Says Chege: "One nurse told me that the Kibaki government wants women to give birth because HIV/Aids is killing people faster than they are being replaced."

Panicking, Chege left hurried for another government clinic three kilometres away. The story was the same: no Norplant available.

The story of Chege is a representation of what several women seeking the removal or insertion of the Norplant have been going through since the beginning of this year.

Some of them are getting wrong information, impression and signals from family health providers on the ground about what is happening.

Norplant are six flexible matchstick size plastic rods inserted in the upper arm. Each of the rods contain a hormone known as levonorgestrel, which is like the progesterone hormone made by women.

It protects against pregnancy for five years during which a small amount of the hormone is released constantly to keep the ovaries from releasing eggs.

The famous device is now said to be out of stock in the government stores since late last year.

All government hospitals including Pumwani maternity, Kenyatta National Hospital and provincial hospitals, do not have stocks of the device.

At Puwani and Kenyatta, nurses said they are instead giving women other family planning options like the coil.

Even some private hospitals and NGOs, do not have it. Some of them, out of panic, have been referring their clients to government hospitals, which had last year's leftovers.

This scarcity has thrown many women off balance, who insist the only method they are comfortable with is Norplant.

"I have tried other methods, and Norplant is the only that has worked for me. But when I went for a replacement, I was told it is out of stock for indefinite period. I am confused," whines Agnes Opiyo, a mother of two.