Injectable Depot Medroxy Progesterone Acetate: A Safe Contraceptive Choice in Public Health System of India

India was the first country in the world to launch a family planning programme, as early as 1952, with the main aim of controlling its population. India’s population has already reached 1.26 billion and considering the high decadal growth rate of 17.64, the country’s population is slated to surpass that of China by 2028.[1] Over the years national family planning programme too has evolved with a shift in focus from merely population control to more critical issues of saving the lives and improving the health of mothers and children through use of reversible spacing methods leading to reduction in unwanted, closely spaced and mistimed pregnancies and thus avoiding pregnancies with higher risks and chances of unsafe abortions.[2] Presently the spacing options are limited to only condoms, Intra Uterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCDs) and oral pills contributing to 5.6%, 1.5% and 4.1% share of modern Couple Protection Rate (mCPR) respectively [Figure 1]. Evidence of contraceptive method mix clearly indicates that with the addition of a single method there is a linear increase in mCPR by 3%‑4%. Development of a long‑acting reversible contraceptive was a goal of family planning researchers for many years.