Do you ever feel like you don't have enough information about birth control?

I think a lot of what women need to understand is their bodies and how they respond to the birth control. For me, I want to know the short term and long term side effects, how it’ll affect my mood (emotional and sexual), and how effective it is. Those are the most important aspects to me.

I understand that you feel pressured. There’s really no need to be on birth control if you don’t want to have sex, don’t have a medical issue that requires it (some things, like ovarian cysts can be treated with birth control pills), or you can choose to use condoms. but you have to be consistent with the condoms

What are you embarrassed to ask? Honestly, your doctor probably hears some stupid questions..and if you want to understand birth control more, then just ask.

Well. Recently I feel like I have way too much information on birth control. I am working on a new research project looking at some cognitive effects of birth control, so I read and talk about birth control all day, every day.

So let me try to field some of your questions—there are lots of other people on Fluther who have good information about this stuff, too.

How do you know what birth control is right for you?

There probably isn’t one “right” birth control for you. I would start with these questions: how well do you tolerate hormone changes, and how forgetful are you?

Hormonal vs. non-hormonal birth control: If you don’t have unpleasant side-effects from using hormones, there are many kinds of birth control you can use: the pill, the patch, the ring, implants, depo provera shots, or IUDs. If hormones do cause problems for you, you are more restricted because you will need to find either a non-hormonal method or one that has low doses of hormones. The “calendar” method, diaphragms, condoms, and spermicidal jelly are all options, but the only non-hormonal option that works as well as hormonal birth control is a copper IUD.

Forgetfulness: If you think you might have trouble remembering to take a pill every day, then don’t use the pill. The pill is over 99% effective in theory, but in reality it only works about 90% of the time because women frequently forget to take it. The patch needs to be changed weekly, the ring needs to be changed monthly, shots and implants are good for a couple months, or an IUD is good for a couple years.

What if your parents look down on birth control? Who are you supposed to turn to?

If your parents look down on birth control, something tells me they are going to look down on pregnancy a hell of a lot more. Your local Planned Parenthood is probably a good resource. It does help to have another trusted adult you can talk to, though: an aunt, an older friend, or a school nurse or counselor are all good options.

Maybe I’m not normal, but I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on us teenagers to understand it and how it works and everything, otherwise we must be “irresponsible” or whatever.

There is a lot of pressure to understand birth control, because the consequences of not understanding birth control are very serious. If you have doubts about it, don’t have sex.

I feel like sex is being pushed on teenagers a lot, especially with all the hype about birth control.

If you ever feel like you are being pressured to have sex, by your friends or boyfriends or anyone else, don’t have sex.

Am I crazy or what?

Nope. Being a teenager blows.

Also, am I somehow irresponsible because I don’t feel I have all the answers I need about it?

You are only irresponsible if you go ahead and have sex even though you don’t understand how to prevent pregnancy or disease.

Am I a “prude” because I have this attitude?

Nope.

I think it shows great intelligence on your part to want to know the entire story. But I am not sure if this is the best place to get it. Is there a planned parenthood in your city or a doctor you can talk to?

It seems as if the pill is the most reliable but you have to remember to take it as prescribed.

Remember though, no method is 100% effective. So before you decide to have sex you and your boyfriend should both be aware of this and should be prepared to deal with the possibility of conceiving a child and how you would handle this situation. Would you opt for abortion, have the child and put it up for adoption, have the child and raise it yourself.

It’s just not easy no matter how you look at it.

@nikipedia I bow down to your wonderfully complete, very thoughtful answer.

Great questions @AnonymousGirl . @nikipedia has given you a lot of good information. I work as a women’s health care nurse practitioner, and you are definitely not alone in having questions and finding it difficult to sort out all the information and sublimnal messages coming at you from all directions. I have a couple of interactive websites for you that I think might help a lot.

The first is Best method for me dot com It came on line within the last 6 months, sponsred by the Emory school of medicine in Atlanta. It’s interactive, and completely confidential – you can register with a psuedonym, they just want you to be able to access your info as your concerns or circumstances change. It takes a medical history to find out if there’s any methods you shouldn’t use and recommends methods to consider based on your personal preferences and lifestyle. I saw it demonstrated at the last family planning conference I attended in October and it is awesome!

The other excellent website where you can actually get personal questions answered is www.managingcontraception.com – it is run by Dr Richard Hatcher, one of the original and continuing editor/authors of Contraceptive Technology, the classic and definitive textbook for family planning providers, always practical and as up-to-date as they can make it. The website accepts questions from care providers and from individual women, answers them and collates them on the site into a searchable database. The search is not as good as it could be, often pulls up quite a few answers that don’t relate directly to your question. But the answers and information are first class, and very reliable.

How do you know what birth control is right for you? Probably if you’re at risk of causing a birth. And judging by your name, I’d say you’re female. You have some options:
Barriers, such as condoms or diaphragms. Fairly effective.
Hormones, such as the pill, injections, or implants. Also quite effective.
Sterilisation. Going too far, but does the trick.
Timing, you could only be having sex at particular times of your ‘cycle’ to attempt to prevent impregnation. Can be effective, but I’d advise against it.
Pulling out. Rather difficult to control. Fairly ineffective.
And celibacy tends to do the trick.

What if your parents look down on birth control? To hell with them. They’re clearly mad.

Who are you supposed to turn to? Doctors, teachers, socials workers etc. are obligated, sometimes by law, to help you out. Also, we jellies are pretty good.

Maybe I’m not normal, but I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on us teenagers to understand it and how it works and everything, otherwise we must be “irresponsible” or whatever. I feel like sex is being pushed on teenagers a lot, especially with all the hype about birth control. Hardly. I get the feeling people have been having sex this much for a fairly long time. It’s just out in the open a lot more now. Sometimes literally. But really, it’s up to you. If anyone’s giving you the idea that you don’t have a choice in the matter, I highly recommend having them arrested.

Am I crazy or what? Not really, no.

Also, am I somehow irresponsible because I don’t feel I have all the answers I need about it? Am I a “prude” because I have this attitude? Not at all. You’re being quite responsible by asking. You’d be a prude if you refused to even have the information, I’d say. But you’re voluntarily seeking it. Kudos.

Anything else you’d like to know? I do try to have extensive knowledge on the topic.

@daemonelson
“Sterilisation. Going too far, but does the trick.”

It’s only going to far if you change your mind. :)

But assuming the asker is still in school I’ll agree that would certainly be too soon to employ permanent birthcontrol.

@fundevogel I’m still in school. I’ve actually considered it a few times, due to a couple of wonderful scares. Also, it usually isn’t permanent and can sometimes have the amusing side-effect of repairing itself.

@daemonelson I’m planning on getting the Essure in the future, trust me, it won’t repair itself. You’d probably get pretty f’d up if you tried to reverse it. I’ve always said my uterus is not open for business, getting the essure would be like disconnecting my business number. There’s no arguing with that.

@fundevogel Wow. My S/O is being pretty safe using an implanon, but their claims have just blown my mind. Birth control the likes of which I’ve never before seen. Although, 99.80% is significantly lower than some others I’ve seen. I suppose that’s just to cover their arses though.

Don’t ever feel embarrassed to ask these questions – it is a smart step. Forget your parents or peers, the pregnancy might happen to you, not them

@daemonelson From what I’ve read the ineffective cases with Essure are all from improperly placed devices. I’m willing to trust my doctor to get the things in right and see that they’re properly sealed up. Before I heard of this I was seriously considering an IUD but this seems like a far superior choice for me.

@daemonelson sterilization usually is permanent. That’s what being sterile means. Vasectomies and tubal ligations can sometimes be reversed, but it takes expensive micro-surgery and results are by no menas assured. And you’re right that sterilzation is not 100% effective. Long acting progesterone methods like your S/O’s Implanon and Mirena IUDs have a lower risk of pregnancy than tubal ligation.

Tubal ligation is actually much more popular in the US than in Europe. European woman are more likely to get a series of IUDs when they decide they are done having babies.

@MagsRags I know that sterilisation generally causes one to become sterile. I just think it’s amusing that pregnancy could be a side-effect of sterilisation. Also, I think the implants may be (or should be) a tad more popular due to their higher pregnancy prevention rate, related but not limited to aforementioned sterilisation-repair.

A little confuddled, why are you talking about the US and Europe?

@fundevogel Yeah, it’s the same kind of story with most implants.

@daemonelson I think the implant is less popular than some other methods because the irregular bleeding pattern doesn’t usually improve over time, unlike the depo shot or Mirena IUD. Also, some women have heard bad stories about Norplant, the original implants that were frequently inserted too deep and were a b*tch to remove.

I brought up US and Europe, because I think wherever we live, we tend to think our cultural patterns are how it is or should be for everyone. What can I say, I’m a family planning geek

and pregnancy can be a side effect of abstnence too :-)

@MagsRags I think we need immaculate contraception for that. Or maybe regular contraception and a wink.

No, you’re not a prude. You’re wise to seek out further information. When I was at that age, I found the Planned Parenthood website to be useful (like you, I couldn’t discuss the issue with my parents). It has a comprehensive list of methods, and gives the effectiveness rating for each. This is a good way to learn about less common (but valid) options that may not have been covered in class or at you doctor’s visits, such as diaphragms and the shot.

Another good resource is scarleteen.com. This website features a wide variety of articles, including a birth control selection guide. But the site also addresses the psychological aspects of sexuality. For instance, you might be interested in the sexual readiness checklist on the homepage. Scarleteen is fairly sex-positive, but at the same time, none of the stories exert pressure on teens to have sex. The writers emphasize waiting until one is ready for sexual activity.

Best wishes to you, and good luck with your research!

How do you know what birth control is right for you? You do a lot of research, and possibly try out a few. What do you want in a birth control method? Are you looking for pregnancy protection and STD protection? Then condoms might be your best bet. Are you looking for birth control which you personally can take responsibility for, without having to rely on your partner? Then hormonal birth control (if you’re a girl) or condoms (if you’re a boy) are the good option. Try making a list of what you are looking for, and then find a birth control method that suits.

What if your parents look down on birth control? Too bad. Would they rather be supporting a pregnant teenager? Ultimately, you are the boss of your body. If you are having sex, or planning on having sex, or engaging in any sexual activity for that matter, then you should get some birth control, regardless of what your parents think about it. If need be, keep it a secret. One of my parents is Catholic, and the Church condemns most birth control, so I just got birth control without their knowledge. Your health is far more important than parental apprehensions. When you are 16 (depending on where you live, of course), you can go and get contraception from a doctor without parental knowledge or consent. You can buy condoms at any age.

Who are you supposed to turn to? If all else fails, you might need to rely on yourself. In life, there will not always be a person or persons for you to turn to for help with personal problems. If you have supportive parents, turn to them. If you have access to a doctor, turn to him/her. If you have good, trustworthy friends, you can turn to them. However, if all of this fails, you might just have to rely on good old Y-O-U.

Maybe I’m not normal, but I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on us teenagers to understand it and how it works and everything, otherwise we must be “irresponsible” or whatever. Of course there is pressure. Teens are having sex, so teens should have to know about contraception. I mean really, would you let teens drive cars, but absolve them of any responsibility to know anything about how to drive? Nope. It’s the same with sex. If teens are going to be having sex (and let’s face it, they obviously are. The US has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the US, so it’s logical to assume that lots of teens are having intercourse), then teens need to know about sex and contraception. It’s common sense. Teens who don’t bother to learn about contraception (and use them) are irresponsible.

I feel like sex is being pushed on teenagers a lot, especially with all the hype about birth control. Am I crazy or what? I don’t think you’re right, but I also don’t think you’re crazy. Sex isn’t being pushed on teens. Teens have been having sex for thousands of years. Teens were married off at 12 or 13 to start having sex and making babies. It’s only recently that people seem to have gotten the idea that teens shouldn’t be having sex. Biologically, teens are geared for sex, and historically, teens have always had sex. It’s not society that is pushing teens to have sex, it’s biology. And all of the “hype” about birth control is necessary, unless we want teens with no jobs popping out babies which the taxpayers must care for.

Also, am I somehow irresponsible because I don’t feel I have all the answers I need about it? Am I a “prude” because I have this attitude? You aren’t irresponsible. No one has all the answers. You’ve gone out there and done the research. You seem to be making an effort to understand contraception before doing something stupid, so I’d say that you seem to be quite responsible. Also, you aren’t a prude. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are a prude, it’s ridiculous. Everyone moves forward at their own pace, just because you aren’t interested in some things yet, that does not mean you are a prude. Prude is just one of those words like “frigid” and “slut” which people use to make other people feel bad about their feelings toward sex. Ignore anyone who calls you this.

@randomness Bravo! This was an especially good passage:

“Who are you supposed to turn to? If all else fails, you might need to rely on yourself. In life, there will not always be a person or persons for you to turn to for help with personal problems. If you have supportive parents, turn to them. If you have access to a doctor, turn to him/her. If you have good, trustworthy friends, you can turn to them. However, if all of this fails, you might just have to rely on good old Y-O-U.”

This is true. Sexual experience is part of the maturation process, so, AG, this is a great opportunity for you to learn self-sufficiency. Before you make a decision, make sure that you can handle the consequences. Since your parents don’t seem open to discussing the issue, it sounds like you’ll have to forego getting advice from them and listen to yourself.