Almost a third of Spanish women have used the morning after pill at some time

• Contraception The Ministry of Equality considers giving free contraceptives to those under 25 years of age

31.4% of women of childbearing age in Spain state that they have had to resort to

.

It is not a very high figure compared to other countries in our environment (Spain is below the average), but it has increased in recent years and is "good news", according to Dr. Paloma Lobo Abascal, member responsible for the Observatory of sexual and reproductive health of the Spanish Society of Contraception (SEC).

"It's a plan B, a second chance in case we haven't used a contraceptive method or it could have failed and we think we may be pregnant. Knowing that we have this that can prevent an unwanted pregnancy, I think it's a good news, that women know their resources, that they know the opportunities they have and that they use them. That this figure rises seems to me to be a very good figure, apart from the fact that it is not used much in Spain compared to other countries, with which It means that we

" Lobo said this Friday at the presentation, on the occasion of World Contraception Day, of the

survey .

This is the

of the survey that has been carried out every two years since 2014 and the results seem to show that there is still a long way to go in sexual education and contraception, although it has improved a lot in these years.

Conducted by telephone by Sigma Dos between July 21 and August 17 of this year, it consists of

(between 15 and 49 years of age).

The results make it clear that 86.8% of women have had sexual intercourse on some occasion and that

, as is the case with men.

"Those under the age of 20 begin sexual relations at an average of 16.2 compared to 19.7 for those over 49, that is, young women begin sexual relations 3.5 years before their mothers," said the gynecologist José Vicente González, member of the SEC.

86.5% of women have sexual intercourse with some frequency and although 50.4% say they do not have it without some contraceptive method and 20.2% almost never,

.

Likewise, 75.78% of women of childbearing age currently use some contraceptive method, compared to

(that is, they have no protection against possible unwanted pregnancies).

Of this 22.4% who do not use contraception, 27.5% do so because they do not have sexual intercourse, 35.9% because they do not need it (due to infertility, menopause, because they want to become pregnant or are already pregnant) and

, these being the ones that are at risk of an unwanted pregnancy.

In this sense, it has already been indicated before, 31.4% declared having resorted to emergency contraception on some occasion.

The condom, the most used

The method preferred by Spanish women continues to be the condom (35.7%

of those surveyed).

"It means that in Spain contraception is exercised in co-responsibility because the condom has to be managed by both members of the couple," says Lobo.

, surgical methods (8.5%: vasectomy 4.7% and tubal ligation or occlusion 3.8%), the IUD (6.7%: 3, 8% the hormonal one that for the first time has surpassed that of copper, with 2.9%) and other hormonal methods such as the vaginal ring (1.9%), the implant (1.7%), the pill 'only gestagens ' (0.8%) or the patch (0.7%).

This summer the journal

published an extensive study on contraception including 204 countries where this Spanish peculiarity was also appreciated: we are

(and the developed country)

.

As a positive part of this greater use of condoms, it can be highlighted that it

that are increasing more and more (in addition to the fact that they will be able to benefit from the

that will be applied from of the next General State Budgets).

"We know that STIs are increasing and especially one that used to be less in Spain, which is

and is more frequent in women and younger women compared to the rest of STIs that are more frequent in men and older men. That is why the use of a condom is very important, but

, that is, to use more effective methods, such as the IUD and hormonal methods, and also use the condom to have double protection and double contraceptive efficacy", has Dr. Lobo emphasized.

And that is another pending subject for Spanish women: the double method.

, in order to avoid an unwanted pregnancy and an STI.

This practice is more common in the 20-24 year olds (22%) and 25-29 year olds (20.6%), having practically doubled since 2014. "It continues to be a problem of education, of thinking that because We already use a method, because we are already protected," González stressed.

In this regard, the condom is a contraceptive method with low efficacy, often due to misuse (up to 29.1% use it incorrectly, inserting it when intercourse has already begun).

"The problem is no longer the method itself, but a problem of use: if you don't put it on until you've been having sex for a while, things are going badly, and if you don't put it on one out of three times, the same thing. is the problem, not the condom itself, which we have also already said is ideal to protect against STIs", added Dr. González.

32% of women who say they use a condom do so inconsistently (they don't always use it).

Among the reasons given for this, the following stand out: not being available (due to unforeseen sexual relations) by 26%;

loss of sensitivity (19.2%);

interrupted the relationship (12.3%);

the price (12.3%) or the man does not want to use it (12.3%).

Painful periods and sick leave

Apart from the general data of the survey, every two years it asks about a specific topic.

On this occasion, they have taken into account the controversy generated last May when the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, announced that

abortion law (yesterday it was also learned that in the Budgets General Government of the State of 2023, the VAT borne by feminine hygiene products, condoms and non-medicinal contraceptives will be lowered to 4%).

"Sick time due to painful menstruation is an

. The painful menstruation that happens to many women is very underrepresented even in studies or in magazines that talk about pain. This has to do with with gender medicine: until not long ago medicine was done by men. It is also true that it has been a very silenced subject, a taboo subject, no one has told it openly and precisely for this reason it is very interesting that it is made visible", Dr. Lobo added.

Therefore, the specific part of the survey deals with the effect and symptoms of menstruation.

The results show that

for this reason, a higher percentage in young women (under 25 years of age): 60% among those between 20 and 24 years and 56% between 15 and 19.

Likewise,

, a percentage that is also higher in young women (39.3% in those between 15-19 years of age and 38% in those between 20-24 years of age). ).

Due to this pain and bleeding, up to 37.6% have difficulty leading their normal lives, rising to 52.5% in women between 20 and 24 years of age.

The average number of

(those under 25 years of age for four days or more).

To treat these symptoms of menstruation, 20.4% of women use contraceptives.

Those who use it the most are those in the 20-24 age range (31%).

As for sick leave due to pain and bleeding, the figures speak for themselves: 33.4% of women have felt the need to ask for sick leave or not attend their activity (50% in the 20-24 age group). ), but only half (16.8%) have requested it (in those under 30 years of age it exceeds 30%).

And it is that up to 53.7% consider that requesting sick leave or not going to work due to pain and bleeding can have labor consequences.

This proportion is higher in the 20-24 year-old group (59.5%), in Spanish women (54.6%) compared to those living in Spain and in those with university studies (55.2%) and income high (59%).

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Pregnancy