Q2A

Got an enquiry ........

I am planning on going to talk wise in preston and asking if i can go on the pill, i was wondering if id need parental consent? and if id need to pay etc :)

This is our reply.......

Hi Jasmine, thanks for your email.

No, you don't need your parent's consent and you don't have to pay for the pill. Because you're 16 years old you can give your own consent to medical treatment (which is what the pill is really) and contraceptive methods are free on the NHS.

Talkwize (Urban X Change, Mount Street, off Fishergate) is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 12noon - 6pm, Saturday 12noon - 3pm. You can just drop-in, you don't need an appointment. The nurse/doctor there will ask you a few questions about your health and your family's health e.g. about heart problems, breast cancer, to make sure that it's safe for you to take the pill. They may also do a pregnancy test to make sure that you're not already pregnant and check your blood pressure. They'll probably give you 2 month's worth to start with and ask to see you again to check everything's ok and if so they'll probably give you 6 month's supply.

We also need to explain that the pill won't protect you against sexually transmitted infections so, unless you know about your partner's sexual health and can trust them 110%, use condoms as well when having sex, including oral sex. You can get free supplies of these from Talkwize as well.

They'll probably explain this to you at Talkwize but we'll mention it as well. To have full protection from the pill immediately start your first pack on any of the first 5 days of the next period you have after getting your pills. You can start on any other day of your menstrual cycle but you'll need to use extra protection e.g. condoms for the first 7 days of pill-taking.

It's best to take the pill at the same time every day so that you don't forget and lose protection. Pick a time when you do something more or less at the same time to make it easy to remember e.g. when you go to bed, or after breakfast. If you do forget to take a pill don't panic, take it as soon as you remember and then take the next pill at the usual time - taking 2 in one day isn't harmful. Depending on the type of pill (combined or progestogen-only) you may need to use extra protection for 7 days after missing a pill. If you ever do get confused after missing a pill, or even more than one, you can get advice from:

# us: send a text message to 07786 51 11 11 between 10am-10pm and you'll get a reply within 20 minutes
# Talkwize
# Ask Brook, freephone 0808 802 1234, open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm
# Worth Talking About, freephone 0800 28 29 30, open 7am-midnight every day

If you'd like more information about the contraceptive pills you can contact any of the above, and if you have access to the Internet have a look at the following websites:

# http://www.brook.org,uk
# http://www.fpa.org.uk

We hope you find the information in our reply helpful. {Please email us again if you think we can help, about this or anything else.

Best wishes from q2a.


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