Pregnancy; The third in a three part series on women's health
With the creation of a department focusing on women's health at Dick's House Fall term, women have been able to obtain better access to specialized medical and health services, as well as comprehensive counseling and information about various methods of birth control.
Janice Sundnas, the director of Women's Health Services at Dick's House, said birth control pills and condoms are the two most widely used contraceptives on this campus.
Other methods of birth control that Dick's House administers or counsels about include diaphragms, sponges, Norplant and the new Depot-Provera injection.
Although the pill is a popular form of birth control, it has various side affects. Women can experience small amounts of nausea and bloating in the first month. It takes three months for doctors to evaluate how a woman has responded to the pill. The pill is 98 to 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.
There have been newer versions of the pill, including ortho-cycline, which Sundnas says women have been very pleased with, especially because it has decreased side affects.
Condoms, the other prevalent student choice for birth control, have an effectiveness of 90 percent when used correctly. The effectiveness increases with the use of contraceptive foams, jellies and creams.
Norplant is a relatively new method of birth control that involves the surgical insertion of five cyclastic rods under the skin of the upper arm. The injection is necessary once every six years and the rods are somewhat visible. Norplant has a 98 to 99 percent effectiveness rate in preventing pregnancy.
The side effects of Norplant include unpredictable erratic bleeding in the first six months and a small amount of weight gain.
Sundnas says that only one person has asked for access to Norplant, which women can receive at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Dick's House does not provide this service.
Depot-Provera is a shot received once every twelve weeks that suppresses ovulation. This service is also provided at the DHMC and its side effects include a small amount of erratic bleeding and some weight gain.
"I haven't had many requests for it [Depot-Provera] because getting the shot seems to be a deterrent," Sundnas said. "If I were to get more students to request this, we would do it."
Sundnas said that as far as she knew, diaphragms and sponges are not heavily used on this campus, but women here may be obtaining diaphragms from their gynecologists at home, she said.
One controversial method of birth control that pro-life advocates claim to be an "abortion pill" is RU486, the "morning-after pill," which interferes with the implantation process of an egg. It cannot be taken more than 72 hours after intercourse to be effective in preventing pregnancy.
Sundnas said that there has been a significant rise in the use of morning after pills on this campus in the past few years. This pill has been available in the United States for the past 15 years.
During the 1992-93 academic year, condoms were available through Dick's House for free. But because Dick's House was forced to cut $40,000 in services this year, over the counter medicines that were previously available free of charge are now available for a reduced price for students. Condoms were included in this cut but are still available to students for a minimal price of six for 75 cents.
Sundnas said that when condoms were available for free, students would come in and fill bags with them and take them home. Now that there is a charge for condoms, Sundnas said that the amount sold are nowhere near as many as were taken previously.
Dick's House offers comprehensive birth control counseling for men and women. Counselors present all of the available methods and distribute written information describing them. They then discuss the methods available through College Health Services and the DHMC.
All Undergraduate Advisors receive some training on the birth control and health services that are available to students.
On average, there are 30 to 40 unplanned pregnancies on the Dartmouth campus each year, said John Turco, director of health services at Dick's House. So far this year there have been 12 pregnancies, which includes undergraduate and graduate students.
Turco said that many of these unplanned pregnancies were caused by poor decisions because of alcohol consumption.
"As Director of Health Services, I am aware that there are a good number of students that are sexually active on the Dartmouth campus," Turco said. "There are certain facts that students need to know. If they do decide to be sexually active, they need to know how to protect themselves."
In addition to birth control services offered by Dick's House and the DHMC, there is also a Planned Parenthood in Lebanon that serves the Upper Valley.
"There is definitely not enough sex education here ... because people think they already know everything, and therefore treat all matters relating to sex as a joke, or a farce," Vadim Sarma '97 said.
