An increasing number of people from the rural populace of Delhi are making use of two new modes of contraceptives, which are more acceptable than the options available earlier.

A study conducted by the Community Aid and Sponsorship Programme (CASP), an NGO involved in creating contraceptive awareness among the rural populace, showed that when Injectables and Standard Days Method (SDM) were added to the basket of choices, the number of users increased from 46 per cent to 54 per cent.

Deliberating on the prevalence of such contraceptives among the rural populace of Delhi, Dr Bulbul Sood, country director, Center for Development and Population Activities' (CEDPA), India while presenting her findings at the Symposium on Expanding Contraceptive Choices: International and Indian Experiences, said that it was amazing given the increased absorption patterns that were being observed when these two modes of contraceptives were being added in the kitty of already existing models.

"For a section of the populace who shy away from resorting to the use contraceptives in general, it comes as a compliment to have observed such a trend. This would in a way give room for the spouses to have more choices and make switching to other modes much more easier. It would also demotivate method-specific discontinuation", said Dr Sood.

According to Dr Sood, from the study that was conducted it was observed that there was an increased awareness levels about use of contraceptives among the rural populace. This was supported by the fact that close to 81 per cent knew about female sterilization methods; 74 per cent about male sterilization methods; 90 per cent about condoms; 89 per cent about oral contraceptives and 59 per cent about injectables.

Given that the awareness levels were already high, including new alternatives would only help in giving the couples more choices for contraceptives, added Dr Sood. According to her, from the comparisons that were done it was observed that 52 per cent found the use of injectables very safe, 31 per cent said that injectables had no disadvantage, 27 per cent found it effective, and about 72 per cent appreciated its use every three months.

In case of SDM, it was found that 40 per cent found no side effects with the procedure, 35 percent found no disadvantage, 10 per cent had some disadvantage and close to 71 per cent found its use very relevant.

As a result of such awareness levels and more choices, it was observed that the number of patients adopting the use of female sterilization grew to 24 per cent in 2003 compared to 17 per cent in 2001, male sterilization grew to 0.4 per cent from 0.1 per cent, injectable use grew to 1 per cent from 0.3 per cent and the best result observed was that withdrawal and safe periods as an option was demoted to 3 per cent from the earlier 12 per cent, which speaks of the high acceptance of contraceptives among the masses, noted Dr Sood.