Emergency Contraception use by
Irish Teenagers
The study is a review of 200 teenagers attending a Family Planning
Clinic in Dublin, for emergency contraception.
Their ages ranged from 13 to 19 years.
During the consultation with the doctor they were asked their age, the
reason why they needed emergency contraception, their usual method of
contraception, how many times they had P.C.C..before and the age they first had
sex.
The consultations were conducted in a non-judgmental and relaxed
manner. All clients were reassured that
they could have emergency contraception as often as they needed it and that the
service was confidential.
Age of attendance: 77.5% were aged 17
or over. 22.5% were aged 16 or
younger. The legal age of consent is 17 in Ireland. These statistics confirm many teenagers are
sexually active before 17.
Reason for attendance: Condom failure accounted for 48.5%. 3.5% was due to pill problems, while 48% had
used no contraception. This shows that
teenagers have problems using condoms correctly and also that many are taking
chances and having unprotected sex.
Usual method of contraception: 75 % said condoms were their usual method. 10% used oral contraception and 1.5% said
they used no contraception. For 13.5% it was the first time they had sex.
Previous use of emergency contraception: 65% had not used it before.
24% had used it once before. 9% had used it twice before. 0.5% had used it 4
times before and 1% had used it 5 times.
This shows the majority 89.5% had either never used or only used it once
before – disputing the belief that teenagers are using emergency contraception
regularly.
Age of 1st sex:: 38% were aged 17 or over. 61.5% were aged 16 or younger. The average
age of first sex was 16.2 years.
Jones.S
Irish Family Planning Association
Dublin
Ireland