Experience with Norethisterone Enanthate (Noristerat) at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria

Aim: To evaluate the experience with Noresthisterone enanthate at the university of Port Harcourt Teaching hospital, Southern Nigeria.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of the obstetrics and gynaecology, family planning unit (FPU) between January 1st 2006 and December 31st 2015.

Methods: Six thousand, five hundred and eighteen clients were seen in the FPU; out of which three hundred and thirty –three accepted Noristerat. Information retrieved from their case records included socio-demographic characteristics, side effects, discontinuation and sources of information. These were entered into Microsoft excel and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows 15.0.

Results: Norethisterone enanthate users formed 5.11% of contraceptive acceptors during the study period. The mean age of acceptors was 31.5 ± 5.13 years, while most clients (69.37%) had tertiary level of education and multiparous (79.58%); majority of them got their information from health clinics (75.07%). Secondary amenorrhea was the most common side effect (63.66%); and desire for pregnancy was the foremost reason for discontinuation. There was no accidental pregnancy.

Conclusion: This study suggests that Norethisterone enanthate is a safe, effective and acceptable method of contraception in our centre. The print and electronic media should be involved in the propagation of accurate information about contraceptives, especially to the rural and non-literate population.