Ang Kape Ni LaTtEX

My daughter CJ will turn three this December, and increasingly, the most usual question that people pop when we talk about kids is “wala pa bang kasunod yan?” I usually laugh it off, but sometimes it becomes irritating when the questions grow in number. I mean, sometimes the way the question is asked almost sounds like insinuating the lack of sexual activity.

So for the record, yes, my wife and I have a wonderful sex life. I wonder if knowing that will make them happy.

Of course I digress.

When they prod further, I usually just say that “birth control works”, but what I fail to say is that our chosen birth control method is courtesy of the government. And we got it for a very low cost.

Yes — the government actually has an effective birth control policy, at least for our case. But it’s a loosely guarded secret.

You see, back in 2004, as part of the mandatory pre-marital orientation conducted by the Department of Health as a requisite for getting your marriage license, we got the following information. Note that this is all lifted from memory:

• The Department of Health facilitates various birth control measures at their health centers for free.  For example, a woman can have an intra-uterine device (IUD) planted into her uterus for no cost. This is the birth control measure that my wife availed of a few months after giving birth — however she gave a small contribution of a couple of hundred pesos to the health worker just to make sure she takes extra care of her, if you know what I mean. They can also give away condoms, injectable shots, and contraceptive pills, subject to availability.
• PhilHealth covers the cost for sterilization methods, like tubal ligation and no scalpel vasectomy (NSV). For the “macho” guys here who don’t like the idea of vasectomy but whom I might call sissies for being afraid to put their balls under a knife (wait — no scalpel means no knife, right?), the detailed procedure for NSV can be found here, instruction manual style. If the illustrations make you cringe – don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. It’s not for squeamish pansies.
• Men who avail of no scalpel vasectomy will actually be given money to the tune of 5,000 pesos by the government (not sure if it’s thru PhilHealth or SSS). I was amused when I heard this — be sterile and get paid? And keep your semen to boot? Cool! 

(UPDATE: After asking around, I have not been able to verify this from more recent attendees of the seminar. Has it been canceled? Or does my memory fail me?

UPDATE 2: My wife verified this with the DOH and they say that the incentives system must have been a program of the LGU concerned, but DOH definitely does not give any such incentives. The rest of the information above, however, is accurate.)

For the record, the orientation also included details on natural family planning, for the benefit of those who believe that artificial contraception is a sin or who have medical conditions that prevent them to avail of artificial contraceptive methods.

Anyway I forgot all about these things until a few weeks ago when a conversation with a friend (again, with the dreaded “wala pa bang kasunod yan question”) led to him asking how my wife availed of the IUD. He’s planning to get married and raise a family, and the information proved vital. But then he asked me — is there any article or document that you could show me regarding it. And so I searched.

That’s when I realized that the information is not available online.

I have tried for days searching through Google but all I found was muck; pro-life debates, details of the law in its proposal stages, etcetera, but not the enacting law itself. No Reproductive Health Act of 2003 (HB 812 — which I initially believed to contain the details for this program) search results reveal anything substantiative other than a news article containing comments about the bill.

So other than that orientation, I have no other evidence of the benefits. That leads me to believe that the entire thing is a secret kept by the government from sexually-repressed/deprived celibate prudes conservatives. Unfortunately it has a terrible consequence — many of the people who NEED to know about it do not. That includes live-in partners among the poor, especially those who do not have money to get married or get a marriage license.

Even for those who know about it, religious influences or the belief that it will cost too much money (as if having yet another child doesn’t cost too much money!) prevent them from availing of the program. Access to health centers, and in a broader sense — access to health centers with qualified health care professionals is another problem. Unscrupulous health workers who might ask for “donations” for the procedure might be another hurdle to those who have absolutely nothing to spare.

Now I understand that there are people who would not trust government health centers if their life depended on it. An alternative exists — FriendlyCare clinics are run by a non-profit organization and provide free family-planning related health services, including sterilization procedures I mentioned above, as well as temporary contraceptives such as injectable contraceptives, pills and condoms. They even provide cycle beads for those who prefer natural.

So if you’re running into the trouble of having too many children, avail of these benefits now. Before you (or your wife) gets pregnant again!

Do NOT take my word for it, however — if you want more information regarding the above go to your nearest health center, and your obstetrician-gynecologist as well for good measure. You can also visit your nearest FriendlyCare clinic.