UK’s first self-injectable home-kit contraceptive for women is available

According to reports, 3,000 teenage girls aged 15 and under received a hormonal injection to prevent pregnancies under the NHS in the last four years.

Pfizer is aware that women tend to be busy and that it is very hard for them to drop by their healthcare providers regularly to get their contraceptives, said Patel.

The injection called Sayana Press is made by Pfizer, and works by releasing a supply of the hormone progesterone into the bloodstream.

Sayana Press is also ether approved or pending approval in several other European Union markets – including Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland and the Netherlands – but Pfizer’s ultimate aim is to make the contraceptive widely available in lower-income markets around the world.

Thursday said its injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press (medroxyprogesterone acetate), is now available to women in the United Kingdom for administration by self-injection.

But Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘The manufacturers may claim that this new product will only be prescribed to underage girls in exceptional circumstances, but in this area of medicine the exception all too quickly becomes much more common.

Campaigners have warned that the widespread use of “long-acting” injectable contraception could put under age girls at risk of abuse. Sayana Press is not yet approved for self- injection outside of the EU.

Others view the at-home contraception more positively, hailing it a “game-changer” for women. In the case of Syana Press these can include weight gain, headaches, mood swings, breast tenderness and irregular bleeding.

Women inject it into their thighs or abdomen every 13 weeks, although it may take up to seven days to be effective.

“Empowering women with this option could well prove a game-changer”.

Choosing the right method of contraception for you can be tricky.

Nearly a third of women (31%; 1,309 out of 4,199) think that contraceptive pills have the highest rate of efficacy when compared to other methods.

Women with current or past history of cerebrovascular disease are also exempted from the use of the contraceptive. For example, women who use oral contraceptives perfectly will experience nearly complete protection against pregnancy.

The jab, which they can give themselves at home, will be available from Global Positioning System or family planning clinics as a convenient alternative to the Pill.