Recommended birth control for young people

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Recommended birth control for young people

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So I recommend all the methods of birth control that are currently available and that includes everything from barrier methods, which is condoms to hormonal methods, of which the birth control pill is the most popular and the most widely known. There is also the inter-vaginal ring, The Nuvaring, that's another method that's come along in the last 10 years. We also have transdermal patches that are placed on the skin, that are also very effective. We have longer acting methods such as an injectable form called Depo Provera , which works very very well. And we also have IUDs. Now you might be surprised that I'm even mentioning IUDs, because when I was in training we did not recommend IUDs for adolescence. The common teaching was that a young lady needed to be in a committed monogamous relationship which most teens are not. So we are looking at older women who are settled down or they are living with their partner, they are married, etc. As well as you had to prove that you are fertile. So in other words you've had to already born a child before a practitioner or a physician would consider placing an IUD. That has changed over the last 4 or 5 years, where the Federal Drug Administration, FDA, is really come out saying that it is safe for younger teens who are still in their adolescence, who have never had a child, who may not be in a monogamous relationship - it is perfectly safe for them to use an IUD. And the nice thing about IUD is that you place it in and it's present for anywhere from 5-10 years and the person using it doesn't have to think about it. Doesn't have to remember to do something every day or return to see their doctor or nurse every three months such is with the Depo Provera.

Watch Diane Tanaka, MD's video on Recommended birth control for young people...

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Diane Tanaka, MD

Adolescent Medicine Physician

Dr. Tanaka is an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics and the medical director of the Homeless Adolescent and Young Adult Wellness Center and the MyVOICE Adolescent Transition Program, both at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Tanaka went to University of California, Davis for medical school and did her residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Tanaka's primary speciality is Adolescent Medicine, and her clinical interests include: menstrual disorders, substance use and abuse, and the treatment of sexually transmitted infections. She currently serves at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and was awarded the Barbara Korsch Medical Education Award at CHLA in 2008 and listed in Castle Connely’s directory of top physicians in 2009.

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