The Sunday Mail
Big, fat stomachs, mood swings, low sex drive, memory loss, depressions, vaginal dryness and suicidal thoughts are some of the nightmares that women may face as a result of using oral contraceptive pills.
Others experience pain in their breasts, abnormal bleeding, and abrupt weight gaining which distorts their original structures.
Oral contraceptive pills can be referred to as hormonal contraceptives because they are constituted by two hormones, namely progesterone and oestrogen.
“Initially I thought I was bewitched when I started having abnormal bleeding a month after giving birth to my daughter Ruvarashe,” said Tsitsi Chamunorwa, a mother of two children from Glen Norah. The 32-year-old mother narrated her experience: “What made it worse was the fact that during the same time I also developed a syndrome of forgetting important things. The conditioned worsened within two months to the extent that I ended up writing down things in a notebook.
“I remember one time I forgot where I had hidden $150 for my daughter’s school fees but, fortunately my husband found the money two weeks later under our bed. One of my colleagues encouraged me to consult a doctor. The doctor encouraged me to change from oral contraceptive pills to non-hormonal contraceptive. Since then all the bleeding and forgetting have ceased.”
She said the doctor told her that she was reacting to the hormonal contraceptives which she was taking. Mrs Chamunorwa is presently using a loop as a contraceptive measure.
Mother-of-one, Martha Magumise (30) from Chishawasha, she said she reacted by developing headaches and pimples. She said, “Within the first two months of using the contraceptive pills, I only skipped a day and the following month I was already pregnant. Since my baby boy was still young, I was faced with difficult options and this was quite inconveniencing. During the same time when I realised that I was pregnant, my son fell seriously ill,” she said.
She said she is presently using an implant.
Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) acting director of technical services, Martin Maronda, acknowledged that the side effects can traumatise women even though they will not be permanent.
“Generally all contraceptives can have side effects as with all other drugs. However, incidents of severe side effects to contraceptives are very rare. Whenever a woman develops serious side effects an alternative method is provided to her.”
“The common side effects include headaches, abdominal discomfort, and irregular bleeding patterns.”
Mr Maronda urged the public to get their contraceptives pills from registered service providers who are trained to give them accurate information on how to use these products.
“People should avoid getting family planning products from street vendors because these vendors do not have the expertise to give accurate information and guidance on the use of contraceptives. Products sold on the streets or from undesignated points are not stored under the recommended conditions and getting products from such sources is not only unsafe but also exposing oneself to expired drugs,” he added.
On the other hand, a local medical practitioner, Dr Steven Dhlovhu, said some women can experience high blood pressure, low sex drive and depression, depending on individuals.
He explained, “Oral contraceptives are constituted by two hormones that are naturally found in a female body. When these hormones have entered the body, it means the level of the hormones will be more than those which were already there. As such, some women develop regular mood swings, depression and abdominal pains.
“Some react negatively with the hormonal levels in their bodies to the extent that they may have a low sex drive while other may have an abnormally high sex drive.”
He said some of the side effects have not yet been established but people react differently.
However, there are many contradicting studies on the relationship between birth control pills and women’s health.
A research by the University of California shows that oral contraceptives trigger some women to recall emotional events vividly compared to women who do not use oral contraceptives. This is the reason why some women develop depression while using the pills.
