Female condoms in India get more popular

Several brands of female condoms are currently available in India including Confidom,Velvet,Reddy, V Amour, L’amour, VA WOW Feminine condom and Sutra.

Female condoms are getting increasing acceptance in India as more and more women choose this safe and effective contraception method, reports indicate.

In India male partners are often not interested in condom use as they consider such a barrier will lessen their pleasure. This is perhaps one major reason why female condoms are getting widely popular in the country, experts say.

A female condom is a 17 centimeter long rubber sheath that has flexible rings at both ends. Male condoms have a tight ring to form a seal around the penis while female condoms typically have a large stiff ring to keep them from slipping into the vaginal orifice.

Initially female condoms were made of polyurethane. However, the newer versions are made of nitrile, another form of rubber, and are cheaper, stronger, smoother, thinner and more reliable than a male condom that is made of latex rubber.

The shelf life of a female condom is five years, while that of a male condom is only three.

The female condom also costs more than the male one. Among the brands of nitrile condoms available in India are Confidom and Velvet. Confidom is priced at Rs 250 for two pieces. Velvet is available at Rs 100 for three. Both are manufactured by HLL Lifecare (formerly Hindustan Latex), a Government of  India enterprise.

A recent version of the female condom is made from natural latex has been launched in India by Medtech Products  Ltd.

This condom does not make the noises some experience with plastic condoms. It is sold under various brand names, including Reddy, V Amour, L’amour, VA WOW Feminine condom, and Sutra.

VA WOW (wear of women) is one latex female condom which has got a CE mark.VA WOW has a flexible V frame with an inner sponge that holds the pouch in place

The newer nitrile condoms are less likely to make distracting crinkling noises. The Female Health Company, USA which makes FC1 and FC2 are the only female condoms encouraged by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an additional tool for protecting sexual and reproductive health.

Hindustan Latex Ltd has partnered with The Female Health Company to market their female condoms in India under the brand name Confidom.

The UNFPA has incorporated the female condom into national programming. They are sold under many brand names, including Reality, Femidom, Dominique, Femy, Myfemy, Protectiv and Care.

Oil damages latex and should not be used with a female condom made of latex. Oils should not directly harm non-latex female condoms.

The advantages of Female condom over the male condom are several-

1. Women can control the situation herself
2. Can be inserted much before intercourse and removed when convenient after the intercourse.
3. Can be safely used for both Vaginal and rectal intercourse
4. Does not require erect penis for its insertion
5. Protects both internal and external area of vagina against infections
6. No danger of the condom slipping out during intercourse and semen spilling into the vagina

The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has scaled up the female condom programme in four states- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharshtra.

Now NACO is scaling up the programme in two-three districts each of nine states on pilot basis. These states are Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
NACO is providing the female condoms at cheaper rate – Rs.3.50/- per condom and so far it distributed 1.5 million female condoms.