Injecting Lies

Depo-Provera, brain tumors and the inclination to isolate body from soul

Anyone who has worked in obstetrics could tell you that discussing plans for contraception after birth is a standard part of the medical model of care. Before a woman leaves the hospital with her new baby, someone (usually a few “someones”) is going to ask what type of birth control she is planning on using once she has healed from birth. I once was wheeling a woman out to her car to take her newborn home after having had her fourth child and she said to me: “they sure are worried about us havin’ more, ain’t they?”. I will let the reader draw their own conclusions from that statement.

For the more invasive methods of contraception like IUDs or Nexplanon (which is inserted into the arm), providers typically try and accomplish these things while a mother is still admitted for her postpartum stay. This is also often true for the Depo shot, or medroxyprogesterone acetate. This, despite the drug’s insert itself cautioning against its administration prior to the 6-week postpartum appointme…