Introduction: An important aspect of sexual and reproductive health is protection against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Family planning is associated with a number of health benefits, including reducing unwanted pregnancies, improving infant health, and reducing pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. There are currently 15 methods of contraception available in the world, so an individual can choose the one that suits him best. People often turn to healthcare professionals (midwives, nurses) working in women's health care for advice on choosing contraception, so it is important that they are familiar with individual methods of contraception and know their advantages and disadvantages. Purpose: The purpose of the diploma thesis is to investigate the knowledge of contraceptive methods among students of midwifery and nursing. Methods: The empirical method of work is used in the diploma thesis. Scientific and professional literature in Slovene and English, published between 2011 and 2021, was used. The literature was searched in COBISS databases, DiKUL, ScienceDirect and Cochrane bibliographic databases. In the quantitative part, a survey was conducted among midwifery and nursing students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana. An online questionnaire in the 1KA tool was created. The invitation to participate was sent via e-mail to the common e-mail addresses of individual classes of selected study programs. Results: An online questionnaire of 21 questions was fuly completed by 156 students. Students are well acquainted with the workings of contraception and individual methods, but have a lack of knowledge about the side effects and contraindications of use. The biggest discrepancy among midwifery and nursing students was knowledge of natural methods of contraception and sterilization. Discussion and conclusion: A test of contraceptive knowledge among students showed that midwifery students have a good knowledge of contraception and nursing students have sufficient. Healthcare professionals working in the field of women's healthcare should be well acquainted with contraceptive methods, as people often turn to them for advice. Most of the general population first think of birth control pills and condoms when they mention contraception, so healthcare professionals should pay more attention to other methods that offer protection against unwanted pregnancies.
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