mummyoffive

I am obviously aware that some teens have planned their pregnancies and this question is not intended to be offensive...Do you feel that contraception availibilty is adequate? If not - how could it be improved? you can post your experiences here if you wish. thanksxx

lauren-kate

I feel that availability is adequate BUT I do feel that if teenagers wish to get contraception, they sometimes aren't really properly encouraged to do so.. What I mean is.. teenagers are often made to feel embarassed when they're asking for/getting contraception and there isn't really an active effort made to combat this imo. For example... whenever I went into Boots to get my prescription for the pill, the people behind the desk would always give me really dirty looks, when I believe they should have been a lot nicer about it. Really struggling to word this, sorry if you can't understand what I've written - too late at night.. x

mummyoffive

Not alot of response here!! Anyone wish to add??

snugglemuffin

I think it is adequitly available but more encouragement and more education is needed on where to get it, that sex isn't a bad thing that should be taboo and i feel that going to clinics and your GP should be encouraged. The need for contraception and the benefits there of need to be made clear and how easy it is to get preggers. I was the *it will never happen to me* girl. I knew where it was available knew i could talk to my Dr and was comfortable doing so but still ended up preggers at 17.

Hope that helps

jenny873

i dont think sex education is taken seriously in schools and alot of sex ed classes are given to mixed gender groups. maybe if it was given to different genders seperatly people would open up and air their views. i would never have interupted a sex education class at school and asked what something was or where i could get it.
also contraception is available at family planning clinics where there is often up to an hours wait in the one i go to to be seen by a doctor/nurse and i have often left getting my injection/pill in time because i basically couldnt be bothered waiting.
hope this helps im c)20-24

Madwolf3

My issues with contraception weren't the normal ones- it started at 15 when my mom found on I was on the pill and started stealing them from me because "she said I couldn't be on them". So then I switched to the shot so she couldn't TAKE it from me, and what ended up happening with that was I "divorced" my parent's at just barely 17, and my then boyfriend (who is now my husband) and I moved several times that summer and I wasn't able to get to birth control quick enough, LOL! So that's basically how I got pregnant with my first child at 17.

Oh and editing to add that we couldn't use condoms because the local health departments didn't supply non-latex, and I'm allergic to latex condoms. And we couldn't afford to buy them (especially considering how much we were doin' it! LOL!).

anita665

I remember them giving out bags of condoms at the local youth club, obviously doctors and nurses & at the STI clinic (yes my teen years where fun). I suppose they're easy to get hold of but many teens are too embarrassed to ask, especially the younger ones. The youth club has to be the worst because there's no privacy or professionalism like with doctors. Also many young people aren't comfortable to even talk to a doctor about it.

I think there should be a way for condoms to be available anonymously, so people don't have to ask someone for them. There could be a problem with any old random person taking loads but I don't know how you'd get round that.

Also maybe have a clinic at the doctors surgery especially for young people to have what ever kind of conraception suits them. I was put off once when I wanted to change from the pill to the injection but was told I couldn't have this done at the doctors, where I felt most comfortable because I was used to going anyway for other things. Instead I was told to go to the GUM clinic which was miles away & I didn't bother. Having a GUM clinic for a start it a problem if your shy because everyone knows what you're there for & they're not as friendly as the doctors surgery.

People still need to understand how important it is because it seems to me that people off all ages, not just teens really just can't be bothered and would rather take their chances. I know this from my own experience and talking to friends.