Adolescent contraception

Sexual health for adolescents is based on three components: recognizing sexual rights, sexuality education and counseling, and confidential, high quality services. Contraception needs to include prevention of both STIs and pregnancies. The main options for adolescents we condoms, backed up by emergency contraception, and oral contraceptives in a longer, mutually monogamous relationship. Condoms and hormonal contraception together can be well recommended for adolescents. Condom use should not be stopped before it is reasonably certain that the partner is STI-negative. Other alternatives can be considered in special cases. Improved contraceptive methods do not automatically lead to reduced numbers of adolescent abortions. The prevention of unintended adolescent pregnancies requires four elements: a desire to use protection, a good contraceptive method, ability to obtain the contraceptive method, and ability to use it. All these components are important and if one is missing, contraception will fail. In the developed countries, we have good contraceptive methods, but improvements are still needed in the other components. When adolescent sexuality is not condemned, but sexuality education and sexual health services instead are provided, it is possible to profoundly improve adolescent sexual health at comparatively small costs. Each year new groups of young people mature, requiring new efforts. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.