Contraception: what, when and how to tell teenagers

To begin with, it is worth remembering that adolescence, according to the World Health Organization, lasts up to 19 years. A person can go to the registry office and register a marriage starting from 18, that is, from the age of majority.

The age of consent in this case, according to the laws of our country, is 16 years. What does this wording mean? It is from this point on that a teenager is considered capable of giving informed consent to have sex with another person.

And even if your “baby” is already 18, he or she is still a teenager, which means that they are still at the stage of formation and maturation. One of the most important tasks of a parent is to teach him or her to be safe. In particular, how to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Where to start a conversation? All these issues are resolved depending on family and cultural traditions. However, education is needed. And even if it is customary in your circle to keep innocence before the wedding, the information will never be superfluous. Who is forewarned is forearmed.

The issue is undoubtedly a delicate one, and not every home is used to talking frankly about sex with the younger generation. How to approach him so that the teenager hears you? Where to begin?

“All talk about contraception should begin before sexual activity”

Maria Leibovich, psychiatrist, psychotherapist

Basically, we parents are a little delusional about the “denseness” of our own teenage children in this area. Most of them are freer than we are to extract and process such information. Teenagers are now in many ways more “advanced”.

I will give an example from life. I often hear the following remarks from women in their forties about their partners: “He said he couldn’t wear a condom”, “He is uncomfortable / not so pleasant / does not feel comfortable in it, and therefore I agreed to have sex without a condom.” Teenagers, it seems to me, are more categorical in this regard, they are easier to refuse and agree on this with each other.

I recently spoke with the leaders of a teen camp. When cleaning the clearing after the older group, a fairly large number of condoms were found. This set the counselors in an optimistic mood. They concluded: no matter what stupid things teenagers do in another area of ​​life, at least in sex they are ready to take care of their health. Simply because they are familiar with a simple and proven way to defend themselves.

When to start talking about it? It’s hard to pick the perfect age or moment. Examinations of a gynecologist in adolescents in the absence of complaints about “women’s health” usually begin at the age of 14-15. But now there are many girls who menstruate as early as 11 and 12 years old. Therefore, everything is individual.

Why is this important to understand? Because all talk about contraception should begin before sexual activity. When a teenager already has a partner, it turns out that you will talk with him about the likelihood of getting infected from a specific girl (or boy) he likes. Of course, this is always perceived more difficult than talking about abstract characters.

How to conduct conversations? Parents make a choice depending on how close their relationship with the child is, how much they themselves have sufficient knowledge and the ability to speak on such a sensitive topic. There are many options: you can slip a book to your son or daughter, throw him a suitable link, chat in a friendly environment.

It is clear that the teenager will not rejoice at this topic, he will begin to be embarrassed and blush. But it is important that the knowledge is fixed in his or her head. And became the “basic setting” before he or she chose a particular partner. Before sex becomes something real, information must be preserved. A film, news in the media, the story of acquaintances – all this can be an occasion to once again remind a teenager about the importance of protection.

“Do not be afraid to go to the doctor together and find a convenient method of contraception”

Elena Annenkova, obstetrician-gynecologist

Contraception is just about how important it is to catch two birds with one stone: to avoid an unwanted pregnancy (and, as a result, a possible abortion) and the notorious sexually transmitted diseases.

What is expected from a contraceptive? First of all, efficiency, minimal side effects and ease of use.

Modern contraception provides many methods to choose from: pills, patches, vaginal rings, implants, various forms containing spermicides (substances that destroy spermatozoa), cervical caps, intrauterine devices, injections, sterilization. And, of course, “good old” condoms for any style.

Someone prefers the calendar and coitus interruptus to all of the above. Or he runs to the pharmacy – “Chief, everything is gone, everything is gone!” — for the “magic pill” for emergency contraception.

And here it is worth mentioning one American biologist who proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular method of contraception. So we got the Pearl Index (PI), or “failure rate”. And in this case, failure is the onset of pregnancy, that is, how many unplanned conceptions occurred in 100 women within 1 year using a particular method.

Accordingly, the higher the IP, the lower the efficiency. But with a reservation on the skills of sexual partners and the correct use of a contraceptive – therefore, there is an ideal indicator, but there is a practical one (“as best I can”). For example, PI for coitus interruptus is from 5 to 18, while using a condom from 2 to 12.

Hence the main rule: a teenager (and not only) must first of all know and be able to CORRECTLY use the chosen method of contraception.

Hormonal contraception, PI less than 1

May be suitable if you have a permanent proven sexual partner and there are no contraindications. And here it is not the neighbor on the desk that comes to the fore, but the doctor, who will qualitatively collect an anamnesis, conduct an examination and, if necessary, prescribe an additional examination.

Condoms, IP 2-12

With irregular sexual intercourse with different partners, “product No. 2”, or a condom, comes to the rescue. This barrier method perfectly protects, among other things, from venereal “misunderstandings”, is relatively easy to use, affordable and often at hand.

“Double Dutch method”, PI less than 1 (when used correctly)

Fully justified itself and “double dutch” (“double Dutch method”) – the simultaneous use of a hormonal oral contraceptive with a condom, which avoids both pregnancy and STDs. Back in 2005, almost 50% of Dutch women aged 15 to 19 successfully applied this method. As a result, today the Netherlands is in the forefront of countries with the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy and abortion.

A couple of years ago, a patient of mine, a good friend, brought her teenage daughter to her appointment and said, “I want you to talk to her.” Frankly, I was a little confused … But in the end we talked for an hour! Today’s teenagers have access to a large amount of information. And often they already have a good command of the topic by the time the parents are just ripe for a conversation.

Do not be afraid to discuss “taboo” issues with them. Do not be afraid to go to the doctor together and find a convenient method of contraception. Many problems can be solved, but it is better not to bring them to them!