Pulling out works all the time. Missing your period while on birth control is unhealthy because it keeps the dirty blood inside your body. Pap smears “clean” the uterus. Birth control pills cause cancer because the actual pills clog the ovaries. As outrageous as these may sound, many people still believe these myths.

Wrong information about birth control, family planning and sexual and reproductive health is all too common in the Philippines. With COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, more women and girls cannot get advice from a health care provider in person. Instead, they turn to social media.

That’s why our nurses and midwives have been hosting live Q&A sessions on our local Facebook page. Over 80,000 Filipinas follow us to ask their most burning questions.

So far, our clinical staff have answered thousands of questions through comments, messages and live sessions. From this, we learned that they actually want to use modern birth control. But they are either scared of side effects or don’t know how to use them properly.

Also, most online sources on birth control are in English. The language barrier makes information even more difficult to access and understand.

Lack of information can lead to serious problems. For instance, using birth control incorrectly is just as dangerous as not using them at all. User error is the number one cause of contraceptive failure. We can change this.

As more women and girls take charge of their health through a safe, non-judgmental online space, they can prevent unplanned pregnancies more easily. They can choose what form of birth control works best for them. They also avoid contraceptive failure due to user errors.

Plus, they can learn all of these from a licensed health care provider who speaks their language.

Knowledge empowers. This matters even more so during a health crisis, when misinformation is too costly.

Spread the word. For accurate, non-judgmental advice on sexual and reproductive health, follow Ugat ng Kalusugan RH Clinic on Facebook.