DOCTORS BUCK GOVT PLAN TO SHELVE IUD

Manila, March 7, 2003 -- Gynecologists vouched yesterday for the safety and efficacy of the intra-uterine device (IUD) as a birth control means, in light of reported plans of the Health department to take IUD off the government's list of artificial birth methods.

Dr. Lyra Ruth Clemente-Chua, president of the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, said Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit's recent statement that IUD may cause miscarriages has no basis.

"As far as current research on contraceptive goes, the evidence points to the IUD as preventive of pregnancy. It is not abortifacient," she said.

IUD is the third most preferred and used modern family planning method among married women. It is a T-shaped device inserted in the uterus to block the ascent of sperm, preventing fertilization.

Dayrit, in earlier interviews, said he might ask the Bureau of Food and Drugs to strike IUD from its list of contraceptives, due to its reported side effects, such as swelling of the ovary.

He said a swollen ovary has the greater tendency for an unborn child to be aborted.

But Chua said OB gynecologists find IUD to be safe, as long as a medical practitioner conducts the procedure of inserting it in the uterus.

She also said no complications will take place if a woman using IUD consults her doctor every six months. (Aresti Tanglao, Malaya)