World Contraception Day - a day for women and men to celebrate

A joint initiative supported by sexual and reproductive healthcare providers Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia (SH&FPA), the Asian Pacific Council on Contraception (APCOC), Bayer Schering Pharma and Marie Stopes International. The day encourages young people to make informed choices in relation to contraception and parenthood in order to allow them lead empowered lives.

Family Planning NSW offers Factsheets and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) online, which answer those tricky questions about reproductive and sexual health.

Leading health experts meet to bridge gaps in reproductive health knowledge

New research released today to coincide with World Contraception Day (26 September) has revealed Australian women are not as sexually savvy as they'd like to think, with severe knowledge gaps existing in areas as basic as their menstrual cycle and contraception putting them at risk of a number of issues such as unplanned pregnancy.

Only half (53 per cent) of Australian women aged 20 to 34 can identify the date of their next period. Alarmingly, awareness declines with age with only 45 per cent of women aged between 30 and 34 able to predict when their period is due. With the research also finding two in three Aussie women are engaging in unprotected sex , it seems we're missing the boat when it comes to understanding sexual and reproductive health.

The inaugural Women's Health Panel Meeting , held in June this year, brought together Australia's foremost experts in the areas of women's health, sexual and reproductive health, mental health and dermatology, to identify knowledge gaps amongst Australians and discuss possible solutions. The meeting was sponsored by Bayer Schering Pharma and supported by Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia.

Dr Christine Read, spokesperson from Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia (SH&FPA) and Chair of the inaugural Australian Women's Health Panel Meeting believes inconsistent sex education has led to a generation of Australian women who don't know the basics of their own sexual health.

"Australian women are not aware of how much they don't actually know about sexual and reproductive health,' said Dr Read 'and unfortunately don't realise this until a crisis occurs."

"It's worrying that young women continue to engage in unprotected sex, but it is equally concerning that many women don't have basic knowledge of their menstrual cycle. For example, many women don't realise they can get pregnant even if they have unprotected sex outside the time they're ovulating," said Dr Read.

Unplanned pregnancy is a reality for over 50 per cent of Australian women, and with World Contraception Day falling this Saturday 26 September, the Panel, along with other sexual health experts, are calling for the better use of educational resources for women, particularly in the areas of understanding contraception and their menstrual cycle.

Jill Michelson, National Clinical Advisor for Marie Stopes believes that when it comes to contraception, not only do women need to use it, but they need to know how to use it properly.