TAKING place on September 26 annually, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised awareness day World Contraception Day focuses on improving awareness of all contraceptive methods available to the public and enabling youth to make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health.
Teenage pregnancy is an ever-present problem within the community. Speaking on the issue, manager of Choices for Life (Pregnancy Resource Centre) Zoe Bridge said: “There are about 3,5 billion people in the world today under the age of 30. About 16 million teenage girls give birth each year.
“Adolescent pregnancy is often a result of limited access to education, information and health care services. A lot of teenagers don’t like going to the clinics because they find their aunts or neighbours at the clinics because our clinics are isolated in areas.
“The aim of World Contraception Day is to improve the awareness of contraception and to educate and enable young people so they are able to make informed choices on their sexual responsibility.
“Contraception allows girls to put off having children until they are ready to have a family. It also reduces the need for abortions and helps prevent unwanted pregnancies.
“All government hospitals and clinics provide the services for free,” added Bridge.
Common methods of contraception:
- IUD Loop inserted into the uterus
- Injection
- Pill (oral contraception)
- Condoms
- Vasectomy
“It is still a challenge to get teenagers to go to the clinics to get birth control to prevent teenage pregnancies. That is why we at Choices for Life believe that our school programme is so important. It allows us to educate the youth so they can make better choices regarding their sexual integrity. We believe in abstinence,” Bridge concluded.
