Bajura, May 3

After bearing five children, Sunkosha Chadara of Bajura used a temporary contraceptive implant for the first time. At the suggestion of maternal infant activists, Chadara visited the health centre at her village to get a temporary implant.

Similarly, Mamata Budha from the same district visited Rugin Health Post and had a Depo-Provera injection.  “It is easy to get the shot once every three months at the health centre and I feel assured after the injection,” Budha said.

Durga Bajgai, Family Planning Supervisor at District Health Office, Bajura, said that many women, of late, have taken to temporary contraceptives. Bajgai informed that quality service on family planning and women’s access to information on family planning are the reasons for rise in the use of contraceptives.

According to In-charge Dhan Bahadur Fadera at Rugin Health Post, the number of women using Depo and Copper-t is higher among rural women than urban. Fadera said that newly-wed girls prefer contraceptive pills to stop unwanted pregnancy.

Doctors at the Health Post note that local women used to be scared to even visit the health post and share their problems. The change in access to information on family planning has made them aware of their options, said locals.  Women’s reproductive age spans from 15 to 49 years on an average. Many women, in rural areas still lack awareness of family planning contraceptives.