What’s the best way to avoid unplanned pregnancies in adolescents? The answer starts with the right information so teens fully understand the risks that sexual behaviors can pose in young lives. As healthcare providers to adolescents, we are committed to patient education that is accurate, complete, and compassionate.
Here’s a guide to one of the most important sexual health topics for teens: birth control.
What Do Contraceptives Do?
Contraceptive methods of all kinds prevent pregnancy by avoiding fertilization of an egg produced by a young woman’s ovary with the male partner’s sperm. While abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only sure method of avoiding pregnancy, many teens decide to engage in sexual activity, often without determining the consequences to health, well-being, and plans for the future.
As such, healthcare providers, many parents, and professional associations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, believe it’s important to educate teens on the wide range of birth control options available today. That way, young people are empowered to be responsible about their sexuality.
Types of Birth Control
Here are some of the most common kinds of birth control available to teens and adults. Patients and doctors should make their choices after a discussion of the risks and benefits of each.
Implants and IUDs
These in-the-body devices use gradually released progestin hormone to stop the monthly release of eggs from the ovaries. Implants are very small and usually placed under the skin of the arm. IUDs, or intrauterine devices, are T-shaped implements inserted through the cervix into the uterus by the pediatrician. Some contain progestin (our preference at BridgeSpan Medicine), and others are made from copper. The copper devices irritate the uterine lining, sometimes preventing embryo implantation.
Implants are called long-term because they provide a high degree of protection against pregnancy for up to 10 years. They are approximately 99 percent effective and need no real maintenance of any kind. Providers call this contraceptive method “long-term and reversible.”
Birth Control Pills
Birth control pills, or oral contraceptives, must be taken daily. Some contain progestin only, while others feature a combination of estrogen and progestin. Due to their medical side effects, these pills are available by a doctor’s prescription only. Plus, they can be used for other therapeutic purposes, such as menstrual cycle regulation, acne treatment, and more.
Oral contraceptives stop ovulation. They feature 93 percent effectiveness only if teens take them simultaneously every day. In other words, the pill works best when young women use these pills consistently.
Patches
Applied to the skin and changed by the patient every week, hormonal patches deliver estrogen and progestin to suppress monthly ovulation. They are statistically as effective as birth control pills. They also feature that element of patient responsibility to change the patch as directed–typically, weekly for three weeks and one week without a patch.
Rings
Inserted into the vaginal canal to the cervix by the adolescent patient, the vaginal ring stops monthly ovulation with female hormones. Along with patches and pills, rings are 93 percent effective with proper patient compliance.
Barrier Methods
Latex devices, which are put in place before sexual intercourse, barrier methods of birth control block sperm from reaching and fertilizing an egg. Male condoms are the most well-known. Others include female condoms, cervical caps, and others.
Barrier methods are less than 80 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. Proper and consistent use is extremely important, and the effectiveness of these methods can increase when used with a spermicide chemical to kill sperm. Barrier methods and spermicides are available over the counter without a prescription.
Adolescent Contraception in Purchase, NY
At Bridgespan Medicine, our six board-certified pediatricians want all their patients to understand their sexual development, including the responsibilities and risks of sexual behaviors. Through our office, both teens and their parents can access professional assistance in choosing birth control methods that prevent pregnancy safely and effectively. Our conversations are confidential and compassionate, helping teens with decisions vital to their development into healthy, informed adults.
To learn more or to schedule a one-on-one consultation with one of our doctors, call us today at (914) 698-5544 or fill in our online appointment request form. We look forward to speaking with you!
