NORPLANT ACCEPTABILITY IN FOUR FAMILY PLANNING CLINICS

Abstract

From 515 Norplant insertions in four family planning clinics, 138 (26.8%) removals were documented before the completion of 5 years. The duration of implant ranged from 15 days to 48 months. No pregnancy was reported during the study period in those who elected to remove Norplant. Spotting and irregular bleeding were the most common side effects (93.4%) and the most common reasons for early removal (73.6%). Disturbance in daily religious duties was the main reason for removal in those with irregular bleeding and disturbance in sexual intercourse while menstruating was the main reason in another group. The majority of the sample stated that they would not consider using Norplant in the future; only 6% of the sample (those desiring pregnancy) stated that they would use it again.