Teen & Student FAQs

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. offers all kinds of reproductive health care services for teenagers and college students of all sexes and gender identities. We offer birth control, STD testing, options counseling, pregnancy testing, abortion services, and more! You can learn more about our health care services here. 

No. Your appointment and your health care information is completely confidential. We are here to help you, and whether or not you tell your parents about your reproductive health care choices is up to you. 

That being said, we encourage you to involve your parents in your health care, and we're here to talk through how to have tough conversations with your parents. 

Please note: If you're using your parents' health insurance at any age, the charges at Planned Parenthood may show up on their statements and bills. 

If you're a teenager, our priority is to get you the confidential care you need.

We accept many health insurances (see above regarding confidentiality) at our health centers in Washington, D.C., Suitland, MD, and Gaithersburg, MD.

If you are not using health insurance, our services are affordable and we offer many teenagers financial assistance at our Suitland, MD and Gaithersburg, MD health centers.

To find out more, call us at 202-347-8500.

Anybody who has sex may be at risk for pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted diseases.

STDs can be spread during many kinds of sexual activity: like oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, and skin-to-skin genital touching (AKA dry humping without clothes). Some infections are spread through body fluids like semen, vaginal fluids, and blood. Others can be passed when the skin of your mouth or genitals rubs against the skin of someone else’s genitals. Essentially, pretty much any type of sexual content may lead to STD transmission.

First and foremost, STDs usually do not cause any symptoms. Testing is the only way to know for sure if you have an STD. Luckily, STD testing is usually quick, painless, and affordable!

If you're sexually active (as in, you're having oral, anal, or vaginal sex), you should be getting tested 1-2 times per year. If you have unprotected sex or the condom breaks during sex, you should make an appointment to get tested as soon as possible. 

You can get pregnant any time semen (from cum or pre-cum) from a penis gets into a vagina. Pregnancy can also happen if semen gets on a vulva or near the vagina (like if you had wet semen on your fingers and touched a vagina).

The only 100% certain way to avoid pregnancy is not having sexual intercourse. If you are sexually active, you can help prevent pregnancy by using a form of hormonal birth control (the pill, an IUD, the "depo" shot, etc) and a condom. Condoms are the only form of birth control that protect against both pregnancy and STDs.

First, you or your partner should wear a condom every time you have sex. In the event that the condom breaks or you have unprotected sex, we're here to help you without judgment!

You can make an appointment with us to get screened for STDs, get a pregnancy test, and receive emergency contraception. Emergency contraception is taken after unprotected sex to help prevent sperm meeting the egg (which would likely result in pregnancy). We can also answer any questions you have to make sure you're having safe sex in the future.

It's best to make an appointment to receive care from PPMW. The good news is it's easy! You can make an appointment online or call us at 202-347-8500.