Romo, Ricardo: Teens and Contraceptives

The perspectives of Milly Dawson and Charles Bankhead about contraceptive methods have been confrontational and demanding for teens and their guardians. The fact that they argue for long-acting contraceptive methods rather than the short acting methods helps persuade many guardians to respect their daughter’s autonomy and choice of contraceptives.

In “Parents Prefer Some, Often Less-Effective, Birth Control Methods for Teens, ”  Milly Dawson writes about parents and their teenage girls being more accepting towards condoms and birth control pills rather than any other long-acting contraceptive method. Dawson wrote about a another study of parents’ attitudes towards seven contraceptive methods that their children could use. In that study, 261 caregivers of teenage girls completed a phone survey that determined their attitudes and beliefs about contraceptives. The results showed that more than 51% of guardian’s accepted the use of birth control pills and condoms, while less than 46% accepted injectable contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, the patch, implants, and IUDs.

Dawson then considers the factore that may influence the understanding of the guardians’ acceptability of contraceptives. Lead author Lauren Hartman, M.D., wrote, “the strangest predictor acceptability of all methods was parental recognition of their teen’s autonomy.”  The recognition of their child’s autonomy is a strange cause that links to another effect, the Dalkon Shield, which was an aggressively marketed IUD with hazardous safety problems.

Charles Bankhead had a different view of contraceptive methods, which he discusses in his article “IUDs, Implants Best Birth Control, ACOG Says.” The ACOG asserts that “IUDs afford the best protection against unintended pregnancy among adolescents.” He conveys this by illustrating the qualities of long acting contraceptives with great effectiveness, high rates of satisfaction, and no need for adherence. Another study, published in 2007, found that adolescents who had sex between the ages of 15 and 19, chose contraceptive methods with poor effectiveness against unplanned pregnancy.

Mr. Bankhead also acknowledges the barriers that come along with the effective contraceptives. Barriers that include lack of familiarity, misperceptions, high cost, lack of access, and health care providers concerns about safety. He urges referrals to public clinics in which clinical opinion recommends, informs, and suggests the issues relevant to the use of long acting contraceptives.  

Truly, both writers have given unbiased information about contraceptive methods; hopefully caregivers will follow their recommendations.