Belgrade: Difference between revisions

In Serbia, you can purchase oral contraceptives (birth control pills) over-the-counter. No prescription is required. You can also purchase emergency contraception (the morning after pill) without a prescription.

In Serbia, you can purchase oral contraceptives (birth control pills) without a prescription.<ref>[http://ocsotc.org/wp-content/uploads/worldmap/worldmap.html Globral Oral Contraception Availability]</ref> While there are minimal religious or moral stigmas attached to birth control pills, according to locals, some women may avoid the pill because they consider it detrimental to hormonal health.  

When discussing contraception in Serbia, it's important to consider the state of sex education. As of September 2016, Serbia has no nationwide sex education in public schools,<ref>[http://www.telegraf.rs/english/2375458-sex-education-introduced-in-serbian-schools Sex education introduced in Serbian schools!]</ref> although at least one province has introduced an optional sex education program.<ref>[http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/sex-education-classes-kick-off-in-serbian-province Serbian Province Launches Sex Education Classes]</ref> Most recently, in 2017, the Education Ministry began instructing teachers of preschool and secondary schools to include material on sexual abuse and incest into their curriculum. This has inflamed some conservatives who worry about discussions of sexuality or the "LGBT" lifestyle in the classroom.<ref>[https://sputniknews.com/europe/201704221052884737-serbia-sex-education/ Serb Kids to Listen About LGBT, Non-Trad Sex During Lessons Against Child Abuse]</ref> In total, sex education remains uncommon and even taboo in parts of Serbia, which therefore makes discussion of contraceptive options all the more uncomfortable for some women.

* You can buy '''birth control pills''' in Serbia without a prescription at pharmacies. Some brands you can expect to see are Neogynon, Stediril, Stediril-d and Microgynon-30.<ref>[http://ec.princeton.edu/ Princeton EC Website]</ref> Note that progestin-only pills, like Cerazette and Azalia, are not sold in Serbia (as of May 2017), so local women tend to purchase them in Croatia or Hungary (and then bring them back to Serbia), if they prefer progestin-only pills.

* You can get an '''IUD''' in Serbia, where you'll find the Mirena and Novaplus brand at pharmacies.<ref>[Conversation with Belgrade pharmacist, May 2017]</ref> It is typically used by women who have already had children, but it's not commonly used in general in Serbia. One local said: "I don't know the price or if they will give them to a younger woman." If you know of gynecologists giving IUDs to younger, unmarried or women without children in Serbia, please add information to this section.

* You can find the '''contraceptive ring (Nuvaring)''' in Belgrade pharmacies.<ref>[Conversation with Belgrade pharmacist]</ref>

* It seems like '''contraceptive patches''' aren't available in Serbia (as of May 2017). One Belgrade pharmacist says, "We don't have contraceptive patches in my pharmacy, nor i'm know more of their current availability."<ref>[Conversation with Belgrade pharmacist, May 2017]</ref> Also, no contraceptive patches are listed on the official Serbia page from the International Planned Parenthood contraceptive database.

You may pay the equivalent of € 8,80 for LNG emergency contraception and € 24 for UPA contraception. Note that EC is not reimbursed or covered by social security.<ref>[http://www.ec-ec.org/emergency-contraception-in-europe/country-by-country-information-2/serbia/ ECEC: Serbia]</ref> At one Serbian pharmacy, the price for Escapelle was 1781.27 dinars (May 2017).<ref<[Conversation with Belgrade pharmacist]</ref>

* You can supposedly access PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) for free in Serbia.<ref>[http://www.nelp-hiv.org/uploads/pep-in-nelp.pdf PEP in Nelp]</ref> Contact a local emergency room or hospital to get more information.

* There is currently no PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) program in Serbia, as of May 2017.<ref>[http://www.prepwatch.org/ PrEPWatch World Map]</ref>

* If you have a yeast infection, you can try to get Fluconazole (the generic name for the active ingredient) at pharmacies. In Serbia, the active ingredient Fluconazole may be found in the following medications: Diflucan, Fluco Sandoz, Fluconal, Flukonazol Zdravlje or Flumycozal.<ref>[https://www.drugs.com/international/fluconazole.html Flucanozale]</ref> Also, here's more information from a Serbian pharmacist (May 2017): "The most popular antimicotics are clotrimazole ("canesten"-vag.tbl 3x200mg 554.4, 1x500mg 529,76, vag.cream 554.4; or domestic "kansen" with lower prices: 3x200mg 431.2, cream 431.2), miconazole (gino-daktanol 7x200mg tbl. 374.28 ), enticonazole (lomexin 1cps 351.24), nystatin (macmiror -12 tb 1095.99 re cream 819.77, polygynax-6cps 388, 12 cps 776.04), butoconazole (cream name - gynofort, 526.80 ). And then some wide broad spectrum antimicrobials for mixed infections like povidone iodine (povidon jod tbs - i lost the price, betadine), dequalinium chloride (fluomizin tb. 890.37) or oral cps like diflucan, 1x150mg or 7x50 mg (forgot to check the exact prices). And there are vaginal probiotics, alone or with hormones (gynoflor), or fitoeostrogens (vagilact 746.46) probiotics only: gynophilus 14 tbs, or gynophilus SR 2 tbs (1377.34), lactogyn vaginal and oral cps (around 1200-1300). Then different gels or tbs for balancing vaginal flora: multigyn gels lubricants or infection treating,vaginal gels for moisture lactogyn (lactic acid); intimo help tbs (558.6), and many others on the market."<ref>[Conversation with a Serbian pharmacist]</ref>

* Serbia has no nationwide HPV vaccination program (as of April 2017), despite the fact that cervical cancer ranks as the second most prevalent cancer for women (ages 15-44) in Serbia.<ref>[http://www.hpvcentre.net/statistics/reports/SRB_FS.pdf Serbia: Human Papillomavirus and Related Cancers, Fact Sheet 2017]</ref>