Doctors told what the Russians traded for condoms

The country’s favorite method of contraception has changed

The main method of protection against unwanted pregnancy in Russia in recent years has been a condom, but this year, interrupted sexual intercourse has suddenly become a leader. In our country, many women are still afraid of contraceptives – even the most educated believe in the myths that a beard can grow due to the use of contraceptives. Instructions for oral contraceptives have not been updated since the 1960s of the last century.

And the side effects that are mentioned there, such as weight gain or hair growth all over the body, modern drugs do not have at all. However, this is far from the main cause of wild hormone phobia, which occurs mainly among Russians all over the world. Specialists spoke about this during a conference held in Moscow on issues of reproductive health.

According to Mekan Orazov, Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with a Perinatology course at RUDN University, only 13 percent of Russian women have experience in using complex oral contraceptives (COCs). At the same time, almost half of them stop taking them within a year. As a result, no more than 7% of Russian women constantly take this type of contraception. The main fears are related to the fact that the use of such pills will lead to cancer, thrombosis, infertility, and obesity. Many women seriously ask gynecologists if they will grow a beard while taking COCs.

According to an obstetrician-gynecologist, Associate Professor of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine of the Faculty of Continuing Medical Education of the RUDN University, Irina Shestakova, neither in Europe nor in the USA do women have such fears regarding contraception: “Once we made a report on hormone phobia at an international gynecological congress, and colleagues from other countries looked at us with great surprise. Only one doctor from Brazil came up to us after the report and said: “We have the same thing.” The rest didn’t even understand what we were talking about.”

Experts note that in matters of protection, Russian women first of all trust their partner, then neighbors, friends, mothers – and only a few consult a doctor.

And, judging by current trends, Russian contraception is gradually slipping into the Middle Ages. According to the latest polls, the old-fashioned method of coitus interruptus has come out on top in terms of popularity of protection against unwanted pregnancies. Until now, it was in second place, and the method of using condoms was kept in the lead. The reason, most likely, is the increase in the price of products number one in connection with the sanctions.

Of course, someone will rejoice at the fact that the use of ineffective methods of protection will increase the birth rate in the country, but, alas, this is a myth. Research has long proven that preventing unwanted pregnancies only reduces their number and indirectly affects only the number of abortions. So, in this situation, only an increase in abortion statistics can be predicted.