“ I BELI EVE CONTR ACEPTION IS EVERYTH I NG AN D ANYTH I NG THAT LEADS TO PEOPLE BEI NG I N CONTROL OF WH EN TH EY ARE READY TO BE PARENTS.” - M ICHAEL COLBU RN , DOCTOR AN D H EAD OF ADOLESCENT M EDICI N E AT TH E U N IVERSITY OF IOWA trick parents, but we understand that sometimes you’re not ready to talk to your parents yet, so we might coach you on how to talk about why you have [contraceptives].” However, Guerrero reminds teenagers that they are entitled to a private doctor’s visit without their parents in the room. “Always remember that you’re open to having these conversations with your primary care provider,” Guerrero said. “Your parents should be leaving during the [doctor’s] visit anyway. That’s our standard of care.” Colburn agrees, noting that guardians often have their own opinions about teens’ contraceptive use that may conflict with what the teen wants or needs for themself. “I really think birth control is your [own] decision and not to help alleviate someone else’s fear,” Colburn said. “But it’s important that you can tell me what is actually going on so that we are able to make the best decisions for you.” Nonetheless, Guerrero believes it is important to take precautions and be prepared if things don’t go as planned. “We don’t know what your choices are going to be [beforehand], and when you’re in the heat of the moment, it’s not the time to think, ‘Oh, I should be on birth control,’” Guerrero said. Additionally, Colburn reminds teens that there are many ways to obtain contraceptives if needed.
“If somebody’s like, ‘I want this, but I can’t get it,’ you can, because there are resources in the community. There are places here that will see uninsured people,” Colburn said. An anonymous student source found the contraceptives that she needed were easily available. “Both [the birth control pill and Nexplanon] have been very accessible; I was able to get my Nexplanon the day of. It was like a two-minute process,” the source said. “There weren’t as many barriers for me, but I know for IUDs, there was a pretty long waitlist, and a lot of people needed anesthesia for [IUD placement]. That probably would have been a bigger barrier if that was what I had chosen to do.”
METHODS UTILIZED These are the most common methods of contraception used among females aged 1519 who have engaged in sexual intercourse.
1% Patch
C
Condom
19% Shot
65%
20% IUD
Withdrawal
SIDE EFFECTS olburn suggests teens who are looking for birth control options should begin with non-hormonal contraceptives. “I want your body to use your own hormones for a bit, because you still have about four centimeters of growth that can still happen height-wise after you have your first period, and if I put you on estrogen-containing birth control pills, that gets a little stunted,” Colburn said. Despite providing safe preventative measures, contraceptives also come with side effects. When taking birth
97%
53% Pill
15% Implant
11%
19%
Emergency Contraception
Fertility Awareness Source: National Center for Health Statistics