Injectable depot medroxyprogesterone - A safe and an effective contraception for an indian setting

The findings reveal that (i) the mean age of 80 women who accepted DMPA for contraception was 26.6 years; (ii) seventy one per cent of the women were primiparous and 51.5 per cent were post-partum while 22 per cent enrolled after an abortion; (iii) discontinuation rate after 1-2 injections was 43 per cent, the most common reason being irregular bleeding; (iv) women found it useful for short-term contraception (3-6 months) prior to opting for sterilization or when their spouses were visiting for a short time; (v) there were no pregnancies during this study for 669 user months; (vi) continuation rate was high in post-partum women and it did not affect their lactation; (vii) maximum time taken for return of menstruation was 7 months after stopping DMPA; and (viii) sixty five per cent of acceptors who completed the study said they would recommend this method to others because of convenience and privacy. The authors conclude that DMPA is an effective and useful contraceptive.