PSYCHOSEXUAL PROBLEMS IN THE CONTRACEPTIVE CONSULTATION – COVERT PRESENTATIONS (ANXIETY ABOUT A CONTRACEPTIVE)
Anxiety about a contraceptive method may be a reasonable, logical result of some adverse or misunderstood publicity. Any change in the perceived harm/benefit ratio may cause an inappropriately large shift towards disuse or change. Adverse effects are always more newsworthy than benefits. For example, articles about possible links between oral contraceptives and breast cancer received prominent publicity in all the main newspapers, but other articles showing that a link could not always be shown received little or no mention. The perception of the public who only obtain their information from the media is always slanted towards the dramatic presentation of bad news. So they come to believe that the Pill causes breast cancer, that the intrauterine device gives people infections, that spermicides make babies deformed, that sterilization leads to hysterectomies, and that sheaths are faulty and have holes in them. These misunderstandings need to be understood, not just refuted, otherwise doctors invite the response, ‘Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they!’
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