FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

News of Zealand

Kiwi Teens Are In the Dark About Their Birth Control Options

The pill was the most commonly used contraceptive among young women interviewed in a new study, despite IUDs and implants being 22 times more effective.
A selection of contraceptive methods.
Image via Shutterstock

In school, in the movies, or just in general life, we are told again and again that if we don’t want a teenage pregnancy we can’t forget that condom or to take that little pill each day. But how often do teens consider other forms of contraception – like implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs)?

An Otago University study published today in the New Zealand Medical Journal has revealed New Zealand teens don’t know much at all about these long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) and instead rely on condoms and oral pills, which are far less effective at preventing pregnancy. Try not to panic, but did you know that condoms have a typical failure rate of 13 percent and oral contraceptive pills have an eight-percent failure rate? Implants and IUDs, on the other hand, are 22 times more effective than the pill. Condoms, however, are still the best defence against STIs.

Advertisement

While teenage pregnancies have been generally declining in New Zealand, we still have the sixth-highest rate in the OECD. And more than 90 percent of those teen pregnancies are unintended, which shows our current preferred contraception methods aren’t doing so well.

Led by current medical and PhD student Rebecca Duncan, the paper interviewed teens with varying levels of understanding about contraception and found the biggest barrier to accessing the most effective contraception was lack of knowledge. The study found some health practitioners were less likely to recommend implants and IUDs because they had not been educated about their suitability for teens. Teens were also hesitant to use them because their peers weren’t either and they accordingly lacked a first-person account of what it is like, or a close friend to talk them through any fears or uncertainties.

Dr Helen Paterson from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health supervised the study. She told VICE that peers have a big influence on the contraception teens choose. “With the present situation where the majority of adolescents are being offered condoms and the pill, it is obvious what they are going to choose,” she said. “So our idea is, if we can have a programme in schools where we get more adolescents using LARCs, then they are going to give more positive feedback and this will likely lead to more adolescence choosing a more reliable contraception.”