CycleBeads. What a brilliant idea. 95% effective and completely free of side-effects. No wonder Senegalese women are increasingly counting on them as a natural aid to conception and contraception.
Developed by researchers at Georgetown University, these portable, renewable strings of 32 coloured beads identify when a woman is most like to conceive, so that together with her husband she can decide if and when to optimize or limit their chances of bringing a new life into the world.
The string, (which looks rather like a necklace) contains 32 coloured beads that represent each day in a woman’s monthly reproductive cycle. A growing number of women in Thiès and around Senegal are taking charge of their reproduction with the help of CycleBeads.
Why Count on Them?
It’s a sad fact that Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the world’s highest rates of maternal and infant mortality. A woman living in sub-Saharan Africa has a maternal death risk of one in 16. In Senegal, the risk is one in 22 – which is lower than the regional average, but still over 100 times as high as the risk in Western countries.
Child mortality rates in Senegal are also comparatively high, which leads to higher birth rates, as families undertandably want to ensure their children reach adulthood.
Alain Prual, a maternal health expert for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, explains the logic behind this practice in much of West Africa in an article in Americans for UNPFA.
“Many of these countries lack social services, so parents want to know that during retirement, they will have children who can care for them. Regrettably, there is also a common misconception that family planning itself leads to infertility.” – He says.
Shortages of low-cost contraception and religious and cultural beliefs also play their part. This is where the beads come in handy: While they don’t protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted infections, a major benefit is that they are completely natural and free of side effects.
A Decision for Both Partners
CycleBeads offer a contraceptive option for women who have religious or health concerns about other methods, or for whom cost or availability may pose problems.
Husbands have an important role to play, as the beads require a partner’s full support and cooperation and are designed to be something a couple shares, rather than something a woman hides from her hubby.
“It is crucial to work with everyone—not just women—to improve maternal health,” Prual says.
