Personal Journeys: How Saheli Has Empowered Women
Choosing the right contraception method impacts the lives of women in more ways than just preventing pregnancy. It enables women to determine the right time for motherhood, continue education, build careers, and achieve financial independence. By giving them time away from building a family, contraception helps them achieve their life goals, brings them on par with men, and promotes gender equality. It truly paves the way for women's empowerment.
Contraceptive choices made today can also have far-reaching consequences, manifesting in the form of long-term reproductive health and overall wellness. That is why many women who want the convenience and effectiveness of Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCP) avoid hormonal pills and choose the safe, non-hormonal Saheli Plus.
Choosing hormonal pills can mean side effects, while selecting Saheli Plus can mean maintaining natural hormonal balance and reproductive health. These non-hormonal contraception benefits translate into lifelong wellness for women across India.
This article explores how Saheli Plus has empowered women in India. It shares Saheli's success stories, bringing the voices of numerous women from across India, describing how this small pill helped them take control of their reproductive health and life decisions.
Saheli Success Story 1: Child Spacing and Long-Term Wellness
Child spacing is an integral part of women's health. Since pregnancy and childbirth deplete their nutritional stores, mothers are left weak and vulnerable to health issues. Child spacing allows them to recover physically and emotionally, and replenish their nutritional stores before they can plan another child. Implementing child spacing requires the use of highly effective and reversible contraception methods.
Unlike invasive methods like IUDs and hormonal pills that have side effects, Saheli Plus gives them a safe, effective, and easily reversible option to implement child spacing and attain reproductive health and long-term wellness.
Maragatham, a 27-year-old mother from rural Tamil Nadu, says she and her husband decided to have two children. She says, “Both of us earn daily wages to run the family. We cannot afford to take lengthy breaks from work to have children. We thought a huge age gap between the kids would force me to stay at home to raise them at various stages of our lives. So, we wanted to have two kids in quick succession, without any spacing, to bear those hardships early and get on with our lives and work.”
However, after they had the first child, the Village Health Nurse advised them against having another child anytime soon, and told Maragatham that she already suffers from anaemia. She strongly advised them to wait for two years before having another child. She also provided instructions on using Saheli Plus and implementing child spacing. Health workers delivered Saheli Plus at Maragatham's doorstep. After three years, Maragatham had her second child.
Maragatham says, “Saheli Plus helped me space my next pregnancy and focus on my child's health and my own recovery. In the meantime, we also built adequate financial resources to manage the growing family. Now we are a healthy and happy family, and our children grow up in a relatively more financially secure environment.”
Saheli Success Story 2: Education and Career After Marriage
Family planning empowers women to continue their education, become employable, build careers, and become financially independent. Saheli was added to India's family planning programme in 1995 and has helped numerous women across India implement family planning, gain education, and attain empowerment.
Ashwini, a postgraduate student from the outskirts of Bengaluru, Karnataka, got married at the end of her first year of postgraduate studies. She says, “Completing the postgraduate degree and pursuing a career in biochemistry was a dream for me. However, I got married before I could complete the degree due to various circumstances. I was concerned that an unplanned pregnancy could interrupt my studies.” Her supportive husband encouraged her to continue her education and complete the degree.
But postponing the pregnancy was easier said than done. The hormonal pills she took caused some side effects and affected her hormonal balance. “I had severe mood swings and headaches. While these hormonal pills were effective, side effects affected my focus in education”, says Ashwini.
Then she learnt about Saheli Plus from friends, looked up the Saheli Plus website, and read the blog posts to learn more. She says, “I realised that my search for an advanced non-hormonal contraceptive had come to an end. I checked with my gynaecologist and confirmed that Saheli Plus is a suitable option for my use case, and started using it. I have to admit that using Saheli Plus has transformed my life. I don't suffer from any side effects, and I have my hormonal balance restored.”
Besides, Saheli Plus's weekly schedule made it easier for her to follow and let her focus on her studies. “I completed my degree three years ago. Thanks to Saheli Plus, now I am working at a pharmaceutical company. I have my own savings and am an earning partner at home. We are planning to have a child next year”, says Ashwini.
Ashwini's journey highlights how reproductive choices can directly influence women's empowerment, long-term career opportunities, and financial independence.
Saheli Success Story 3: Contraception During Breastfeeding
Many new mothers hesitate to use hormonal contraception soon after childbirth, mainly because they fear it can affect the quality of the milk and have an impact on breastfeeding.
Farida, a young mother from Uttar Pradesh, recalls how she feared using hormonal pills after childbirth.
“I was breastfeeding and worried it would affect my child if I kept using hormonal pills while breastfeeding. My doctor prescribed me Saheli Plus. She told me it is a non-hormonal option with comparable effectiveness, but has none of the side effects associated with hormonal pills. Initially, I hesitated. Then she explained how years of research and clinical studies have proved it is safe for breastfeeding women. Only then did I get convinced and started using it. It helped me avoid another pregnancy too soon and focus on caring for my baby. I am happy that my baby is healthy, thanks to the informed contraception choice that I made earlier.”
Farida's experience highlights how Saheli Plus can support responsible child spacing while allowing mothers to prioritise their newborn's health.
Final Thoughts: Empowerment Through Shared Experiences
By sharing these women empowerment stories from women across urban and rural India, this article aims to raise awareness of how informed reproductive choices, such as selecting the safe, effective, non-hormonal Saheli Plus, contribute to women empowerment, better reproductive health, and greater confidence in planning the future.
From the numerous accounts of women across India, it is evident that the journey toward gender equality and women's empowerment begins with something simple yet powerful: selecting the right contraceptive and deciding when to start building a family.
FAQs
1. How is contraception used in India?
In India, contraception is used for family planning, child spacing, and improving maternal health. The Government of India encourages contraceptive use through its national family planning programme, promoting reproductive health and responsible parenthood.
2. How has contraception changed society?
Contraception has paved the way for women's empowerment and gender equality by enabling them to plan families, pursue education, build a career, and gain financial independence. It has given women control over their fertility and reproductive health.
3. What effect do government initiatives have on women's empowerment?
Government initiatives, such as the national family planning programme, promote family planning, maternal health, and access to contraception. They have supported women's reproductive choices, improved healthcare access, and paved the way for women's empowerment.