We are some Canadian students, obtaining our graduate degrees and have an assignment that we could use a little help with.
We are to write a paper outlining how we would market contraceptives in Cairo.
We have found a lot of pertinent information but are stuck on something. Why do women or men choose certain types of birth control over other? We have read that the IUD is the most common method of control used today, but what do women consider when making their choice? Why choose the IUD over the pill or some alternative source?
Any information or advice you could provide would be very helpful.
Thank you very much, Jen
Posts: 8 | From: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: May 2005
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We are some Canadian students, obtaining our graduate degrees and have an assignment that we could use a little help with.
We are to write a paper outlining how we would market contraceptives in Cairo.
We have found a lot of pertinent information but are stuck on something. Why do women or men choose certain types of birth control over other? We have read that the IUD is the most common method of control used today, but what do women consider when making their choice? Why choose the IUD over the pill or some alternative source?
Any information or advice you could provide would be very helpful.
posted
There are actually several Egyptian women on this forum, and some of us who are not do talk to them! From what I gather local women prefer the IUD as it is thought to be more convenient, unlike the pill which has to be taken every night and could be forgotten, and it is thought to have less detrimental side effects, as it does not interfering with their hormones. However, many women do experience a lot of problems with extended heavy periods following insertions of the IUD.
Posts: 4576 | From: Cairo | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
You will find many people in Egypt tend to look toward natural remedies for illness and do not like taking drugs of any form. Something like the pill which interferes with the balance of hormones in the body would for many considered unnatural.
My husband and I ( he is Egyptian I am English) decided the IUD was best for us. The Merina coils avoid the problems of heavy bleeding and in fact do quite the opposite as they release a small amount of proqesterone direct to the uterus to reduce the build up of the lining ot the womb each month., however I am not sure if they are available in Egypt. That could be a good point to research for your marketing campaign. If you are really stuck I can find out for you if they are available or not.
posted
Thank you all for your advice. The IUD is very uncommon in North America, so we were a little surprised that it was so common in Egypt.
We were looking to "sell" the birth control patch, which is similar to the pill, but must be applied only once a week, and is a lot less intrusive than an IUD.
Any thoughts on the viability of this product?
Thanks again Jen
Posts: 8 | From: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by jenhinze: Thank you all for your advice. The IUD is very uncommon in North America, so we were a little surprised that it was so common in Egypt.
We were looking to "sell" the birth control patch, which is similar to the pill, but must be applied only once a week, and is a lot less intrusive than an IUD.
Any thoughts on the viability of this product?
Thanks again Jen
The Birth control patch has the same problems as the pill and, unfortunately, it will come off in the shower.
posted
I wish the patch was available in egypt. One of the main issues in egypt is the lack of availability and consistancy One week you go the the pharmacy and it will be in stock, the the next week, sorry we don't have it and not sure when it will be in again.
The iud is the most popular for three reasons. Once you have it in place, you don't have to think about it again. Second it doesn't interfere with homones, no weight gain, or other side effects. Third, the diaphram is not available. Why? I don't know, but most egyptian women have no Idea it exsists. I'm still waiting for my next trip abroad to have it fitted.
quote:Originally posted by TMK: Third, the diaphram is not available. Why? I don't know, but most egyptian women have no Idea it exsists. I'm still waiting for my next trip abroad to have it fitted.
Even in Europe it is not sold anymore, gynecologists almost never recommend it and pharmacies don't carry it. if you want one you have to import it from the states. One of the reasons might be that neither doctors nor pharmacists can make a lot of money by prescribing it, it's cheap, lasts long and you don't need expensive check ups at the doctor.
I am married to an egyptian man, I am an american woman. Religion also plays a "big" part in birth control in egypt. A lot of the men still prefer and practice "rhythm method", which unfortunately does not work for most women. As you know in the states the "IUD" was taken off of the market for many years for health hazards, and complications. The diaphragm, can be effective if used properly,the flexible disk that covers the uterine cervix, sometimes is placed inside -out, and can be easily torn if not handled properly, if not cleaned, many have experienced infections, such as acute cervicitis from this. You will find in general old-fashioned values still exist not just egyptian women , among most arab women. In the gulf regions you can easily purchase birth -control pills right off of the shelf. Many dangerous side-effects, from the hormones. Most of the arab women do not use tampons for periods even. You have to consider in your study , the religious aspect,& culture. When on their mentrual cycle moslem women do not fast, or pray, go into the mosque. Many people will question why they do not paint their finger-nails? they do when they are on their periods. Because when they pray 5 times a day , wash and water has to touch the hands and nails, no polish allowed, when they are on their period you will notice nail polish. It would be so easy and simple, if men would only agree to "vascetomies", but that is forbidden and looked down upon by men. Men believe they are not" a man", which really is ridiculous, for the procedure can be done in about 15 min., some men even return to work the same day. For women having tubes tied , can have a lot of risks, and recovery time involved. Maybe we can hope for the future, it is still in testing stages, the day will come for a "pill" for men. Women bear so much as it is. Most arab men don't want to wear a condom even.More modern thinking women want to use some sort of birth -control, you have to take in account finances and availability, in egypt for the products, and expense. In your research again you have to tie in religious beliefs and practices. As they say in the states" Clip and Snip" method for a man is so practical and, saves a lot of unneeded worry and health problems for a women, if the couple is finished having children, or if they choose not to have any. You will find very minimal numbers of arab men that agree to this procedure, but some have had them in the states, more open-minded, especially if their wife has a history of health risks, it is safer for the man. Good Luck on your research. Feel free to ask any further questions.
It is a little bit different then the information that we have found (mostly from American sources).
We had read (in many places) that birth control was quite common in Egypt, that it was a government iniative to reduce population growth and work towards more economic development.
We had also read that birth control was o.k. under the Islamic faith and that it was generally accepted by most Egyptians...but apparently this is not really the case?
As far as price, the information we found said that most people are willing and able to spend anywhere from 1-5+ pounds a month for their contraceptives...is this true or too expensive?
Thanks again Jen
Posts: 8 | From: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: May 2005
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You need to understand that there is a vast difference between the standard of living of Egyptians in the Upper classes to those in the lower classes and likewise in Education. In the rural villages people are very poor and would have little money if any to pay for contraception. Likewise there are some incredibly poor areas in the suburbs of Cairo. Religious and cultural attitudes to contraception will also be very different to those in the well educated middle and upper class.
Your study needs to emcompase the big difference in standards of living of the people and the availablity of health care in different regions.
What we plan to do is "market" the product exclusively in Cairo (this also takes care of the distribution and shipping issues we have to tackle in the paper). We were focusing on those with some disposable income.
We have read about television specials advertising family planning, such as "And the Nile flows on", are specials like this still airing in Egypt?
Is there any product specific advertising or is it just family planning in general?
Posts: 8 | From: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: May 2005
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We are some Canadian students, obtaining our graduate degrees and have an assignment that we could use a little help with.
We are to write a paper outlining how we would market contraceptives in Cairo.
We have found a lot of pertinent information but are stuck on something. Why do women or men choose certain types of birth control over other? We have read that the IUD is the most common method of control used today, but what do women consider when making their choice? Why choose the IUD over the pill or some alternative source?
Any information or advice you could provide would be very helpful.
Thank you very much, Jen
You might want to contact organisations active in the field of family planning in Egypt such as USAID to get their perspective. Do you have the resources to conduct primary market research? If yes, you could consider interviewing various types of respondents e.g. women who currently use contraceptives, non-users, doctors, pharmaceutical players etc.
posted
I'm moving to Cairo in July and I'd love to have access to the patch. I shower with it, swim with it, work out with it... and never has it fallen off!! It is so so so easy!!!!!!!!! Maybe you can market it in the Maadi area where many expats tend to live and who would love to have access to it because they're familiar with it.
quote:Originally posted by jenhinze: Thank you all for your advice. The IUD is very uncommon in North America, so we were a little surprised that it was so common in Egypt.
We were looking to "sell" the birth control patch, which is similar to the pill, but must be applied only once a week, and is a lot less intrusive than an IUD.
posted
I'm suprised so many Muslims use the IUD, since its only method of 'birth' control is abortion. The hormonal methods also cause abortions, but as a secondary effect, a back-up.
posted
A couple of points. I came across this article on a website written by Egyptian women and although they don't give the source of their statistics they are saying that: “There are many different methods of birth control; some of which are available in Egypt and some are not. The most well known method and the most widely used is the pill. Around 49,54% of women in Egypt opt to use this method, the IUD comes second with 17%, then the shots 11%, and finally condoms which are not widely used in Egypt or other Arab countries. Men in these countries think that it is the woman’s responsibility to control pregnancy and also think that it diminishes the pleasure during intercourse.” They then go onto look at the different methods of birth control (http://www.wasfasahla.com/docs/artcl.cfm?article_id=728)
Your point Jennifer made me go back to my sources as I remember when I first looked at the issue of IUDs as a Muslim and there was some debate as to whether they were permitted by Islamic law or not, and I now see that there are Christian organizations that are arguing that IUDs are abortifacients.
The argument I was given about the IUD was that it was permissible if it stopped the egg from being fertilized, because if this happened, with the permission of Allah, then no life had been created, but if the egg was fertilized and the IUD prevented implantation then this was considered as abortion as a life had been created and was stopped from continuing. There are some Islamic opinions that if the fertilized egg is not allowed to implant, then that is permissible as life cannot start until that has happened. There are also other opinions that life doesn’t start until the soul is blown into the foetus and abortion is allowed up to that time.
All the three types of IUDs available on the market now, the copper, progestogen, and levonorgestrel-releasing IUCD (http://www.fpahealth.org.au), all seem to have both effects preventing the sperm reaching the egg and also preventing implantation, so I guess it would depend on which opinion people are following to decide whether the IUD was permissible or not Islamically.
posted
newcomer, I don't know where you are getting your info, but what an IUD does is makes the lining of the uterus inhospitable to already-fertilized eggs. It doesn't stop the sperm from getting to the eggs, and it doesn't stop the eggs from being released. Only chemicals can do the latter, and even then the Pill has other chemicals in it to do the same thing to the uterus, because it doesn't work all the time. I know there are some progestin-releasing IUDs, but the reason they work is because they keep the already dividing and thus alive egg from continuing life.
posted
actually the IUD thickens the cervix walls to prevent sperm from entering the uterus, immobilize the sperm so it cannot reach the egg and make the uterus inhospitable. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/37618-2.asp
Posts: 8 | From: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: May 2005
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posted
I'd like to thank you all for your postings. They were of great help to us in our project, and we all really appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Thanks again Jen
Posts: 8 | From: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: May 2005
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In my post I gave the link to show where I had got some information from (http://www.fpahealth.org.au) and the information that was there was similar, but slightly more detailed than in the link that jenhinze gave, i.e.:
HOW DOES THE PROGESTOGEN IUD WORK? It changes the lining of the womb so that it does not get thick enough for an egg to grow in it, even if the egg is fertilised. It causes the mucus in the cervix to become thicker so that sperm cannot enter the uterus. It also stops ovulation in some of the women who use it, especially in the first year of use.
HOW DOES THE COPPER IUD WORK? Although the IUD has been available for more than 30 years it is not fully understood how it works. We know that it stops the sperm from moving freely and surviving in the womb, so they cannot get to the egg to fertilise it. We also know that the IUD and the copper released from the wire around its stem cause changes in the lining of the womb so that an egg cannot grow in it, even if the egg is fertilised.
The new Mirena IUD (which is a levonorgestrel-releasing IUCD) works quite differently. Instead of copper it has a sleeve containing the hormone progestogen around its plastic backbone. This hormone works to prevent pregnancy in a number of ways. It makes the mucus at the entrance of the uterus very thick so that sperm find it almost impossible to penetrate, it affects the movement of the sperm themselves, and it thins the lining of the uterus making it less suitable for pregnancy to occur.
[This message has been edited by newcomer (edited 07 May 2005).]
In my post I gave the link to show where I had got some information from (http://www.fpahealth.org.au) and the information that was there was similar, but slightly more detailed than in the link that jenhinze gave, i.e.:
HOW DOES THE PROGESTOGEN IUD WORK? It changes the lining of the womb so that it does not get thick enough for an egg to grow in it, even if the egg is fertilised. It causes the mucus in the cervix to become thicker so that sperm cannot enter the uterus. It also stops ovulation in some of the women who use it, especially in the first year of use.
HOW DOES THE COPPER IUD WORK? Although the IUD has been available for more than 30 years it is not fully understood how it works. We know that it stops the sperm from moving freely and surviving in the womb, so they cannot get to the egg to fertilise it. We also know that the IUD and the copper released from the wire around its stem cause changes in the lining of the womb so that an egg cannot grow in it, even if the egg is fertilised.
The new Mirena IUD (which is a levonorgestrel-releasing IUCD) works quite differently. Instead of copper it has a sleeve containing the hormone progestogen around its plastic backbone. This hormone works to prevent pregnancy in a number of ways. It makes the mucus at the entrance of the uterus very thick so that sperm find it almost impossible to penetrate, it affects the movement of the sperm themselves, and it thins the lining of the uterus making it less suitable for pregnancy to occur.
[This message has been edited by newcomer (edited 07 May 2005).]
The disadvantages to using an IUD:
1. pelvic inflammation and adhesions, possibly causing sterility and / or infection.
2. manufactured hormones which can be damaging to health in women (not to mention unusable in some cases like epilepsy, fibroids, heart conditions etc...)
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