Entering the Wide World of Contraception

LARC. IUD. Vaginal Ring. The Patch. It’s my first month at the SC Campaign, and I’m learning more about contraceptive options than I ever thought possible. Before I came here, most of my education was around condoms and the birth control pill. LARC sounded like some sort of Lord of the Rings role-playing game, I thought IUDs were most appropriate for women who had already had children (or never wanted to have children), and the sponge was something I vaguely remembered from a Seinfeld episode.

I’m 27 years old, and in a lot of ways my education has been lacking when it comes to accurate information about reproductive health. Combine that with the classic myths everyone hears as a teenager (you can’t get pregnant your first time, having sex in water is effective birth control, etc) and it’s no wonder our young people are confused about their birth control options.

As we’re starting the journey to launch the "Not Right Now" brand statewide, I’m looking forward finding creative ways to get accurate information into the hands of teens and their parents. After all, how can we expect our young people to make good decisions if they don’t have all the facts?

Check out our Contraception Comparison Tool for teens! 

by Kylee Perez, Communications Specialist, SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy