So frustrating!

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2004
So frustrating!
Sun, 06-03-2007 - 11:57pm

So, I've been having a hard time lately and just need to vent a little...

Do you guys have any idea how difficult it is to get birth control in some areas? I am 21 years old, living in south Mississippi...and quickly coming to the conclusion that affordable women's healthcare in this state is nonexistant.

Our area has no affordable clinics, no Planned Parenthood chapter, nothing.
I have been going to the state-funded health department/WIC clinic for the past three years, but have really gotten to the point where I hate going in that place. I'm technically not low-income, but as a college student working part time I can barely squeak by and qualify for their free exams and birth control. However...you know how store clerks tend to get that whole 'holier than thou look down my nose at you piece of trash' attitude with people who use food stamps and government supplements to buy their groceries? Well, that's pretty much the atmosphere in those clinics. There is no privacy whatsoever, and the nurses tend to be quite rude; it's obvious they could care less about you. I hate it.

Now, paying for my birth control is not a problem. I can swing $20 or so a month. Doctor visits, however, are a whole other story. I went to one of the local clinics recently (there are several, but all are basically branches of the same hospital/health care facility) for a simple consultation and it was $150! And this was after my parents' insurance (which, incidentally I am no longer allowed to use) had paid their portion!

It is just so annoying. People wonder why the teen/umarried/unplanned birth rate is do high in this forsaken state....maybe if we had access to clinics and birth control (and affordable health care providers that didn't make us feel like second-class citizens) we could fix the problem!!!

/rant