Family planning clinics. Most give a good service [letter]

1993 
We read with horror the personal view describing the lamentable attitudes and unhelpfulness of some of the staff of a family planning clinic attended for postcoital contraception. We wish to disassociate the vast majority of family planning clinics in general and the Margaret Pyke Center in London England in particular from the one described. Over half of new patients who come to our clinic requesting emergency contraception choose thereafter to attend longterm. Our follow-up rate is high and we are pleased to offer advice on family planning preconceptional advice and general reproductive health care within a single clinic. Especially in view of The Health of the Nations targets to decrease teenage pregnancy it is essential that all family planning services in Britain whether provided by local family planning clinics or in primary care are completely "user friendly" and provide emergency contraception and all relevant follow up in a nonjudgemental way. We agree with the statement that "women are praised more for producing babies than preventing them." As obstetricians we were frequently rewarded with bottles of champagne or whisky. Neither of us can recall being given a bottle for helping a couple not to have a baby. This is a feature of all preventive medicine however sympathetically provided as compared with curative medicine. The problems prevented are real but are not apparent of the individual woman: she does not know that she is the one who failed e.g. to get an unwanted pregnancy or to get an ovarian cancer (prevented by longterm use of the combined pill). Although the feedback tends to be less effusive however gratitude is certainly expressed--among other things by good continuation rates and longterm attendance. We agree with the author that the culture of our society needs to move with the times and become far more positive about contraception. Using the attitude prevalent in the best antenatal and parent-craft sessions as a model can only help. (full text)
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