Women's knowledge, perceptions and use of emergency contraceptives at three health care centres in Northern Tshwane, Gauten Province

Abstract

Emergency contraception might be misunderstood by women who resort to termination of pregnancies in the event of unwanted pregnancies, rather than to use emergency contraceptives in the event of unprotected sexual intercourse. This article outlines the information, perceptions and use of emergency contraceptives by women in Northern Tshwane, Gauteng Province. A quantitative, exploratory, descriptive design was used for this study. Structured interviews were conducted with 83 women (60 adults and 23 adolescents) who presented for contraceptives at three participating health care centres in Northern Tshwane. The results indicated that the majority of both adult and adolescent women lacked knowledge about emergency contraceptives. A number of adolescents portrayed negative perceptions towards using emergency contraceptives, fearing future reproductive problems or malformed babies.