By Angela Onwuzoo
A consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu State, Dr. Uche Agu has explained why women using the withdrawal method of family planning still get pregnant against their wishes.
The associate professor said the withdrawal method also known as pullout is ineffective and susceptible to failure.
Agu who disclosed this during an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise, said though the method works for some people, it is, however, flawed by inconsistencies and failures.
Mayo Clinic says the goal of the withdrawal method is to keep sperm from entering the vagina.
The clinic states that one in five couples who use the withdrawal method for one year will get pregnant, adding that the withdrawal method isn’t as effective at preventing pregnancy as other forms of birth control.
The gynaecologist averred that a lot of men lose control at the point of orgasm and ejaculate inside the vagina before pulling out, stressing that even those that have some level of control may have emitted some sperm cells in the initial secretions before they pull out.
Agu explained, “The withdrawal method is a traditional family planning method that people use when they don’t want to utilize the standard methods like the use of artificial methods like the use of condoms, injectables, women using intrauterine devices, and implants.
“In the use of the withdrawal method, the man feels like he is so confident in himself that he can pull out when he wants to reach an orgasm. Well, it is not very effective because, at the climax of the feelings, the man can forget himself and ejaculates the semen inside the vagina before he pulls out. That is very common.
“Even the first secretion from the urethra -the first semen that comes out carries sperm cells. So, those secretions that come out early first have been proven to contain some sperm cells. Also, when one is trying to pull out when he has the urge where he has the orgasm, the initial slimy secretions that he is emitting before orgasm can carry sperm cells which can cause pregnancy.
“It is not an effective method. Though some people are very discreet about it, it only works for some people. The method is not very effective because it is flawed by inconsistencies and failures. It has a high failure rate.”
2020 data from the World Health Organisation’s website showed that when used perfectly every time, four per cent of people using the pull-out method will become pregnant. This is similar to condoms, which have a two per cent chance of pregnancy when used perfectly.
According to the WHO, methods of contraception include oral contraceptive pills, implants, injectables and vaginal rings
The use of contraception the global health body noted advances the human right of people to determine the number and spacing of their children.
Agu further affirmed that the use of the withdrawal method requires discipline and caution, especially on the part of the men.
“Using withdrawal family planning method involves a lot of discipline and commitment because in some people, at that point of orgasm, they lose control and ejaculate inside the vagina. That is the truth.
Even those that have a level of control may have emitted some sperm cells in the initial secretions before they pull out.
“So, that is why it fails. It is on the part of the man. Some of the secretions that come early before the real ejaculation contain sperm cells”, he reiterated.
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