O'Hara, Casey: Teens and Contraception

Over the last few decades pregnancy rates especially among teens have been increasing. As these numbers continue to rise, so has the want for contraceptives. Users of these contraceptives need to be informed, and the contraceptives need to be convenient and also effective.

One of the best ways to protect against unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases is to stay informed. Although sex is a touchy subject for many parents, those who do talk to their children about it are more likely to not end up with a “sperm infection.” Although parents may not wish to know every small detail of their teen’s sexual relationship, an informed parent is better than one who knows nothing. Parents hold an influence over a teen’s accessibility to contraception. Parents usually hold control over a teen’s income, mobility, and accessibility to people, places, and things. Parents are more likely to help provide contraception for their teens if properly informed. After all, one cannot protect against something unknown. In a study, parents were asked if they would provide contraception for their teens. The majority of these said they would help provide various methods of contraception. Therefore, if teens and parents would break through the “awkward” barrier of the sex talk, more contraception could be properly used and the spiking teen pregnancy rate may soon decrease.

Once the ground for contraceptive use is established, it is up to the people to decide which to use. Contraceptives actually used, compared to those more recommended by specialists, differ. Specialists tend to recommend Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) for the most effective protection. However, people choose other, easier options for multiple reasons. For one, IUDs are a long-lasting contraceptive. This is not popular among parents, as a long-term contraceptive brings to mind a long-term sexual relationship; and many parents do not want to think of their children in such a situation. Second, IUDs are much more expensive than a single-use contraceptive, such as a condom. Users also need to pay for insurance, which adds to the cost of the device. This drives those of a lower-income because, although they are the ones who are most frivolous in sexual experimentation, they cannot afford the protection with the lowest failure rate. Lastly, IUDs carry with them the reputation for infection something no one wants.

Fondren, Michael: Teens and Contraception

                  There are many issues regarding the use of contraceptives. Here are two articles that I will analyze regarding them.

            The first article by Milly Dawson, titled "Parents Prefer Some, Often Less-Effective, Birth Control Methods for Teens." First talks about how if more parents are accepting of their daughter's autonomy, they are more willing to see a doctor for birth control pills and condoms. The author cites Lauren Hartman from the Journal of Adolescent Health.  She writes that teen pregnancy and STDs are still very high because better contraceptives aren’t used. She found that 59% of parents/guardians favored birth controls, 51% condoms, 46% injections, 45% morning-after pills, 42% patches, and 32% implants. IUDs were the lowest accepted (18%) in the study. Researchers surmised that long term contraceptives were not as popular because parents aren’t in favor of on-going sexual relationships. Cori Baill, M.D., believes these results may relate to the Dalkon shield IUD incidents in the past. Baill believes parents should notice that the risks of pregnancy outweigh those of contraceptives.

            The next article by Charles Bankhead, titled "IUDs, Implants Best Teen Birth Control, ACOG Says.” Starts off with the ACOG stating that implants and intrauterine devices have the best protection against pregnancy. It states that teens who use short term contraceptives are at more risk of becoming pregnant than those who use long term ones.  ACOG states that short term contraceptives are too weak, leading to unexpected pregnancies in the long run. Short term contraceptives results in 80% of unintentional teen pregnancies, 20% of these are in the U.S. One study of women 15 to 45, some using short-term, others using long-term contraceptives. Found that continuation was higher as of the long-term contraceptives. Unexpected pregnancies were 22 times worse with short-term contraceptives. Both IUDs and implant contraceptives were viewed favorably in this study. ACOG suggests that doctors recommend these to better prevent HIVs and STDs. However, ACOG acknowledges that these types are unfamiliar to adolescents, expensive, not as available, and come with their own health concerns. So, they recommend that public clinics deal with these problems.

            The use of contraceptives is very important issue to discuss. These are just a little information people should know before they do.

 

Plunk, Ashley: Teens and Contraception

In both articles, the authors were trying to convey a different, yet similar, message. While both were about the use of birth control, they had two separate views on the subject. The first author wrote about parents' preference of certain types of birth control that are not the most effective, while the second author chose to write about how IUDs are the best type of birth control.

    The first article hits one main point, that parents are more accepting of birth control and condoms being given to their daughters during doctor visits rather than them being offered a more effective contraceptive method like IUDs or implants. Out of 261 parents polled, only 18% of them said they would allow their daughters to use IUDs. The more parents are able to recognize their teens’ freedom, the more accepting they are of what type of birth control they use. The more educated parents become on the subject of birth control, the more likely they are to allow their teenage daughters to be provided with the best type of birth control to help lower teen pregnancy rates.

    The second article argues that IUDs and implants are the best form of teen birth control. According to an updated clinical opinion from the ACOG, IUDs are the best protection against unintended pregnancy among adolescents. Even though most teenagers prefer short-acting methods such as the pill or condoms, they have much lower adherence and higher pregnancy rates. Long-acting reversible options account for less than five percent of all birth control use. In 2007, it was estimated that 42% of adolescents aged 15 to 19 were sexually active. Out of all of those, the most effective method of birth control is rarely chosen. Gynecologists are now recommending long-acting reversible contraceptive methods and educating teens and their parents on their effectiveness. One of the biggest things the author put in this article was that clinics have all of this information available and to just go ask questions if you have them.

    Both authors made good, effective points in their articles. Teens and their parents definitely need to be better educated on the subject of birth control and what kind is the best for their child. With teen pregnancy rates increasing every year, this kind of information needs to be out in the open and available for everybody.

Collins, Auttumn: Teens and Contraception

Today more teens are becoming sexually active at younger ages, their parents are not allowing them to have the best forms of protection on the market. Parents of most teenage girls are willing to accept their daughters being offered the birth control pill and condoms rather than some more long term contraceptive method.

 Even though condoms do run the greatest protection against some sexually transmitted disease, they are not always the best at preventing an unplanned pregnancy. Teenagers run a higher risk of unintended pregnancy and may benefit from increased access to long-acting reversible contraceptive methods. Most studies have shown that an intrauterine devices or IUD is the most effective form of long-lasting contraceptive method when it comes to preventing pregnancies, and are also reversible. However, most parents tend to shy away from these kinds of methods because they believe that it will lead to long term sexual relationships.

Because nearly half of all teens are involved in sexual activities, they should be given a choice whether or not to get something longer-lasting. Nearly all of the unintended teen pregnancies come from either a misuse or a lack thereof the pill, condom, or some other form of contraception. This proves that a teenager is not always going to remember to take a pill or wear a condom. Also, even though they may be on the pill, they are more likely to get pregnant rather than someone who has a longer lasting contraceptive. Sometimes, however, teens do not go for those because they think it is too costly, but they have not been informed about going to their local clinic or that their insurance may cover some of the costs.

Therefore, although parents may not want their daughters to have an IUD, they should want them to be safe and protected at all times. Inform your children about everything that is out there, even if you may not agree with it because it may protect them in the future.

Osborne, Ashley: Teens and Contraception

            Although IUDS and implants are longer lasting and have a higher pregnancy prevention rate teenagers are more willing to use temporary, less effective contraceptive methods such as condoms and birth control pills. The articles, “Health Behavior News Service” by Milly Dawson and “IUDS, Implants Best Birth Control, ACOG Says” by Charles Bankhead address possible reasons concerning this issue.
                  One justification is that parents seem to prefer the temporary methods. Dawson states that parents are more willing to allow their daughters to use birth control pills and condoms rather than longer term, more effective contraception. Other studies show that the more accepting parents are of their teenager’s independence, the more open minded they are about using efficient, long lasting prevention. The parents most likely associate the long acting birth control with an ongoing sexual relationship and therefore prefer contraception to be short and temporary. They also could be concerned about the safety issues related to long acting methods.
            According Bankhead, almost half of all teenagers from age fifteen to nineteen have had sex, and only 4.5% of women of that age group chose long-term contraception. It also mentions that, “teenagers account for 20% of all unintended pregnancies in the U.S.” He hints how alarming it is that so many teen pregnancies occur but could have been avoided. Again, the article notes that condoms and birth control pills are the most preferred methods of prevention although they are among the least effective. The article states, "With top-tier effectiveness, high rates of satisfaction, and no need for daily adherence, long-acting reversible contraceptive methods should be first-line recommendations for all women and adolescents.” It is obvious that he is in favor of increasing awareness of the less used forms of birth control and wants to educate the public. But why haven’t we all heard of this before? It is simply because some of the disadvantages are the high cost, the lack of availability and familiarity, and of course, the safety concerns.
            Overall, the reasons for the most efficient form of contraception being the least used is parental influence, price, big safety issues and, most of all, the lack of knowledge on the subject.

Shaw, Ehvan: Teens and Contraception

                  The topic of contraceptives is a touchy subject, especially when the conversation takes place between a parent and daughter. Because of this lack in communication, these preventative methods often go unused. Teenagers are responsible for 20% percent of the unintended pregnancies in America according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists or ACOG. Because 42% of teenagers from the ages of 15 to 19 have had sex, this topic needs to be discussed.

                  The starting point in this discussion is getting parents comfortable with the fact that their daughters are maturing and accepting the help from clinicians when it comes to choosing the right type of birth control for their girls. The more that parents accept the development of their teenagers the more likely they will be accepting of doctors offering contraceptive options, according to a study done in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

                  But what is the best method of birth control? In the opinion of an ACOG member, long-acting, reversible contraceptives, such as implants and intrauterine devices, are top-notch based on their effectiveness. Pregnancy rates with said contraceptives are less than 1% per year when used properly. Though sexually active teens use contraceptives, they rarely use the most effective ones. In the order of preference when it came to choosing a birth control method, the birth control pills were on top, with a 59% acceptance rate. Trailing the pills were condoms at 51%, injectable contraceptives at 46% emergency contraceptives (morning after pill) at 45%, patches at 42%, implants at 32%, and IUDs at 18%. A study done by the ACOG included 4,167 women ages 15 to 45 and “showed 12 month continuation rates of 86% for long-acting methods versus 55% for short-acting methods of contraception”.⁶ Still, most teenagers would rather use the pill, condoms or the ‘pull-out’ methods instead. This preference could also be due to the parent’s distrust of IUDs and the cost of such contraceptives.

                 

Grier, Kelsey: Teens and Contraception

The article by Misty Dawson, titled “Parents Prefer Some, Often Less-Effective, Birth Control Methods for Teens,” is all about parent’s preferences on teen birth control. It states that many parents prefer their daughters to use birth control pills and condoms over IUDs. There are a few reasons parents may want their teen daughters to use birth control pills or condoms, one reason being the IUDs have a bad history in the United States. IUDs caused the death of many women and permanent damage to others including infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease. Another reason parents may want their daughters to not use IUDs is that they view it as a long term contraceptive measure and worry about what effect it will have on their daughter’s choice later in life, such as having children. The article also explains that there are many other more effective contraceptive devices available, such as implants. These other contraceptives last for a substantial period of time and dramatically reduce unplanned pregnancies.

          The next article is written by Charles Bankhead, titled “IUDs, Implants Best Teen Birth Control, ACOG Says,” is about the effectiveness of IUDs. The article explores the attitude toward long term contraceptives. More women actually prefer long term contraceptives, not to mention that these options are more effective than the short term choices. Women tend to like long term contraceptive choices, because they are reversible and don’t have to be used every day.

          Both articles share the opinion that IUDs and other long-term contraceptives are a beneficial option and that these choices can lower unintended pregnancies. A contrast between the two articles does exist, the first article by Misty Dawson explores the attitudes of parents towards long term contraceptives and the second article explores the attitudes of women towards long term contraceptives. The first article makes it clear that parents are resistant to allow their daughters to use long term contraceptives. The second article shows that women tend to prefer long term contraceptives, mainly due to lower unintended pregnancies. Even with these differences both article share the view that IUD’s and other long term contraceptives are something women should look into.