Get contraception

About contraception

Contraception prevents pregnancy. If you are having penis in vagina sex and you do not want to get pregnant, you can use contraception. There are different types of contraception, which work in different ways.

Some people use contraception to help manage heavy or painful periods. This is because some types of contraception can make your periods lighter (make you bleed less).

Get contraception

Talk to someone at a sexual health clinic, or to your GP, to get advice about which contraception is right for you.

If you are 13-15 years old and you have had sex, or are planning to have sex, staff will ask some basic questions to make sure you are safe. This includes talking to you about consent.

Staff are there to listen and work with you to find out what support is best.

Remember, your information is confidential.

Types of contraception

These are some of the most popular types of contraception:

• Contraceptive pill
• Patch
• Implant
• Injection
• IUS and IUD (sometimes called the coil)
• Condoms

Condoms are the only type of contraception that can also protect you from sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Want to know more? Read Contraception: Unsure Which Type is Right For You? – Brook

Get contraception from a pharmacy

Pharmacies can prescribe a free, three months supply of a progesterone-only pill (POP), sometimes called the ‘mini pill’.

You can get this without a prescription.

This is a short-term supply. Talk to someone at a sexual health clinic, or to your GP, if you need to use contraception for longer than three months.

This is not the same as emergency contraception, which is taken after you have had unprotected sex (sex without a condom).