Experiences of "Antara": The Injectable Contraceptive in Rural Indian Women Presenting to a Tertiary Care Hospital of Eastern India

Introduction: Depot medroxy progesterone acetate (DMPA) is an injectable contraceptive with well-proven effectiveness and excellent safety profile. It is marketed as Antara in India as a part of the government's family planning programme.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the experiences of women using Antara (DMPA) at a tertiary care hospital of Eastern India.

Materials And Methods: An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out in the family planning unit of the study institution from April 2021 to October 2022 among 200 women of reproductive age. Each of the mothers was administered a researcher-administered questionnaire containing questions pertaining to their sociodemographic characteristics and Antara use experience.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 26.4 ± 5.9 years. Most of the participants were Hindus (55.0%), homemakers by their occupation (86.0%), and from lower socio-economic status. A significant proportion of the women had no formal education (14.0%) or had below primary education (14.5%). The most common reason provided by the participants for the discontinuation of Antara was the incidence of various side effects such as irregular menstruation, amenorrhea and apprehension. Lower educational status ( value < 0.001), poorer socio-economic status ( value < 0.001), and interval period starting of Antara ( value < 0.001) were statistically significantly associated with the discontinuation of the contraceptive.

Conclusions: Most women who started taking DMPA (Antara) discontinued due to the fear of side effects. Therefore, the focus should be to educate women regarding the benefits and side effects of DMPA through proper counselling.