International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

A researcher from the US has set up a website about contraception and women's health aimed at teenagers in areas with high pregnancy rates among adolescents.

Vinita Goyal of Women & Infants' Center for Women's Primary Care at the Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, US, launched Ask A Doc RI to bring "important" information to young girls.

Studies have found that many teenagers do not ask for information about contraception despite trusting women's health professionals and they may quit birth control programmes without consulting a doctor.

"Many young women discontinue contraception over concerns about safety ... without seeking alternative methods to prevent unplanned pregnancy," Dr Goyal said.

She explained that girls hear about the risks that can accompany birth control through the media and act on news reports and advertisements without speaking to a specialist.

The website will impart information about sexual, youth and women's health and queries from users are to be answered.

While teenagers in the US can be directed toward using contraception, women in other areas of the world may not have access to birth control products at all.

A study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in the US recently found people living in war-torn countries would like to limit the size of their families but can rarely get their hands on the items they need to do this.

Posted by David Smith