Clinical effectiveness and side effect profile of contraceptive implant (Implanon) among women at Sulaimaniyah, Iraq: a cross-sectional study

Contraception is an effective way to prevent unintended pregnancies that have a significant impact on women’s health and the budget of countries. To assess the clinical effectiveness and side-effect profile of progesterone implant as a contraceptive method among the participants. This cross-sectional study recruited 101 patients who used a contraceptive implant, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, from January 2022 to January 2025. Then, participants’ sociodemographic and medical data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire validated questionnaire (provided in the supplementary data). Then, the correlations between some variables were determined to find the effectiveness and side effects of the contraceptive implant. About 45.5% of women using a contraceptive implant were aged ≥ 35 years, and 36.6% were obese. The common side effects of the contraceptive implant were weight gain (24.8%), headache (23.8%), and loss of libido (19.8%). Most women had a contraceptive implant removed or intended to remove it (54.5%) within 3 years, mainly due to menstrual irregularities (43.6%). During the period when the contraceptive implant was in situ, there was no unintended pregnancy (0.0%), while 75% of women who wished to conceive after removal of the contraceptive implant got pregnant within the first 6 months of removal, indicating early return of fertility after discontinuation of this contraceptive method. Women aged 35 years or older with three or more children experienced significantly more side effects (p ≤ 0.05). Contraceptive implant is considered a highly effective and safe method to be used in women of reproductive age, despite some side effects, and there was early return of fertility after discontinuation of Implanon in women wishing to conceive.