Foundation ODA correct information on hormonal contraceptives for a conscious consumption
ONDA Foundation: correct information on hormonal contraceptives for a conscious contraception
The emphasis given by the media to the AIFA note, widespread on November 15, which puts on the look at the risks of depression and suicidal behaviors linked to the intake of hormonal contraceptives, is excite and risky. Extrapolated from the reference context, it can generate fears, reticence and disorientation in women who should instead consider contraception an ally of their general and sexual-reyroleous health.
Francesca Merzagora, President of the ONDA Foundation
“As the ONDA Foundation we are convinced of the value and role of contraception and we are attentive to women’s health and well -being”, explains Francesca Merzagora, president of the Onda Foundation, National Observatory on Woman and Gender Health. “We believe correct information, modulated with respect to the reference target, is essential so that women, with the support of the gynecologist, can better manage their reproductive health”.
In fact, the Onda Foundation has been carrying out educational and information activities for years to build a culture of contraception which in Italy is still struggling to consolidate due to socio-cultural barriers and taboos. There is still a lack of an organic and structured program of education in affectivity and sexuality: a gap that “explains” why our country is at the bottom of the European ranking for the use of hormonal contraceptives (16%) and why still many of the Italian under 25s (42%) do not use any contraceptive method during their first sexual experience.
Hormonal therapies are often blamed
“Hormone therapies are often blamed without considering that there are many causes that can contribute to a specific problem in the medical field”, says Rossella Nappi, Full Professor of the University of Pavia, member of the Onda board and permanent member of the board of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology (ISGE) has been at the forefront for years to promote the study and research of the importance of sex hormones for the health and well-being of the women’s brain and not only for their effects on reproduction and fertility.
Very strong link between reproduction hormones and proper functioning of the brain
“Aifa’s press release on the connection between suicide and use of hormonal molecules for contraceptive purposes, albeit very important for us doctors because it invites us to reflect on the very strong link between reproduction hormones and proper functioning of the female brain and the importance of prescribing contraception hormonal carefully, after an accurate anamnesis, however, it seems exaggerated and can be harmful to all women who have chosen and continue to choose to become responsibly and who sometimes take on contraceptive hormonal preparations for almost 60 years in order to treat pathologies important such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome etc.
50% of unwanted pregnancies hesitate in voluntary abortion
50% of unwanted pregnancies result in voluntary abortion with significant repercussions on the female psyche and many pathologies for which contraception is prescribed precisely in adolescence, when the risk of depression is severe and suicide is higher, are in turn associated at high risk of anxiety, depression and other psychiatric disorders.
It could simply be a matter of a selection of women who feel more the need to protect themselves from unplanned pregnancies for psychological and socio-economic reasons or who simply feel emotional discomfort in relation to the malfunctioning of their hormones and the inflammatory factors associated with many gynecological conditions, to determine this difference that has been observed between women who use pills, patches, rings, implants and medicated coils and women who do not use them.
The data are in fact analyzed in a transversal way
The data are in fact analyzed in a transversal way, i.e. without the possibility of demonstrating a real cause-effect relationship, and without considering that adolescence is a period of great transformations on the bodily and psychic self, therefore at greater risk of psychiatric pathologies”.
“In the AIFA note – adds Claudio Mencacci, President of the Italian Society of NeuroPsychopharmacology and of the Onda Scientific Committee, as well as Director of the Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health ASST Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, Milan – the differences in the sample of selected women are not given sufficient prominence: it is not clear whether those who had already suffered from anxiety or depression are excluded and even more it is not clear the significant difference between the estrogen-progestogen pill, the progestogen pill, the ring, transdermal patches, etc.. and their impact on mood, anxiety, anticonservative impulsivity (the impact is less when using the estrogen-progestogen pill than with other contraceptive modalities). Certainly the adolescent population (15-19 years) is more at risk than women between 20-34 years and precise communication and attention in the prescription must be implemented against them.
Greatly absent, outside of pharmacology, the reference to the responsibility of the male population with respect to man’s participation in contraception as a couple’s project, still a double burden for women to carry since adolescence “.
