The implant, comprising six capsules in a fan shape, is inserted just beneath the skin into tiny incisions in the bicep area. It works for up to five years by releasing a steady stream of the hormone progesterone into a woman's body.
Norplant is the newest birth control method to come to market in the United States. It was brought to Russia by Choices, a family planning group from New York that is anxious to reduce the country's huge abortion rate.
With a 99 percent effectiveness rate, Norplant is one of the most reliable contraceptives available. But it gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration just three years ago and costs about $550 to implant. Fear of the unknown did not stop 20 Russian physicians from eagerly hovering over the one hospital gurney used by Dr. William Ramos and Dr. David Gluck, who alternately performed the 20-minute procedure on six Russian woman.
"I think it is very interesting", said Dr. Nikolai Simyonov, a gynecologist. "I think it is a good idea; maybe there would be less abortions".
Abortion is currently the primary method of birth control used in Russia, and it is not uncommon for women here to have as many as 10 during their lifetime. From 9 to 18 million abortions are performed annually, depending on which statistics one chooses.
Choices sponsored the doctor's fees for the 14 women selected for the trial run and hopes that Norplant could eventually help reduce the abortion rate.
Unlike other forms of contraception, abortions here are cheap and readily available. They are also often dangerous. Anesthetics are not always available and women often leave the room within an hour of the procedure.
Compounding the problem are poor quality pregnancy tests, which inaccurately detect whether a woman is pregnant.
"The multiple abortions can make women infertile", said Jeannine Michael, director of counseling for Choices, as she sat behind a table covered with condoms, diaphragms, sponges, IUDs and contraceptive creams which would be used later in a lecture to medical students.
"Women here don't have control", she said. "Our main mission is to let women take control, so they can demand other methods of birth control. It's shocking to realize that there are no other choices".
Fourteen women who fit the profile of those eligible for the implant were pre-selected and informed about the contraceptive and its risks. To date, the drug's known short-term side effects include nausea, erratic menstrual cycles and skin spotting.
Julia Bobrysheva, 19, found out about the implant when she visited Hospital No. 53 for a pregnancy test. When she heard it was free she accepted the offer.
When it comes to bringing over more implants, the future is not clear. Though Russia does not impose the same testing hurdles as America's FDA, the country has other problems -- namely, money and family planning education, said obstetrician Vladimir Zvev.
"Maybe in a year or so thiswill be possible", Zvev said.
Choices hopes it will be sooner. It is currently scouting out partners to open a joint-venture clinic here. Such a project-could subsidize the cost of the implants.
"We want to do this as soon as possible", said Michael. "But as we are finding out here, things take time".
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