Stop abusing emergency contraceptive pills

A health worker has cautioned sexually active adolescents against abuse of the emergency contraceptive pills, saying, that the health complications could be dire.

Ms. Anita Asare, a Community Health Nurse at the Osino Health Centre, said misuse of the pills could create liver problems.

She was speaking at a health education forum held for students of the Osino Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS) as part of the drive to reduce abortion and maternal mortality.

It was organized under the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG)/Ipas project to prevent preventable deaths from unsafe abortion.

This comes amid the rising teenage pregnancy rate in the Eastern Region with a total of 24,616 girls aged between 15 and 19, getting pregnant in the region within two years – 2014 and 2015.

Ms. Asare advised that emergency contraceptive pills should be used only twice in a year or 10 times in one’s lifetime.

She said research conducted in selected tertiary institutions indicated that “some students have been having unprotected sex and regularly take the emergency contraceptive tablets after every sex,” something she termed as deeply disturbing.

Ms. Rosemond Asiedu of PPAG, told the students that the way forward to prevent unwanted pregnancy and abortion was to completely abstain from pre-marital sex.

Those, who could not do this, she said, should seek help from trained health professionals.

Osabarima Otu Darko IV, the chief of Osino, urged parents to cut down on frivolous expenditure to enable them save more money to take care of the education needs of their children.

He counselled students to focus on their education and avoid making bad choices, likely to ruin their future.