gynecologist also reckons that this method is unreliable, risky and prone to failure, saying failure rate is 75%. "It requires honesty, commitment and maximum cooperation without which it cannot work,"
He says it is also embarrassing in the sense that it is expected to happen when a man is the most vulnerable.
Why the injection is the most popular contraceptive
Dr. Amollo reckons that it is because it is cheap and less demanding. "The pills are very demanding and require a lot of discipline," he said.
He says one can easily hide the use of injection from the partner.
"Pills can be noticed because you will be seen swallowing them, the Norplant can be detected by a partner, the coil can be felt but a partner cannot tell when a woman is using injection as a method of birth control," he said.
Dr. Amollo says its side effects are reversible for instance one can stop use in case of side effects.
