Dr. Amir Erfani's research appears in esteemed journal

Dr. Amir Erfani, Professor of Sociology at Nipissing University, published his research on the reasons for high prevalence of contraceptive withdrawal (coitus interruptus or pulling out) in esteemed Scientific Reports journal.

Withdrawal is a male traditional contraceptive method and one of the oldest temporary contraceptive methods that is used widely in the world by 53 million women of reproductive age.

The high prevalence of withdrawal in certain Eastern European and Asian countries, including Iran, remains a concern for stakeholders in reproductive health and population policy, as its relatively high typical-use failure rate has led to more than half of unwanted pregnancies and induced abortions in Asian countries.

It is not yet clear why women who have easy access to pills, condoms and IUDs and other modern contraceptive methods through private or public sectors, still prefer to use withdrawal, which is often regarded as a less effective contraceptive by service providers.

Dr. Erfani, in collaboration with Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Iran, investigated reasons of withdrawal use among women of reproductive age who referred to primary health units in Tehran.
Interviews with a sample of women who used withdrawal indicated that women evaluated withdrawal positively because it has no side effects and cost, is easy to use and accessible, and increases sexual pleasure and intimacy. They reported "side effects of modern methods", "fear of side effects", and "reduction in sexual pleasure" as the major reasons for using withdrawal. Cost of modern methods was a trivial reason for using withdrawal.

These findings suggest that access to regular contraceptive counselling and public health campaigns could help women to deal with fears of side effects of modern methods, learn their proper use, and to receive education on how to use withdrawal more effectively to avoid unintended pregnancies.

This research was funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and was published in Scientific Reports, the 5th most cited journal in the world. You can find an open-access copy of the paper here https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37398-1