Emergency or daily pill

Emergency contraception (e-pill) has become a common phenomenon among our youth today. While it may seem like an easy way to prevent unplanned pregnancies after unprotected sex, the e-pill is more dangerous than you think, warns NJOKI CHEGE

A heart to heart conversation with three campus girls from a local public university revealed shocking details of the lengths to which campus students go in a bid to prevent pregnancies.

A campus girl arrives in campus a virgin, gets a boyfriend and a few months down the line, she is convinced to have sex with him. No, it’s not a peer-pressure thing; sex in campus is common, almost part of the syllabus.

Ideally, all public campuses provide condoms in both male and female hostels, but not all students use these condoms. Some deem them ‘too cheap’ and would rather buy their own set of condoms — the ‘scented-and-studded-for-extra pleasure’ ones.

But even with the availability of condoms, most students still pass their use.

 “In most cases, sex happens in the heat of the moment. You are from raving. You are high and you have unprotected sex. It’s what we call a ‘oops moment’,” says Millicent, a Fourth Year student.

What was a surprise, however, was that young men in campus stock emergency contraceptive pills in their rooms and make their girlfriends take them on the morning after.

Most girls admit that the guys would rather forego the condom, especially if they are in an exclusive relationship.

“The e-pill in campus is like a painkiller! Boys buy these pills in bulk and make a girl swallow them after they have had unprotected sex. They are very clear on the fact that they are not ready to be fathers,” says Maureen.

Contraception

Apart from its affordability (it costs about Sh150), the e-pill is also readily available over the counter in any chemist, any time of the day and late into the night. Nobody will ask you why you are taking it. In fact, the attendants act normal so as not to embarrass you. They happily pack it for you in a brown paper, some even with a smile.

It is obvious that the biggest fear in campus is not sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like HIV. What many young people avoid at all costs is pregnancy.

It is for this reason that you will find some girls in campus already on a method of contraception. Girls I talked to revealed that their friends are on monthly injections, the daily pill and a few on IUDs. According to them, if you have an IUD, you must be dating a ‘serious’ guy — the working class type, who can afford to buy you a Sumsung Galaxy S3 worth Sh62,000 and take you on frequent trips out of town.

Upon asking why girls do not carry condoms in their purses or insist the guys use condoms, I am greeted with ‘are you crazy?’ looks.

Prejudiced

“If you are seen with condoms, it means you are promiscuous; that you are willing to dish it out in the next two minutes. You are victimised and prejudiced. They ask: If you are carrying condoms, how many have you ‘given’ today?” says Stacy.

If the girls insist on using condoms, even in long term relationships, the guys ask: “If I am the only one you are having sex with, and we are both safe (from HIV, STIs) then why use one?”

Unprotected sex among the youth is on the rise, especially on weekends. Many pharmacists and chemists will attest to the fact that Mondays are usually the busiest days when it comes to selling the e-pill. The consumption of the pill has become frequent and casual, and is now a worrying trend.

The e-pill has moved from being an emergency contraception to a regular contraception, a trend that has very devastating consequences. This is expected in an era of binge drinking and all-too-common drunken one-night stands. The unspoken bad news is that more young girls are destroying their bodies without knowing.

If you have taken the e-pill more than three times in a year, you are treading a dangerous path. Experts advise that the e-pill should not be taken more than thrice a year because of its effects to your general reproductive health. The health implications of this e-pill are grave and the worst thing is that you might not experience it right now in your youth, but in the future.

Hormonal concentration

Dr John Ongech, head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Kenyatta National Hospital, confirms this.

“The biggest problem with the e-pill is the high hormone concentration, which disrupts the physiological menstrual cycle,” says Dr Ongech.

The emergency pill, Dr Ongech notes, is just meant for that — emergency. It is ideally taken during emergencies such as when you have forgotten to take your daily pills or in the unfortunate case of rape. It is not a daily contraception, contrary to popular practice. This is because the last thing your young body needs is a hormonal imbalance.

Adds Dr Ongech: “The body is subjected to high hormonal concentration and the long term effects is that you will experience hormonal imbalance in the form of abnormal menses (bleeding when you are not supposed to).”

Besides that, frequent use of the e-pill affects your ovulation cycle and interferes with your fertility cycle.

Did you know that high hormonal levels in the body directly influence certain cancers?  You will be surprised to know that popping that pill twice or thrice a month could actually be your ticket to breast or cervical cancer.  Unprotected sex also exposes you to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer.

Taking the e-pill only solves a quarter of the problem, which is pregnancy, but leaves you susceptible to a myriad of serious STIs.

HIV and Aids are incurable while gonorrhea and chlamydia have lifetime implications such as tube blockage hence infertility.  An STI such as chlamydia might not show now, but its effects are felt years after you have left campus and are ready to start a family. Furthermore, frequent consumption of the e-pill increases your chances of having an ectopic pregnancy.

Given the temporary nature of campus relationships, where most do not go beyond campus, it is important to be careful about whom you are having unprotected sex with, in spite of the e-pill.