RT Book, Section
A1 Monasterio, Erica B.
A1 Shafer, Mary-Ann
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 6737629
T1 Chapter 78. Contraception
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6737629
RD 2024/04/23
AB Contraception  is  a  health  behavior  that  often  begins  during  adolescence  and  evolves  throughout  reproductive  life.  On  initiation  of  sexual  activity,  the  majority  of  adolescents  actually  report  contraceptive  use,  most  typically  a  condom,  but  there  is  a  significant  difference  between  younger  and  older  adolescents’  contraceptive  use  (35%  of  girls  under  15  used  no  method  at  first  intercourse  compared  to  17%  of  17–19  year  olds  reporting  no  method  use  at  first  sex).1  Use  of  contraception  at  first  sex  is  positively  associated  with  higher  continuation  and  consistency  of  method  use  over  time.2  Discussions  of  sexual  decision  making,  abstinence,  sexual  activity,  reproduction,  and  contraception  occur  frequently  as  a  normal  part  of  the  well-adolescent  visit  for  female  adolescents.  In  contrast,  male  adolescents,  who  are  not  at  risk  for  pregnancy  and  do  not  require  prescriptive  contraceptives,  may  have  clinician  contact  only  during  a  sports  physical  or  treatment  of  an  injury  or  acute  illness.  Although  sexuality  and  contraceptives  are  not  traditionally  discussed  during  “the  sports  check,”  which  often  substitutes  for  the  annual  examination  for  male  adolescents,  clinicians  should  emphasize  the  need  for  such  discussions  because  this  visit  may  be  the  only  contact  between  the  male  adolescent  and  a  clinician.3