"There is no denying that emergency contraceptive pills are an ideal way to stop unwanted pregnancy but what should be kept in mind is that these pills have a very high dosage and hence, one should not consider it as any other contraceptive pill which can be popped daily," says Dr Sudha Salhan, Head of Department, Gynecology, Safdurjang Hospital.

Emergency pill manufacturers also support the doctor cautionary note.

"Emergency pills are not a replacement for normal contraceptive pills. It is indicated when there is unprotected sexual intercourse or failure of regular contraception or the woman forgets to take her regular pill for a few days. Normal OC pills are the most effective form of contraception," says Dr. Jaideep Gogtay M.D. Medical Services Cipla. Cipla has recently come out with a emergency contraceptive pill called i pill.

Research shows that seventy-eight percent of the pregnancies in India are unplanned and at least twenty- five percent are unwanted. This leads to abortions, numbering to approximately 11 million a year, half of which are unsafe and are associated with high morbidity and mortality.

Unprotected sexual intercourse and contraceptive failure are the key causes leading to unintended pregnancies. Lack of awareness further augments this problem.

Doctors point out that emergency pills should not be confused with abortion pills and should be used as a preventive measure against pregnancy and not to terminate it. "Emergency contraceptive pills only work in the time window existing between intercourse and the time that the pregnancy gets established. These pills are therefore not designed to terminate an existing pregnancy and should not be confused with abortion pills which are used to terminate (abort) an existing pregnancy. It cannot be treated as a family planning option also," says Dr Salhan.

According to a study conducted by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), while India has the second-largest population of any country, the market for hormonal contraceptives is small, because of a low contraceptive-prevalence rate (CPR) (42.8 percent) and a high reliance on sterilization. Female and male sterilization comprises more than 80 percent of contraceptive use.

In addition, there has been little growth in the CPR; the majority of what growth there has been involves sterilization, resulting in a flat market for hormonals. The Indian hormonal-contraceptive market is bifurcated into high-priced products, dominated by multinational corporations' (MNCs) brands, and a low-end market, dominated by products that are free or the government or SMOs subsidize, it adds.

According to industry estimates the oral contraceptive market in India is around Rs 100 crore and is growing at 16-17 per cent.

Experts point out that even though emergency contraceptive pills have been in the market for the last one decade, the awareness level is very minimal.

With the launch of i-Pill, Cipla has started an aggressive ad push promoting even other manufacturers to follow suit. What is also interesting is that a large section of the callers to Cipla's helpline number are males. Even the chemists in the capital who till now never displayed emergency contraceptive pills prominently in the stores have started giving it more display. "There is a demand now for such pills. Since, one gets to see them more in TV and in papers, people are slowly becoming aware of it," says Raju Prakash, a chemist in Dwarka in the capital.

Talking to doctors and emergency pill users, it was found that since the emergency pills are more costly than regular contraceptive pills, there is a trend among girls to take a double dose of regular contraceptive pills the morning after.

Doctors however point out that this practice can lead to side effects. (Agencies)

Comments

Comments*
Name*
Place
Email
Security Code

Enter security code
 

* Do not use semicolon(;)