Marie Stopes is not just an abortion clinic.

It was a Saturday morning in Mthatha when I found myself thinking about how I will go through the gates of Marie Stopes on Sprigg street with my head held high, the way I always do. considering I wasn't there for an abortion I ought to walk in with no shame, and so I did.

I was there for my family planning visit, to discuss a birth control plan that suits me with one of the nurses there, who answered all of my questions to the best of her ability. We had an interesting conversation I asked her:
 "being a black woman you obviously  have morals and probably are church going, how do you deal with working here considering the stigma attached to the place?"
she answered me: "You know alot of people dont realise that our services are not only abortion related as you know we offer family planning and HIV/AIDS testing as well." she went on to tell me about the other services Marie Stopes offeres. unfortunately we didn't get to the moral issue of being a christian woman of her age and working at a place with the Stigma attached to it.

I was pleased with the customer service at Marie Stopes, they are relatively less mean that the nurses I have come across at state institutions. These are services offered at Marie Stopes:

• contraceptives
• HIV/STIs
• Male circumcision
• Pap smear and HPV
• Vaccine
• Safe abortion
• safe sex
• unwanted pregnancy
• vasectomy

my point here is, the sooner everyone not only women realize that Marie Stopes is not an abortion clinic but its also a clinic for males as well, for me personally it is a place where I will get what I want without getting judged for it.

better safe than sorry, RIGHT?

what I have noticed about sex talk in varsity is that it goes all the way, unlike stolen sex talk in high school where we discussed who's getting it, and who's being promiscuous and giving it to everyone, here's the thing though, we never ever discussed contraception.

here(in Varsity) sex isn't as much a felony as it is in high school, which is understandable. would we have the current rate of teenage pregnancy if the subject was discussed among the teens?

what is birth control? basically prevention, measures that women can take to avoid falling pregnant. Note: I refer to Women therefore not having sex is not a form of contraception that I will discuss. Among South African women especially varsity students the 2 most common methods of birth control include the Injection and the birth control pill, there's different types of the two, the woman chooses the kind that best suits her and her body.

the Injection....this here contains the hormone progesterone and works over a certain period of time depending on the type of injection the woman chose. there are two types of the contraceptive injection:

• Depo- Provera provides protection against pregnancy for three months.
• Neristerate provides protection for two months. 

the upside of using the injection:

• it is highly effective
• it does not interfere with sex.
• breastfeeding women can also use it.

and the downside....

• the injection makes the woman's period highly irregular, in some cases a woman's period stop completely.
• other women experience weight gain; acne;headaches; mood swings and bloating.
• your fertility and periods can get a while to get back to normal after stopping this contraceptive

woman can get the contraceptive injection for free at state hospitals and clinics.

the other method of contraception common among students is the pill.

the pill,also called the combined pill because it contains oestrogen and progestogen. many women rely on the pill because of its effectiveness when taken at the same time everyday.

the upside of the pill:

• the pill puts a stop to period pains.
• it also makes periods shorter and lighter.

the downside:

• you can get headaches, nausea, slight spotting of blood between periods and a little weight gain.
• if the woman does not follow a healthy diet it might have a negative effect on her libido.

it seems we cant get away from the weight gain ladies.

 in my research i came across 12 different types of birth control. and those included the almighty male and female condom that also protects us from getting diseases like HIV/AIDS.

 So we have a wide range to choose from. it can seem like allot of admin. but trust me, its really better to be safe than sorry.

references: the contraceptive injection- http://www.safersex.co.za/family-planning-Contraceptive-Injections.htm : the pill- http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/sex_relationships/facts/contraceptivepills.htm