SUMMARY POINTS
Skills
- Establish rapport with each person, use open-ended questions, ask what matters most to them about a method, and work to provide access to the full range of methods.
- Invest in the person’s experience of contraceptive care, rather than in a particular contraceptive method or outcome.
- Consider the quality of your counseling from a person-centered perspective.
- Improve access by minimizing unnecessary tests and visits to obtain contraception.
- Ensure everyone has the right to prompt intrauterine device (IUD) or implant removal for any reason, without judgment or resistance from their care team.
Safety
- Understand the medical eligibility, risks and side effects associated with different types of contraception (US MEC, WHO MEC)
Role
- Offer all methods as part of routine contraceptive counseling to those interested, including adolescents, transgender, and gender diverse persons.
- Offer condoms to reduce STI risk and advance emergency contraception prescriptions, regardless of the contraceptive method chosen.
- Respect a person’s autonomy to decide the right time to discuss contraception, as people seeking abortion services may not desire contraceptive counseling on the day of abortion.
- Be mindful of the history of contraceptive coercion that has particularly impacted communities of color, and continues to this day.