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Women and men globally are delaying the birth of their first child. In the UK, the average age of first conception in women is 29 years. Women experience age-related fertility decline so it is important that men and women are well-informed about this, and other aspects of fertility. A group of UK stakeholders have established the Fertility Education Initiative to develop tools and information for children, adults, teachers, parents and healthcare professionals dedicated to improving knowledge of fertility and reproductive health.

In the UK, long-acting reversible contraceptives have been welcomed by sexual health policy-makers and many practitioners as a particularly effective way of preventing unintended pregnancy, especially teenage conception. However, little is known about women's individual experiences of these forms of contraception beyond limited data on retention rates and reasons for discontinuation. The main aims of this research were to gain a fuller understanding of why some young women have their implants removed, and what may help them maintain this method of contraception if they wish to do so. The contraceptive choices of 20 young women (aged 16-22) who had chosen the implant, and later discontinued it, were examined. They had experienced unacceptable side effects that they attributed to the implant, and interpreted as a threat to their bodily control, which they were not prepared to tolerate. These feelings were exacerbated if they then encountered delays after requesting removal. Although they remained concerned to avoid unintended pregnancy, they generally moved to a less reliable form of contraception following implant removal and felt discouraged from trying other long-acting contraception. We suggest that principles of contraceptive choice should include facilitating the discontinuation of unsatisfactory methods; implant removal should therefore be readily available when requested, regardless of the length of time the implant has been in place. Long-acting forms of contraception do not suit all women, and will not obviate the need for other forms of reproductive control, including legal abortion. © 2013 Reproductive Health MattersKeywords: contraception and unwanted pregnancy, long-acting reversible contraception, implants, reproduction, bodily control, United KingdomThe provision of effective and reliable contraception is vital in enabling women to assert control over their reproductive lives, and reproductive control has long been seen as a central component of feminist calls for women's bodily control.

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This paper examines the ways in which young women demonstrated strategies of resistance to internalised abortion stigma. It does so through secondary analysis of young women's narratives from two qualitative studies in England and Wales. Whilst participants felt stigmatised by their abortion [s] in different ways, many also resisted stigmatisation. They did this through different stigma resistance strategies, depending on their socio-economic situation; family and relationship situations; the circumstances in which they became pregnant; and their beliefs and values with respect to abortion and motherhood. Being able to construct their abortion decision as morally sound was an important element of stigma resistance. Although socio-cultural norms and values on abortion, reproduction and motherhood were shown to constrain women's reproductive choices, these norms were all open to challenge. The women were more likely to struggle with their abortion decision-making when they had internalised negativity around abortion. 2The concept of abortion stigma can help explain a range of negative aspects of women's abortion experiences, such as why women experiencing an unintended pregnancy may find it difficult to decide to have an abortion and why women who have an abortion may wish to conceal this.