Background: There are legal
regulations about sexual and
reproductive rights of
adolescents . However, this legal framework (LF) may have contradictory
elements there are
laws assuring
confidentiality and
access to contraception at any age but there are other
laws that consider any sexual contact with an
adolescent younger than 14 a
sexual assault , whose
report to the legal authorities in mandatory.
Aim: To explore the
knowledge and clinical practice of
primary health care (PHC) providers regarding prevention of
teenage pregnancy . Material and
Methods: Qualitative study collecting data using semi-structured interviews made to
midwives and directors of PHC centers.
Analysis of the data was based on
Grounded Theory .
Results: There is a differentiated clinical care for
pregnancy prevention among
adolescents if they are over 14 years old. This is due to the LF, specifically to the sexual
crime s
law (19,927) and the
law about
regulation of the
fertility (20,418). The differences
affect health care , access and
counseling about
contraception and
confidentiality .
Healthcare of
teenagers under the age of 14 is perceived as problematic for providers, due to the possible legal implications.
Conclusions: The LF causes insecurity on
health care providers and derives in a differentiated clinical approach according to the
patient ´s age. This is a
barrier to provide timely and confidential access to
counseling and
contraception .