Regional elections Ulla was careful about using a condom but still got pregnant involuntarily – The number of abortions can be affected by very simple means

When Hennan the man went to the army, the couple reasoned that e-pills are a great savings. After one broken condom and a failed post-contraceptive, Henna gave birth to her firstborn in her high school year.

“E-pills were a big expense for high school students. Then together they thought about how this happened here. ”

26-year-old Ulla again, it was itself accurate about condom use. One night, three years ago, he woke up to the fact that the man he had met at Christmas had been inside him again without permission and contraception.

Ulla does not want children at all but not especially as a result of such a situation. Abortion was an obvious decision.

Soon Elected regional councils also take a stand on sexual and reproductive health.

It is, of course, a broader issue than just contraception, but this story focuses on unplanned pregnancies, because the decisions involved are right now.

Ulla and Henna responded to HS’s online survey, but both have been interviewed separately for the story. To protect them, HS does not publish their names, but the names of both are known to the editorial.

Abortions the number has decreased in Finland.

Abortions are now being performed especially by young adults. In Uusimaa and throughout the country, the largest number of abortions is performed on women aged 25–29. The pregnancies and abortions of teenagers have clearly decreased in proportion to the size of the age groups.

Henna, now in her thirties, thinks free contraception would have prevented what happened to her in the past.

“If free contraception is available, young people who need it will find it.”

Henna and her husband decided to have a child because they would both have wanted children sometime later anyway. A suitable time for henna would have been close in years, far away for a man, but it was clear by discussion.

“In the end, the decision was clear and common.”

Henna feels that she has received enough support from the clinic as a young mother. There were more conflicts with related parties.

HS: n the situation was more complicated for many of the respondents. For some, pregnancy began unexpectedly despite regular contraception – sometimes even several times or so that pregnancy should not have been possible for medical reasons.

In others, the pill was forgotten, the condom broke down, or contraception was used carelessly. For example, one respondent had been affected by his own deep depression, while another had a much supervised baby.

In official in statistics, the most common cause of abortion is vague “social causes”. The younger people are talked about, the more often there is no prevention at all.

“There are still gaps in the use of contraception among young people,” says the research manager Reija Klemetti From the Department of Health and Welfare (THL).

For example, in a school health survey, 17 percent of eighth- and ninth-grade students, 11 percent of vocational students, and 7 percent of high school students say they haven’t used any contraception during their last intercourse.

39% of those under the age of 20 who have had an abortion have not used any contraception when they become pregnant, and the figure is 34% among those aged 20-24.

More than a third of interruptions are made to women who have had an interruption in the past.

Klemetti also draws attention to regional differences. The following statistics include all age groups:

In the youngest, the regional differences are even greater. For example, in North Karelia and Southwest Finland, more teen abortions are performed than elsewhere, while Pirkanmaa and South Savo have the lowest number.

Free prevention explains some but not all of the differences. Klemetti thinks that there may be wider differences in sexual education and counseling.

In Uusimaa The pioneer has been Vantaa, which in 2013 began distributing the first long-acting contraceptive, ie a coil or capsule, to women of all ages free of charge.

A doctor who worked in Vantaa Frida Gyllenbergin dissertation shows that this really worked. Abortions for 15–19-year-olds decreased by 36 percent and for 20–24-year-olds by 14 percent. In the older age groups, the changes were not statistically significant.

Now Gyllenberg clarifies that it was not just about contraception. A contraceptive clinic has operated in Vantaa for decades, where both nurses and doctors have special expertise in sexual health. It is also important that young people know the place and that a professional can be reached quickly.

The dissertation proves specifically in favor of long-term methods in reducing abortions. Of course, free contraception can have other sexual health goals, which justifies the distribution of a wider range of contraceptives.

For example, the distribution of condoms is worthwhile because chlamydial infections in young people have been on the rise.

Young people it is also important to listen to oneself when talking about contraception.

“Ineffective is giving three-month pills without discussion,” Gyllenberg says.

Extensive research is currently being carried out into the best means of free prevention.

“It is important that sexual health services are easily accessible. That a young woman or man will not face an endless swamp when she begins to find out where to get them. ”

Free of charge Prevention has been quite varied in various municipalities. The upper age limit for free has varied, as has the means offered.

Read more: “Not everything can be passed on to society” – Free prevention for young people is not a good idea

That should change now. A trial of free prevention is on the government’s program and is scheduled to take place this year and next.

In the areas involved in the experiment, there is a commitment to provide free contraception to those under the age of 25 and to have a choice of devices. The practical implementation depends on political decisions: the funding comes from the state, but it is not earmarked for this very purpose and is part of a larger pot.

“The aim of the experiment is to find good uniform practices, but the implementation methods in different areas will certainly be different at the beginning,” Klemetti thinks.

He also says that new services must be easily accessible to and approved by young people. For example, many want more convenient digital services than at present, but face-to-face encounters are also needed.

“It’s important to be a place to ask if anything in your sexuality makes you think.”

HS asked without even planning for those who became pregnant whether they would have needed more support.

Ulla feels that she didn’t need any more support to handle the abortion. The overriding feeling was relief.

“For the most part, I was treated fairly. However, the outpatient clinic had a bit of a tone to talk about how you got to do this. ”

However, Ulla did not tell the outpatient clinic that the intercourse had taken place against her will. For other reasons related to his life, he felt he needed conversational help, and he was also directed to do so.

One important thing Ulla could not immediately properly internalize and therefore not deal with: the sexual violence done to her. For example, the Women’s Clinic’s Seri Support Center for those who have experienced sexual violence typically helps when the experience is quite recent. If there is a longer period of time that has happened, the public side will not systematically offer any help.

HS: n in the survey, responses were strongly divided on whether respondents would have wanted support for their decision.

Some were sure of what they wanted, and it was particularly good that the decision did not have to be explained to anyone. Others would have liked to discuss options.

Like Ulla, some wanted stronger support for something else. For different people, it meant quite different problems: financial difficulties and lack of care as a single parent, relationship problems, depression. Some would have liked more direct access to sterilization, others information about their future fertility, and some peer support from others in the same position.

For the survey many respondents said that free prevention for young people was very important, regardless of whether it had affected their own situation.

“It would really help a lot in this society. It is also really important to emphasize that it is not only the responsibility of women but also of men and boys, ”says Ulla.