Scarleteen

I’m 15, turning 16 in a few days. Because I’m so young, I’m really nervous about asking my mum if I can try birth control. She’s usually quite open but we’re close but just not really close (she’s closer with my siblings) and she’s catholic so she doesn’t really agree with contraception (but she can understand why people use it.)

The main reason I want to go on it is because of my periods. About every other month, I get extremely painful cramping and I throw up and get extremely nauseous. It has happened 8 times in the past 12 months! My doctor misdiagnosed me with migraine attacks and some other stuff- once we get home I research and find out I have none or one of the symptoms of what she tells me I have. So I did a bit of research and found out about birth control to help your periods.

Also, I have quite bad acne. It’s considered moderate- on my cheeks, chin, jaw, neck, chest and back- and it’s a strain on my confidence. I think going on birth control will be quite good for me for a number of reasons but I’m just not sure on how to ask my mum?

The pill may or may not have some of the benefits you're hoping for -- like helping with acne and cramps -- so you will want to talk with a healthcare provider, just to be sure you get the right treatment for these that's most likely to help. The pill can help some people with some kinds of acne, and help with some kinds of menstrual pain. But other people need different kinds of treatment because the pill doesn't help with their acne or their menstrual pain.

That said, if someone does think this is likely to help you with one or both of those things OR you just want a method of contraception to do what it was mostly designed for -- to prevent pregnancy -- let's see what we can do so you can make that happen!

The first thing I want to ask about is if you want to talk with your Mom about this and have her be a part of it. You don't have to if you don't want to, and a lot of young people don't often know that. But you may want to, like because you are close and want to keep it that way, or because you want some extra help or support from her. Let me know, and we can take it from there.