The family wanting to get pregnant
- This is often used as a communication skills OSCE station, and involves discussion with the patient, the partner or both.
- It is important to find out the patient’s I.C.E (Ideas, concerns and expectations) on the issue
- Remember to explore the impact of stress, low libido, fatigue, previous marriage/children, everyday responsibilities e.g. job, etc
- You should advise them:
- Have regular intercourse (at least 2-3 times a week, particularly around the end of the second and start of the third week (of the menstrual cycle) i.e. at day 12-14)
- They should be trying for at least 6 months before assisted conception can be considered
- If this is the case, see Infertility treatments for information on this
NB This may be complicated by a lot of social history that will need to be addressed for family planning to be effective
Regular Contraception
For more details on specific types of contraception, see here. You should have at least a vague idea of each, how they work, their side effects, how to use them etc
In short, there are several types of contraception:
- Barrier protection e.g. condoms, femdoms, diaphragms and caps
- Hormone (Pill) e.g. Combined oral pill, progesterone only pill
- Hormone (Injection/Implant)
- Copper coil and other IUCD
Notes on Medicine/Surgery 