• One needs to weigh the risks and benefits of various methods before picking one
Image: MARTIN OMBIYA
Family planning works to prevent pregnancy in women by preventing ovulation from taking place during their periods.
The particular type of family planning to use is up to the individual.
Nutritionist Leah Akoya says there is no single choice that is safest or best for all women that they are referred to.
Every woman has the right to check on the risks and benefits along the line they choose for those pills, she said.
“No method of family planning is 100 per cent safe, even including that vasectomy, in preventing sexually transmitted diseases,” Akoya said.
She said common methods used in family planning include: condoms, birth control pills, vasectomy, implants, injectables, tubal ligation, intrauterine devices, Withdrawal, natural family planning and beads.
The medical methods have almost similar side effects on women, she said, the most common ones being headache, vomiting, weight gain in some and weight loss in others.
“You can get mood swings or changes in menstrual flow, which sometimes can cause heavy bleeding, depending on the type of family planning method one is using,” Akoya said.
Other side effects include spotting, breast tenderness, increased or reduced appetite and change in sexual desires among couples, she said.
She said dizziness and prolonged menstrual cycle are also noticed due to hormonal imbalance due to those family planning effects.
In some women, sometimes it can result in health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart attack and anaemia due to excessive bleeding during periods.
“It's highly advised before one starts to use a family planning method, they should check on its side effects and risk factors before,” Akoya said.