Abstract

PIP: In the US, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives handle most family planning visits, (e.g., 60% in Georgia). These are prime opportunities to counter the often incomplete and misleading information imparted by friends and mass media about contraceptives. Age, health status, childbearing plans, coital frequency changes, and changing lifestyle priorities determine women's contraceptive needs throughout the reproductive years. Nurses should provide patients accurate information about failure rates of various family planning methods. When counseling patients about these methods, nurses should consider coital frequency. For example, women who partake in intercourse often should consider methods providing the greatest protection against pregnancy, e.g., oral contraceptives (OCs), IUD, and implants; but those who do not, may consider barrier methods. Nurses should also determine how a woman would respond to an unplanned pregnancy to help guide her in making a decision about contraceptive use. Other factors to consider include age, fertility, and childbearing intentions. They also should counsel patients about protection from sexually transmitted diseases. Nurses and their patient need to discuss the importance of spontaneity and convenience and comfort level with touching their own bodies. Health history is also an integral factor in making a decision about using a safe family planning method. For example, women over 35 years old who smoke and those with a history of thromboembolic and cerebrovascular conditions and breast cancer should not use OCs. Similarly, women with active thromboembolic disorders, acute liver disease, jaundice, unexplained vaginal bleeding, and breast cancer should not use implants. Women with multiple sex partners should not choose the IUD because of the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease. Barrier methods are relatively safe and effective contraceptives when used correctly. Consistent use of natural family planning methods can adequately prevent pregnancy. Nurses have a special responsibility to inform adolescents about reproductive health and family planning.