New Delhi: Govt to introduce injectable contraceptives for women

New Delhi: Government has decided to introduce injectable contraceptives for women in the public health system and family welfare programme, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said today.

"The government has decided to introduce injectable contraceptive for women in the public health system and family welfare programme. In the first phase it would be launched only in the medical colleges and district hospitals where dedicated counsellors for family planning are in place," the minister said in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

He said that the government had conducted a high-level meeting of prominent gynecologists from across the country including heads of departments of medical colleges and professional and technical organisations which discussed the safety concerns in detail.

"It was concluded in the meeting that menstrual irregularity and demineralisation of bones are temporary phenomena which disappear once the injectables are discontinued. Rare case of demineralisation of bones would be managed through external supplementation," Nadda said.

The first dose would be administered by a trained doctor in the facility after proper screening and counselling and the government has planned dedicated technical content and capacity-building plan for providers for all states, he said.