The Myths and Facts of Contraception Pills - brought to you by Exeltis Pharma on World Contraception Day.

The result of unplanned pregnancies - do you wanted this to happened to you?

Do you know there are 30% of births in Asia are unintended?

• 27 million abortions were performed (and this stands for 58% world's number of abortions) 
• 33 per 1,000 is the overall abortion rate in Asian women during the child-bearing age of 15-44. 
• 10.5 million is unsafe abortion in Asia - the highest number of unsafe abortions in the world (30% occurred in women less than 25 years old & 60% abortions were performed in women under 30.

I was glad to be invited by Exeltis Pharma in conjunction with World Contraception Day earlier last month to learn more about contraception pill. Yes there are many method to control/manage unplanned pregnancies however I believe the cheapest & safest way is through oral contraception pill (better known as OC pills)

Honestly I have a lot of doubts before attending the workshop as I was kinda of ignorance. But I was glad that I attended the informative session to learn more. And as a women I think these are the things that we must know (late is better than never!)

Dr. K.K Iswaran, Consiltant Obstetrician & Gynecologist ; subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine & Fertility was invited to shared his knowledge with us.

Do you know what is Oral Contraception pills? 

Oral Contraception pills contains synthetic versions of the female hormones - estrogen & progesterone which women  produce naturally in their ovaries. They are primarily intended to prevent pregnancies but also offer a number of additional & immediate health benefits, particularly for woman who experience menstrual-related disordered and acne.

Yes you read it right HEALTH benefits! In overseas oral contraception pills are very common as doctor often used it to treat acne & prevent cancers - uterine, ovarian, endometrial and colorectal, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric (PMDD), disturbance of menstrual dymenorrhea (severe menstrual pain), menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding) and etc.

Since it has so many benefits why many of you still did not take OC pills? It is because we heard so much myths and not sure if its the fact! So today Dr KK Iswarea would clear some of our doubts!

 This is the no 1 myth, even I thought the same too!

Not only that, I learnt that OC pills can helps to treat acne by stimulating production of oil by glands in the skin, which results less oily skin and less chances acne would be severe.

In recent years, studies have shown that using OC pills for a year or more, the risk of having Ovarian cancer risks would be reduced by 40 % after four years of use!

Thought most women who take OC pills did not develop any side effect, only a small number of  develop nausea, headache etc. And clearly the benefits of taking OC pills out weight the possible risks.

Mr Andy Siow , Managing Director Malaysia & Singapore of Exeltis Pharma/ Chemo Group Spain said that their company committed to improve people's health and quality of life, providing access to quality medicines at affordable prices and to continuously expand their efforts on R&D to develop new & better therapies.

I was made to known that Exeltis Pharma being one of the largest producer of oral contraception generic pills.

FYI, generic pills contains the same active ingredients as the original formulation has to pass the bioequivalency test before it is available in the market. Generic drugs can be produced without patent infringement for drugs usually when the original pharmaceutical company has finished enjoying their period of “marketing exclusivity” to cover back their R&D costs. Hence companies like Exeltis who subsequently reproduced the same drug following the formulation saves on R&D costs could sell the drug (i.e pills) at a more affordable price!

End of the day, it is importance to note that the main objective of contraception pill is to have to avoid unwanted pregnancies (or abortions which is a SIN). And it is great to know that there are additional health benefits that comes with it. And these are the things we (women) must know so that we know. Hence, I hope this posts helps to clear out some doubts that all of us have here.

I always believe family planning is really important for married couples what more for unmarried couple, hence I believe oral contraception pills are still the most affordable & safest method to avoid unplanned pregnancies.

So to all my female friends out there, DO TAKE ACTION NOW!

For more information visit http://www.chemogroup.com

p/s: It's always best to consult a doctor if you have more doubts, above details are merely a sharing and not a professional advice.