TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - - While the Commission on Population and Development (PopCom) region 2 is urging every couple and sexually active individuals to adopt family planning methods to allow birth spacing, the "withdrawal" method is highly discouraged. 

Herita O. Macarubbo, regional director, explained that "withdrawal" is no longer part of the accepted and recommended family planning methods as studies show that is is unsafe and ineffective for birth spacing.

"Withdrawal is very unsafe. There's a high probability of pregnancy in using this method because chances are there were already pre-ejaculated sperms before the male organ is being withdrawn," Macarubbo said. 

In the latest National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 5.3% of the sexually active individuals in region 2 admitted that they are using the withdrawal method. 

"We really encourage these individuals who are still using withdrawal to shift to other family planning methods, either modern or traditional methods," Macarubbo said. 

She said among the modern methods they recommend and promote include female sterilization, male sterilization, pill, IUD, injectable, condom, mucus/Billings/ovulation methods, standard days method and lactational amenorrhea method while the traditional methods include calendar, rhythm or periodic abstinence. 

Macarubbo said the best method without any risk, costless and most effective is abstinence. 

On the other hand, Macarubbo also stated that based from the NDHS, 10.9% among couples have unmet needs on family planning while there is 55.3% total demand on family planning in the entire region. 

Nationwide, she also said that region 2 is the highest in terms of the contraception prevalence use at 44.3% in which pills is the most popular among women. 

The survey also revealed that 63.4% of the couples do not want to have additional children while 81.9% said they never discussed family planning with a health care provider. (MDCT/OTB/PIA Cagayan)