Most people by their late teens or early 20s know what birth control is. Whether it’s the pill or condoms, young people are usually using some form of protection during sex.
Marek Iwinski is a volunteer sexpert in the sexual health clinic at Durham College. He explained there are some types of birth control available at the college.
“We only have condoms,” said Iwinski. He said that birth control pills and injections can be acquired through campus medical staff.
Iwinski said the problem with birth control awareness is that students have too many different opinions.
He mentioned there are plans next year for seminars on campus on birth control. There are also plans for advertising.
Ashley Walsh is a student at Durham College. She’s been on birth control for two years.
“My mom didn’t want me getting pregnant,” said Walsh who learned about using the pill from her mother.
“Some people’s parents are totally against it,” said Walsh raising the concern that some young adults may not know what birth control is or how to get it.
Amy Budden has been a Durham Regional public health nurse since 2002.
“I started in the healthy schools program,” said Budden who has worked in the sexual health department for the past eight months. She is unsure about what young adults know about birth control.
“A lot of kids out there know that birth control exists,” said Budden. “It’s the accessibility that’s the barrier.”
She explained that there are specialized sexual health clinics in the Oshawa Centre, the Pickering Town Centre and in Port Perry.
“The main thing people come to us for is to initiate birth control,” said Budden. She said the most popular method is the birth control pill. But other methods are also gaining popularity. The pill and some other birth control methods do not prevent sexually-transmitted infections.
“We encourage condoms all the time,” said Budden stating that two forms of protection are always the way to go. She also encourages young women to get a Pap test at least once a year. The clinic offers Pap tests.
