To think 13 is too young to go on the pill

[toni76]

A report says girls as young as 13 should get the pill without a prescription. I just think 13 is sooo young (have two little girls). AIBU to think there must be a better way to stop 13 year olds getting pregnant?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17847069

Haven't read all the thread but I think that access to contraception should be easier for teens, it still seems such a taboo for them and it really shouldn't be. Also why just target 13 year old girls? Both boys and girls need to know about and be comfortable to use condoms, not only to stop pregnancy but std's too. Like my mum says it takes two to tango!

Also not read the whole thread.

In my mind, if the girl is Fraser guidelines competent, then why not? There's also more to the pill than contraception.

That said, having a) been a 13 yo girl and b) worked with hundreds, if it was for contraception I would try to steer them toward something different with less margin for error. And I'd supply them with a bucketload of condoms and a slide show of std images

I think schools need to start bringing in mothers with terrible birth stories to tell them. I'm sort of joking, but sort of not. :)

Anyway...this is a tough one. I get the argument that if they're going to do it, they're going to do it, but...where does that end? It's 13 now, what will it be in a few years? There's already some discussion here about making condoms available to all kids ages 11-18. Eleven! What will it be in another decade.. "Well, she is nine...if she's going to do it, she's going to do it." Where do we draw the line?

Don't get me wrong, sex is amazing. It really is. And I hope my children have a healthy sexuality...but at an age when they're ready for it.

What happened to just snogging for heaven's sake! :o

There is far far too much pressure on girls to have underage sex. And anal sex incidentally. And the boys think its a rite of passage and amusing to have sex with an underage girl and the boys mums think that its all fine because the girl can get the pill from the gp without even telling her mother so its all fine.
Protecting my gorgeous and extrovert DD from the male sharks and their ghastly pushy mums was a nightmare and needed constant vigilance. Especially as she was told by the boys it wasn't cool to say no.

I think that... It's very easy to feel woeful about the idea of young girls on hormonal contraception when you are not a young girl writhing in pain for 5 days every month.

Or 7 days, or 10.....with blood clots.....with vomiting.......

The pill works extremely well to reduce painful and heavy periods.

There are reasons a girl would go to a pharmacy not a Dr. In my case my RC girls school was the other side of town, so going to the Dr was not an option as it would involve taking a morning/afternoon at school.

The RC nurse at school would have given me a lecture on abstinance before marriage and told me to pray for forgiveness.

If someone is mature enough to have sex they should be mature enough to visit the gp!

Maybe, but sometimes it isn't that easy, sometimes it's not for contraception.

There are also certain communities where forced marriages take place and extended family include local medical practitioners. Imagine you are 16 and have been forced into a marriage, you cannot go to your Dr for contraception because your GP is part of your family and will either refuse or tell your husband/parents. You know that if you do not produce a child in a year or two your husband will probably divorce you.

I know that is an extreme and people will say it is illegal, shouldn't happen, only happens occasionally and I accept all that. But until now a girl in that position would have the option of the morning after pill to prevent pregnancy and nothing else.

May I be the first to post this....

www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9228673/Teens-mum-issues-Pill-warning-following-stroke.html

I still cant get my head around the fact that so many mumsnetters think its ok to give drugs to children without any medical advice.

The pill is a drug. It has side effects. It is a drug for biologically mature women. Not children

Pharmacists are well trained. But they arent doctors or nurses. That means that they arent trained to elicit the correct medical history from the children who come to get this medicine.

nothappybunny457 - Yes we are trained and we are trained to take medical histories - I do for drugs that have far more serious consequences if taken incorrectly for other services.

We spend 5 years studying medicines, how they work and the effect on the body - Our clinical skills are great, we are approachable, accessible and professional - It is disheartening to see that many people do not realise this.

notahappybunny there are extremely low dosages of the pill available DD2 is tiny and was given it to start but I wouldn't of been happy with her going to a pharmacy for it, she went on it for medical reasons though and needed monitoring they could of been made worse if she'd gotten it over the counter.

My girls are now 16 and 20 so this PROPOSOL doesn't affect them, personally I can't see it going through.

ThatsEnoughHasHadEnough We live in Scotland don't have walk in centres but the equivalent is available in most large pharmacies basic medications can be dispensed on prescription.

Ivana DD2 was on both of them doesn't stop irregular periods that can come every 10 days though she was crippled every time.

I do not agree with people saying that actually telling children that they shouldn't have sex is idealistic

Once again, not reading the thread properly.

This is what we all agree should happen, it's the fact that it's idealistic to think ALL teens will listen.

And oceans are you employed by the sun? There are serious side effects, and it's awful that this girl has had a stroke. But where are you campaigning against the millions of women who use the pill everyday? Why only post this in reaction to younger girls having access?

I am really pleased thatsenough is fighting their corner.

I do not understand why so many people on here, who are not pharmacists, and clearly have no idea what they do, have been bashing what they do and how competent they are to do it.

One thing I cant get my head round is that the FEAR of pregnancy doesnt seem to exist any more.

It also surprises me that younger teens actually have the opportunity to have sex - where? when? My DDs are 15 and 13, and they just dont have the kind of lives where they could be having sex - I know where they are and who they're with, they don't go to parties/clubs etc (not that I'd stop them, just doesnt seem to happen round here).

Can I add a couple of things before I head to work to count paracetamol (I gather that is all I'm useful for!)

• we will not be giving the pill to young teens to regulate their periods.
• it will be a contraceptive service

Remember many of the young people accessing these services will be living in the pits of deprivation with little family support - all pharmacist want to do improve the health and well being of the communities they work in and this is just one to help prevent young girls from becoming just another statistic.

One way to help - sorry in a rush!

It seems to me that there is a fairly straightforward solution to teen pregnancy, which is to insist that someone who fathers a child takes a substantial part of the financial responsibility for the upbringing of that child from day one. If he's 14 and can't afford it, then either his parents pay or he takes out a loan that he has to pay back later. I think you'd find that this would cut the number of teenage pregnancies very dramatically and very quickly. .
.

"YonWhaleFish Thu 26-Apr-12 18:02:48
As a musing - a few people seem to object to the pill idea as they feel it will encourage underage sex in some way. Why do you not feel the same about condoms? That they would encourage sex?
"

I've been into this as that's exactly how I felt. I feel the pill (given for contraceptive reasons) encourages young women (and the people who know them) to consider themselves sexually active people. They're constantly protected (assuming they use it right) and they're taking a risk by having the hormone in their body.
Condoms are not the same. Condoms are used at the point of having sex. Carrying one round with you does not incur any risk. It also involves both the man and the woman in the way the contraceptive pill does not.

Thanks for your reply stealth, it's interesting you think of it that way.

To me the difference between the pill and condoms is a condom doesn't pump your body full of chemicals, chemicals which if given by a pharmacist arent being closely monitored

Sirzy You don't know that it won't be monitored.

I didn't ask for the technical differences, I know those!

And just to clarify as people keep bringing this up. I certainly don't have any problem with (and I think most people on this thread agree) under 16s being given the pill to regulate periods or other medical reasons. It's not the same thing at all.
I personally am not saying 13yos should not have access to the pill either. In some circumstances they should. But this seems to be implying its first choice of contraceptive if you're 13+, that taking it is no big deal, and that the worst thing that can come from having sex is pregnancy. That's the message being sent imo. And THAT is where I totally disagree.

sorry, that wasn't aimed at you Yon. People keep popping up saying "but my DD's on the pill to regulate her periods"
fine. That will have been a medical decision taken by her, you and her GP. Children take medication with risks and side effects every day - it's a balance of risk exercise. But that doesn't imply that widespread uptake of this medicine by young girls to protect them from pregnancy, when sex on the pill can lead to infection, heartache and is illegal, is a good idea.

Does no one think this will lead to a greater amount of risky beaviour on the part of young girls and more importantly, pressure from the (sometimes nice young lads their age, sometimes older abusers) boys they are around. "It's OK you're on the pill, I don't need to use a condom"