What is a contraceptive injection?
The contraceptive injection is a highly effective long-term form of contraception. It's a progestogen hormone that is slowly released into the body. There are two types available in the UK.

Depo-Provera - which protects against pregnancy for 12 weeks.

Noristerat - which gives contraceptive protection for 8 weeks.

At the present time (2001), Depo-Provera is far more widely used in Britain than Noristerat.

How does the contraceptive injection work?
The contraceptive injection works much like the Pill in that it:

stops ovulation.

thickens mucus from the neck of the womb making it difficult for sperm to swim through it.

makes the lining of the womb thinner so fertilized eggs can't attach themselves to it.

How effective is the contraceptive injection?
The injection is thought to be about 99 per cent effective - but you must remember to have your injection on time.

Some prescribed medicines also adversely affect the contraception injection's effectiveness. This means that when you are prescribed other medicines you should always say that you've had the contraceptive injection.

Where can you get the injections?
Most women get them at their local Family Planning Clinic. Quite a few GPs also offer the injections.

What are the advantages of this method?
The most obvious advantage to contraceptive injections is that you only have to do something about birth control every 8 or 12 weeks - the rest of the time you can forget all about it.

It is also believed that contraceptive injections give some protection against cancer of the womb.

What are the disadvantages?

Your periods will probably be quite different. Some women have periods that last longer. Some don't have periods at all. Others have light, irregular bleeding. None of this is serious, but some women feel anxious about the changes to their periods and others find these changes very irritating.

Some women find it something of a chore to have to go and get injected every 8 or 12 weeks.

Many women put on weight, although this should be no more than about five pounds after using this method for a year.

Some women seem to suffer depression while on the injections.

After stopping the Depo-Provera injections, it can sometimes take up to a year for normal fertility to be restored.

There is no way of 'undoing' the injection, so if you have any side effects you will have to live with them for 8 or 12 weeks.

Other possible side effects include headaches, tummy ache, dizziness, weakness and fluid retention.

Who can have these injections?
Most healthy women can have these injections. However, just as with other hormonal contraceptive methods, some women are not suited to them.

You should not have injections if you:

have breast or womb cancer

have liver disease or jaundice

might be pregnant

have suffered from bad depression

have any type of heart disease

have sickle cell anaemia.

There are other less common reasons why some women should not have these injections. If in any doubt, please consult your local Family Planning Clinic.

Please not that there may be a small increased risk of breast cancer with this method. Discuss this with the doctor who prescribes the injection.

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