Counting the costs: Comparing depot medroxyprogesterone acetate and norethisterone oenanthate utilisation patterns in South Africa

Table 3 Side effects most frequently reported by DMPA and NET-EN users

Side Effect	DMPA (%)	NET-EN (%)	P Value^*
	(n = 84)	(n = 95)
Menstrual irregularities
Amenorrhoea ^#	67.5	58.9	0.240
Spotting	9.5	12.6	0.510
Heavy periods	8.3	7.4	0.792
Irregular periods	3.6	10.5	0.074
Longer periods	2.4	4.2	0.497
Dysmenorrhoea	1.2	1.1	0.930
Vaginal wetness	22.6	14.7	0.175
Weight gain	14.3	8.4	0.214
Loss of libido	10.7	8.4	0.601
Dizziness	10.7	6.3	0.289
Headache	10.7	4.2	0.094
Nausea	9.5	3.2	0.077
Vaginal discharge	8.3	3.2	0.132
Vaginal discharge with odour	7.1	3.2	0.223

^# Includes thirty breastfeeding women. Although amenorrhoea was reported as a side effect of IPC use, it could have been lactational amenorrhoea ^* Chi-square (1 degree of freedom, significance tested at the 5% level)

ISSN: 1472-6963