Health

UAE women remain unconvinced by birth control pill, survey finds

Doctors say myths and cultural prohibitions, in addition to a lack of awareness, are keeping women in the UAE from taking birth control pills or using them properly.

Alison McMeans

September 27, 2009

DUBAI // Doctors say myths and cultural prohibitions, in addition to a lack of awareness, are keeping women in the UAE from taking birth control pills or using them properly. The World Contraception Day report, which was approved by the Ministry of Health and released yesterday, surveyed 500 married women in the UAE and found that two-thirds of them would consider using oral birth control.
Yet, most women do not adequately understand how the pills work, associating them with weight gain and permanent infertility, while others do not take them according to instructions, resulting in unplanned pregnancies, said Dr Aruna Kumari, a gynaecologist from Lifeline Hospital in Abu Dhabi, speaking as part of a medical panel at the launch of the report yesterday. "Oral contraceptive pills are very unpopular in this country," Dr Kumari said. "There are many myths and cultural prohibitions about using the medication."
The key is to provide women with more information, to alleviate their fears, something that is difficult to do because many women ignore their reproductive health when they are not pregnant, she said. Aside from doctor visits, in the UAE it is still difficult to get that message out, said Dr Salima Wani, from Corniche Hospital. "A sizeable chunk of women still rely on doctors for information, and do not frequently access the internet," she said.
The Contraception Day report also indicated that only 36 per cent of women visit their gynaecologists regularly, even though two-thirds experience health problems. The system in the UAE can make doing so difficult; many women need two appointments and wait days for permission from their insurance companies just to get the recommended once-a-year pap smear. "Pap smears should be considered part of normal health care," said Dr Avril Staunton, from RAK Hospital.
Diabetes levels of 25 per cent among some sectors of the population further complicate women's reproductive health. Women with diabetes tend to stop taking their medication once they learn they are pregnant, without consulting a medical professional, doctors say. This leads to complications that can increase the rate of maternal mortality; doctors on yesterday's panel said it was not uncommon to see women having as many as five Caesarean sections.
If men understood the health risks that repeated, close pregnancies caused their wives, they would be more likely to make decisions that improve both her health, and that of their future children, doctors say. "Husbands should be encouraged to participate actively," Dr Kumari said. "Unless there is male involvement in the educational exercise, it is not going to work. Both partners have an equal role to play."
The World Contraception Day report was conducted by a group headed by Bayer Schering Pharma of Germany and a group of international organisations that focus on sexual health.
amcmeans@thenational.ae

Zombieland: Double Tap

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone

Four out of five stars 

When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
It's up to you to go green

Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.

“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”

When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.

He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.

“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.

One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.  

The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.

Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.

But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”

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