First ‘DIY contraceptive’ injections for women at home
BRITAIN’S first self-injectable contraceptive for women will be available for use at home, its maker has announced.
The Sayana Press long-acting reversible contraceptive has won a licence allowing users to inject themselves instead of having to visit a GP or clinic.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has extended the product’s approved uses. Each dose, made by drugs giant Pfizer, provides protection for at least 13 weeks. Women wanting to use it will need to see a healthcare professional for training before they administer Sayana at home. They will still be called in for annual check-ups.
Seema Patel, a medical director at Pfizer, said: “Women may require different options that suit them at different times in their lives. We appreciate that many women are very busy and that visiting their healthcare professional regularly to pick up their contraception can be a challenge.
“With around five million women in the UK choosing a hormonal contraceptive, self-injectable Sayana Press could offer an alternative to women who are short on time yet still want to take control of their family planning.”
For girls aged 12 to 18, Sayana Press is to be issued only when other contraceptive methods are deemed unsuita- ble, according to Pfizer. A year’s supply of the contraceptive can be supplied in one go by health workers.
More than 33,000 girls under the age of consent have had NHS contraceptive implants and injections in the past four years, earlier data showed. Figures obtained by The Daily Telegraph highlighted the extent to which NHS sexual health clinics are giving “long-acting” contraceptives such as Sayana to girls aged 15 and below. The implants and injections are given without the need for parental consent.
Campaigners have claimed that widespread use of “long-acting” contraceptives was putting vulnerable girls at increased risk of abuse.
Data compiled by the Government’s Health & Social Care Information Centre, showed that 5,400 girls under 16 had the contraceptive implant in the year ending March 31 2014; 1,800 were aged 14 or under. Over the past four years, the NHS gave contraceptive implants to 21,700 girls too young to have sex legally, while 12,100 girls under 16 were given injections.
The figures also show 12,700 girls aged 15 were given the Pill in 2013-14. A further 5,900 aged 14 and under were prescribed it in sexual health clinics.
Implants and injections are often preferred to the Pill by medics as they remove the issue of pregnancies when girls forget to take oral contraceptives.