References
Advice on contraception for young people
Abstract
While the legal age to take part in sexual acts in the UK is 16, one in three young people will already have had sexual intercourse by this age. Health professionals are legally allowed to support under-16s in choosing appropriate contraception, to reduce the risk of pregnancy occurring. When undertaking a consultation, health professionals must be educated in the areas of consent, confidentiality, safeguarding and abuse referral pathways. Understanding how to identify abuse, use specific questioning and listening skills, and having the ability to notice non-verbal cues, are essential in identifying the vulnerable young. It is also important to have an awareness of groups who are at higher risk of abuse (e.g. vulnerable adults, LGBTQ+ community), and to understand when to refer to safeguarding teams and the police. Despite access to contraception being more readily available, holistic barriers to accessing contraception still exist. This article discusses assessing a young person for contraception, Gillick competency and legal issues, forms of available contraception (including some common risks and benefits), barriers to accessing contraception and emergency contraception.
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2024) states that young person pregnancy is still a concern for all nations. The figures for pregnancy in the under-16s for England and Wales are higher than in other European countries, and in 2021 there were 2181 under-16s who were pregnant. Of these, 59.8% chose to terminate their pregnancy (Public Health England [PHE], 2018; Faculty for Reproductive and Sexual Health [FSRH], 2019a; Office for National Statistics [ONS], 2023).
The physical and emotional toll of pregnancy in young people cannot be underestimated. Globally, mothers aged 10–19 years are at higher risk of experiencing pre-eclampsia and systemic infections (WHO, 2024). Teenagers (19 and below) who have children are at a higher risk of experiencing lower birth weights and preterm deliveries (Diabelková et al, 2023). There are 15 forms of contraception available in the UK, only some of which include the use of hormones. Contraception works by one of the following methods:
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