A medical doctor, Fidelis Egemba, has called for more enlightenment on contraception use to demystify false information and myths surrounding effective family planning in Nigeria.

Egemba, who practices at Avon Medical Centre, Surulere, Lagos, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos that there were many myths and misconceptions about birth control.

According to him, this is causing confusion about how to conceive or prevent unwanted pregnancy.

Contraception, also known as birth control, family planning or fertility control, is a method or device used to prevent pregnancy.

NAN reports that the World Contraception Day takes place on every Sept. 26 with the mission to improve awareness of all contraceptive methods available.

Theme of the 2019 celebration is: “It’s Your Life, It’s Your Responsibility.”

Egemba said: “For example, some people avoid the use of contraception, because of fear of losing their fertility later, which is far from the truth.”

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He said that there were several ways to protect against pregnancy, effectiveness of the chosen methods and the side effects that might arise from the contraception.

“The Male Condom, which is a sheath of rubber used to cover the penis and blocks sperms from reaching the vagina, is rated 95 per cent effective, but in actual use has 85 per cent protection.

“The female condom is also a cheap method of preventing pregnancy, but availability is not as common as the male condom and its effectiveness is about 79 per cent.

“The side effect of this method is that some people have latex allergies,” he said.

Egemba added that the implants method has 99 per cent chance of protection that could last for about five years.

The expert said that this has side effects of weight gain, breast tenderness, pimple, and irregular menstrual cycle.

He said that the daily use of contraceptive pills have 91 per cent protection against pregnancy as it helps to block the cervix by increasing mucus production and blocking ovulation.

“It can also reduce menstrual symptoms and reduce women’s risk of having ovarian cancer,” Egemba said.

According to him, some people use the natural method which entails the tracking of the fertile days of the woman, avoid sex on those days and about five days leading to those days.

“A woman can also measure her basal body temperature method as well as cervical mucus, but they can be difficult to use correctly,” he said.

Egemba said that some other methods include: the IUDs, cervical cap, emergency pills, bilateral tubal ligation and hysterectomy.

He advised that medical doctors should be consulted for accurate and reliable information related to contraception use, saying what works for one might not work for another.

Egemba, however, stressed that abstinence was still the most effective ways of preventing unwanted pregnancy, especially among youths.