Odisha men shunning condoms: Govt data

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has been witnessing a significant drop in use of condoms over the past decade, leading to unwanted pregnancies and abortions, claim health experts.
While the response to various contraceptives has been impressive, especially the intra-uterine devices (UID)s and injectable contraceptives, the number of men opting for condoms have gone down, according to the state health department. While 1,93,883 men used condoms in 2011-12, that number went down to 1,17,964 in 2021-22, government data shows.

Dr GSS Mohapatra, a senior gynaecologist, said youths should steer clear of the myth that condom use leads to monotony in physical intimacy. “Young couples should be counselled that consistent and correct use of condoms decrease risk of sexually transmitted diseases. After failure in the withdrawal method, couples use emergency contraceptive pills, which may also fail,” Dr Mohapatra said, adding that buying condoms is still considered a taboo.
In Odisha, sources said 4-5% withdrawal results in conception of the female partner, who lands up either in a private hospital or buys pills to terminate pregnancy. In unwanted pregnancies resulting from the failure of withdrawal technique, maximum couples prefer a private healthcare setup to consult a doctor.
In most cases, if doctors feel termination could affect the health of the woman, they advise them to keep the baby. According to state government estimates, a man uses 72 condoms in a year, average six a month.
Dr Harpreet Kaur, another senior gynaecologist, said withdrawal method has a high failure rate and regular pills (emergency contraception) leads to irregular menstrual cycles in women. “Since couples are busy in their professional and personal lives, they at times forget to take precaution when they get physically intimate,” she said.
Dr Bijay Panigrahi, director of family welfare said use of condoms in Odisha may have dropped marginally but use of other means of contraceptives like those which are injectable and post-placental IUDs like Copper T have increased.
“In either case, reproductive health is maintained. And through the distribution of Naba Dampati kit, we are encouraging newly-married couples to use condoms to check unwanted pregnancies,” Dr Panigrahi said.