One of the first places to look for information and birth control is your state's local Health Department Woman's Clinic. Just look in your local yellow pages under Birth Control, Health Care Facilities, or contact a local doctor for information. You can also check your white pages for a local Planned Parenthood office, but these offices are not in all areas.
Once you know what offices or clinics are in your area, you need to know what kind of birth control you want. Some of the things that you should take into consideration is how often you need to take it (daily, monthly, or longer), how spontaneous sex would be when using it, side effects that you could not deal with (spotting or bleeding between periods, lack of periods), and how easy it is to use (an injection, a daily pill, a diaphram). The best way to see what you want in a birth control method is to make a list of wants and don't wants similar to this one. By making a list you will be able to talk to your doctor or nurse about what method would be best for you and your lifestyle. You can use a form just like the example above here for making your own list.
Some of the forms of birth control that are available from free clinics include birth control pills, condoms, foams, IUD, Depo-Provera, Family Planning instruction and other methods depending on the clinic's size. Some large clinics will offer Norplant, diaphram, and the cervical cap. When you call the clinic in your area, ask what forms of birth control are available, and let the person scheduling the appointment know which one(s) you are interested in.
When making the appointment, make a mental note of what day your last period started on. Depending on the method(s) that you are interested in, you should have the appointment scheduled within a few days of your next period starting, or you may need to make a second trip to the clinic within a week or so. Also depending on your modesty level, you may feel uncomfortable being examined during your period. If this is the case, talk to the person scheduling the appointment about what time during your cycle you should come in.
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