Pediatric Academy Recommends Harmful Implant Contraceptive for Girls

By Lisa Correnti | October 3, 2014

The American Academy of Pediatrics gets it wrong again placing politics over health.

A post at the Kaiser Health foundation reports that long-acting contraceptive use among teens has been successful in lowering teen pregnancy. This according to a study released by the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings were released coincidentally just days after the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended “that health providers should consider IUDs and implants first when discussing contraception choices with teen girls.”

This reckless report advices healthcare professionals to recommend long acting contraceptives (LACs) like IUDs and implants to teen adolescents ignoring the emotional and physical health side effects of this risky behavior.

Feminists, reproductive rights advocates like Planned Parenthood, eugenicists and now the American Academy of Pediatrics all seem to be in agreement in prioritizing long acting contraceptives such as Nexplanon / Implanon, Jadelle (new Norplant), and long term injectables such as Depo Provera —  and in ignoring serious side effects.

While poor women overseas have mainly been the target of these harmful progesterone contraceptives, now with the Affordable Care Act covering LACs more young girls from low income communities in the U.S. will also be at risk.

Reducing pregnancy rates, which are already at an all time low, should not be at a significant risk to the overall health of girls and women. Low income girls and women of color, who are the primary targets of long-term progesterone contraceptives, have the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infections, highest breast cancer rates, heart disease, significant weight gain that leads to diabetes, etc.– all debilitating diseases exacerbated by the very long-term progesterone contraceptives the Academy of Pediatrics is recklessly recommending.

A significant research study in the U.S. on progesterone implants verified that progesterone implants increase HIV/AIDs infections by over 7-times. The research was conducted on simian monkeys by a group of preeminent doctors from the following distinguished institutions:  Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center-Rockefeller University, Department of Microbiology-New York University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School-New England Regional Primate Research Center, California Regional Primate Research Center-University of California−Davis, Contraceptive Development Branch-National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have Black Box warnings to consumers detailing harm caused by long-term progesterone injections. The FDA warnings against Pfizer’s progesterone contraceptive, Depo Provera, which goes by other brand names Sayana Press, gives special detailed warnings for adolescents under section 14 clause 3:  “after discontinuing Depo Provera in adolescents [teens], mean bone mineral density loss at total hip and femoral neck did not fully recover by 5 years”.

Therefore, the recommendations by the Academy of Pediatrics, recommending long-term progesterone contraceptives for teens is reckless and unacceptable especially with available scientific evidence of harm.  The Academy of Pediatrics either does not respect the FDA and scientific evidence, which warns of significant harm of long-term progesterone contraceptive, or they have reason to look the other way.

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