In Norway, every man and woman is entitled to information about the various contraceptives from a public health nurse, midwife or doctor. It is also possible to search for information on the internet or contact a counselling service.
There are
- contraceptives that you can buy without a prescription,
- contraceptives that you can only buy with a prescription,
- contraceptives that you are given directly by a public health nurse, midwife or doctor.
Contraceptives not requiring a prescription
There are a few contraceptives which you can buy without a prescription. This means that you can buy these contraceptives without first visiting a doctor.
You can get the following contraceptives without a prescription:
- Condoms: You can order free condoms from gratiskondomer.no or get them from the youth health centre. You can also buy condoms from pharmacies, health and beauty retailers, supermarkets, petrol stations and online. Make sure that you buy the right size, that the packaging is not broken and that the condom is not too old.
- Diaphragms: You can buy a diaphragm online and from some pharmacies. The diaphragm available in Norway is a one-size-fits-all, which fit many women but is less secure than other contraceptive methods.
- Female condom: you can buy female condoms online.
Contraceptives requiring a prescription
There are hormonal contraceptives for which you require a prescription from a public health nurse, midwife or doctor, as not every woman tolerates hormonal contraceptives well.
Once you have a prescription, you can get the contraceptive from a pharmacist.
You need a prescription from a public health nurse, a midwife or your doctor to buy the following contraceptives:
- pill
- mini pill
- vaginal ring
- contraceptive patch
Contraceptives that are inserted by a health professional
There are contraceptives that must be inserted by a public health nurse, midwife or doctor:
Costs
- Homonal contraceptives and the copper IUD are free of charge if you are between 16 and 19 years old. If you are between 20 and 22 years old you only need to cover part of the cost. After you turn 22 you need to pay for everything yourself.
- You can get free condoms at gratiskondomer.no or at the youth health centre. If you buy the condoms elsewhere you need to cover the expenses yourself.
Age limits
If you are younger than 16 you should have consent from your parents for the public health nurse, midwife or doctor to prescribe contraceptive pills or other contraceptives. They can make an exception if you cannot or do not want to talk with your parents about contraception.
All women older than 16 can get contraception from a public health nurse, midwife or doctor. Your parents or your partner will not need to know about this, as health professionals have the duty of confidentiality.
Both men and women are responsible for using contraception. It can build trust to talk with your partner. Both parts have the right to decide if they want to use contraception themself, but nobody can force their partner to use contraception.
