Contraception and sexual health

Types of contraception

There are many methods of contraception to choose from and it is worth taking the time to find out more about each one, so that you can choose contraception that suits you.

There are 13 methods of contraception for women and 2 for men (the male condom and male sterilisation). Please note that Mirena coils are available for contraceptive purposes only. You can discuss contraception with our trained nurses by booking an appointment with your local iCaSH clinic. Or read more about contraception choices.

Sexual health

A sexually transmitted infection (STI) can be passed from one person to another through sexual contact, including vaginal, anal and oral sex. You can get or pass on an STI to or from whoever you're having sex with. STIs can pass between men and women and from women to women and men to men.

Read more about STIs and other genital infections.

We're often asked if we have patient information about contraception, sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy choices available in other languages.

We want everyone in the UK to have access to accurate, up-to-date sexual health information in a language that suits them, but we don't currently have the resources to translate our information into lots of different languages. This website has Google Translate. We are looking at ways we might be able to produce information in other languages or signpost you to helpful resources.

Resources from other organisations: The Zanzu website has simple information on contraception, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, relationships and sexuality available in the following languages:

Albanian
Arabic
Bulgarian
Dutch

English
French
German
Polish

Romanian
Russian
Spanish
Turkish

The website is a project of the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) and Sensoa, the Flemish Expertise Centre for Sexual Health so please be aware that some of the information is specifically about services in Germany and may not be suitable for patients/clients in the UK, however where you have specific information requirements please contact your local sexual health clinic.