Teenagers Needing Contraceptive Advice Have Options

If you are a sexually active person, or you feel that your relationship is going in the direction that you will become sexually active soon that you need to consider the contraceptive options that are open to you. There are so many possibilities that talking to someone who can advise you, and potentially prescribe for you, is a good idea. This can be difficult thing to do especially if you are young. But, getting the right information is important. You can talk to your friends, and they may offer some advice as well. Though, if you are a teenager getting advice from others in similar circumstances may prove to be less than useful. So, where do you go?

Most cities have some type of clinic that offers family planning services. This can be done by offering a person a free consultation so that the person can become aware of their options or by more immediate intervention like providing free contraceptives. Their aim is to help to prevent teenage pregnancies. That is why so many of them offer free counseling, in the form of advice, to those who are thirteen to nineteen years old. This counseling is offered in a completely confidential manner. That means that they do not notify the teenager’s parents or guardians. These clinics are there to prevent unwanted pregnancies not to judge the teenagers who come to see them. They will offer free condoms, do pregnancy and STD tests if asked, or just advice the teenager on the issues of contraception.

Other venues of advice include the internet. There are websites connected to many of the well known clinics that allow a person to be able to search for information on contraception to help prepare them to talk to someone. This method can teach them more than talking to their teenage friends. They can learn about the different methods and the risks and advantages of each one.

Another alternative is to go to see their general practitioner. The problem is that some of them will not be comfortable giving contraceptives to an underage patient. But, legally, even if you are under sixteen, they are obliged to help you, prescribe for you if that is the alternative you choose, and keep everything about your visit completely confidential. The only time they are permitted to notify parents or guardians is if they are certain that there is a danger to the minor’s health. Otherwise, whether it pleases them or not, they must advise in complete confidentiality.

There are also many advice lines that can be phoned for help. Although these do not offer the free contraceptives that the clinics do they may be a place to start. Sometimes peer pressure or pressure from a boyfriend/girlfriend can push a teenager into a sexual relationship they are not ready for. Or the fear of pregnancy can stop a person from engaging in a sexual relationship even if they are of age. If after talking to someone the teenager still wants to become sexually active the hotline staff will often be able to let them know where the nearest free clinic is.

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