You need to find a confidential clinic that can help you. You can't use your mom's insurance - it will show up, and birth control might not even be covered.

You're old enough to be considering sex and the Pill, so you're old enough to find your own doctor. Most clinics will operate on a sliding scale so you only pay what you can afford.

Don't forget to get info about STDs too. If you boyfriend isn't a virgin he needs to get tested and you should probably use condoms too.

Look up 'birth control clinic' in the phone book. They offer reduced rates for young people and your medical plan is not billed. It is completely confidential and it is cheaper than getting it from the pharmacy. It is usually all women run, they do counselling, pap smears, STI testing, etc..
They also will counsel you on all the birth control options and you can bring your guy with you so that he can support you, take responsiblity for this with you and you 2 can learn about birth control options together. They also offer free condoms, please use them in addition to the pill if your partner is not a virgin. If you are under 18, I believe that they give a reduced rate for the pill. Not sure on exact price but it is probably under 15 dollars a month. Your doctor is legally obligated to not breach confidentiality unless ordered by a court. He will not and should not tell anyone about this. However, I am not sure about the medical billing part. I would suggest birth control clinic because it will be cheaper anyways. Good luck.

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world." Buddha

P.S. In case the clinic needs to contact you for any reason, you can also tell them that you absolutely do NOT want your parents knowing and arrange for them to call you only on your cell phone and to not mail anything that has a return postage. For example, pap smear reminders, etc..

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world." Buddha

look for a planned parenthood or something similar that will keep your appointment confidential and start saving your money. birth control is pretty pricey even if you do have insurance.

First of all, your parents WILL figure it out. You can hide it from them for a while, but living a lie is never fun and will eventually catch up with you. So you should really make sure that sex is something you're prepared to take on... there's a business side that puts a damper on the fun and games. It is SO HARD to take it at the right time when you're worried about people you live with finding out, and really hard to hide the evidence. You might find that the guilt you feel afterwards (hiding things from your parents) does more damage to your relationship with your bf than whatever goodness you think will come from being intimate. Or it could destroy your relationship with your parents because they'll know you're hiding something by your behavior. There are also clinical side effects... PMS could get worse or better, you could gain weight, if you smoke there are risks of blood clots... and it's not 100% effective, so you'll want to be using condoms at the same time. You'll want to know your family medical history to assess the risks. Sure, you're young and probably not going to want to think about any of this, but you won't be invincible forever. As someone who's currently dealing with some really strange side effects to a birth control that wasn't right for me, I can tell you that it's incredibly important to have all the facts before you jump into something. And the resources to seek medical attention if something goes wrong.

That said, go to a women's health clinic. When I was in college, BC was around $15/month at the Planned Parenthood. Now it costs more, I've heard about $30, but they do have the sliding scale so you'll pay less because you don't have much of an income. I have my own insurance and Ortho-Tri-Cyclin-Lo was for some reason on their "premium" list and costs $50/mo. I refuse to take generics... the active ingredients might be the same, but the inactive ingredients are not. Kind of a personal belief... babies cost more than $600/year, so it's worth the extra cost. Good luck with this!

Uh, notinthemood are you a Republican or something? Your answer was horrible. The poster is taking her health into her own hands and should be commended for it, not berated and told she isn't ready. Geez.

Janine22 had great advice. I second the suggestion to use condoms as well as the Pill — not because it's ineffective, but because condoms protect you against disease. (It's actually *imperative* in the first month, but you should be safe anyway.) Good luck, and be sure to go back to your doc if you do experience unpleasant side effects. I generally tolerated the pill pretty easily, but some friends needed to try a few before they found one that worked well with their systems.

If you've had a history of depression, check out the pill before you get on it. It messes with your hormones so it can make your symptoms worse (that's what it did with me at least!)
I came from the same kind of family - all I used at that time was condoms. Easy to hide (as long as you don't have sex at your place) and no one's the wiser. Condoms are as safe as birth control. While they CAN "ruin the moment" and such (lol) I've had much better luck with condoms only then with a pill. That's just me though - figure out what method would work best for you. Just bear in mind that the pill is not the only form of birth control out there... and some are a bit more easily hidable.
I was on meds when I lived at home and I didn't want my parents to find out so I hid them in old asprin bottles... mixed with the real meds of couse. Don't know if you could do that with birth control pills, as I've never taken them, but it's a thought....?
If it's on your parents insurance they can find out if they look for it... at least that's how it is in the states. The drs should be able to give you more info. I just went in to the hospital for a "check up" without my mom, and then got my meds without using the insurance. Thus all she would see on her bill was a "check up". But check first just to be sure.

hang in there... prying parents can be annoying but just remember that they want your best (or at lesat what they think is best)

Wow, Luisa... actually, as I have said I am currently having some negative side effects due to a birth control that wasn't right for me. And Liz says that her BC messed with her depression meds. Someone who lives with her parents is going to find it very hard to hide the fact that she's on hormone pills, and if something goes wrong (God-forbid) will probably be too ashamed to ask to see a doctor about any side effects. I could be wrong, but the OP sounds like she's pretty young. My personal belief is that if you can't tell your parents, you probably shouldn't be doing it (at least, not until you're far enough away that it doesn't matter if they find out). If you just don't want to share (because you're not close) that's one thing, but if they would disown you or kick you out if they found out, that puts a HUGE amount of pressure on you to keep it a secret. So pretending like they'll never find out is kind of unreasonable. Political affiliation has absolutely nothing to do with it. I think the OP needs to be prepared to accept the potential consequences, as she stated that it is absolutely imperative that her parents don't find out.

OP...Another alternative is the shot or the patch... I've known a few people to react badly to it, but the big plus is that there are no daily pills to take.

First off, be sure you want to go on the pill and not just stick with condoms for now. Is this your decision? I really hope you're not deciding that you want to go on the pill because your boyfriend doesn't want to wear a condom or something silly.

As Notinthemood kind of mentioned, pills are great for many people, but they CAN cause side effects in some people. Ex: I started my very first bc last year (loestrin 24) and my hair started shedding like crazy (and I have a ridiculous amount of hair). I switched after 3 months and I think it is finally almost all the way better... but trust me, it is no fun to have a surprise side effect. So, that said, be sure that you know what you are getting yourself in to. Of course, you may not have any side effects with the pill but just to be safe, tell your doctor EVERYTHING about your medical history and if you are concerned about any specific side effects, speak up! Birth control is a real medication so if you are going to start using it, you need to be responsible and make sure that you are not going to mess with your body too much by taking it.

Like others have said, non-profit clinics are the best way to go.

Good luck!

I am also from Canada and I recommend you to look MSP for your province (Medical Service Plan) and see how you can be covered for the birth control. I take Alesse 21 and luckily I have never have any negative side effectives from taking birth control. Under the MSP I roughly pay $20 for three months of Alesse and when I had student care insurance through my university medical insurance plan I paid about $8 for three months. I was never covered under my parent's private insurance and I was solely covered by MSP and student care insurance. I think even if you enroll in MSP, you will still need to unenroll yourself from your mom's insurance and doing that will probably arise suspicion on your part. You can easily hide the pills, as they are packaged small and get rid of the evidence, but your mom's insurance is tricky. I am not sure how old you are, but I am over 18 years old, so I have to take care of issues like this myself. Your doctor should never reveal private medical issues with your family members because of doctor patient confidentiality. You will also need to discuss which pill is appropriate for you with your doctor. My doctor advised low hormone pills for me as they have less side effects. Some people may have to take a pill with higher doses of hormones. You need to be careful if you are taking antibiotics while on the pill. As Liz posted the birth control pills messed with her depression pills, the pill is ineffective when you are taking antibotics at the same time, so it is critical that you use a condom when taking BC and antibiotics. I hope this helps you somewhat in terms your birth control question and medical coverage questions.

oops sorry, I am from British Columbia and the MSP is available only to BC residents. You will need to look up what your province offers.

I commend you on being responsible about your own health and body. Although it is tricky that you do not want to talk to your parents, I have many friends who have been in a similar situation to you. I have one friend that told her mom she wanted to get on the pill simply to help with her acne and cramping, she showed her mom all the statistics on how the pill helped with these issues, and for years her mom had no idea that she had any ulterior motive.

Regardless, I agree with the majority of the other posters. I do not think it is the end of the world that you want to do this without your parents knowledge. As long as you are responsible enough to be honest with the doctor/clinic you do go to, and be certain to be watching for any side effects, especially the first couple months. You will also HAVE to use condoms, or alternative protection, for at least the first month you are on the pill, while it is becoming effective. I also think that you AND your boyfriend should be tested ahead of time for any STD/STIs. If he is not willing to be tested, then use a condom. Remember, the pill only prevents pregnancy.

I went to Planned Parenthood while I was in college, it was entirely confidential and affordable. I am sure there is a similar option in Canada. Be honest with them, ask a lot of questions, and talk to them about all the possible side effects you may experience.

Birth control/STD clinics in Canada are the equivalent of Planned parenthood in the states. But we generally receive more medical coverage in Canada, so I would be very surprised if the cost exceeded more than 15 dollars per month. In fact, it is probably less than that. As I said earlier, they offer reduced rates for birth control, there should be no need to contact any medical service plan. Despite any negative side effects that some experience while on the pill, it is better to be taking it than ending up pregnant at a young age. Good luck.

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world." Buddha