Rome

Italy / Central Italy / Rome

OVERVIEW

Contraception (Birth Control)

General Note: There are many types of contraceptives, also known as "birth control," including IUDs, oral contraceptives, patches, shots, and condoms, etc. If you would like to view a full list, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Italy, you need a prescription for hormonal birth control, like birth control pills or shots. You don't need a prescription for condoms. According to a 2015 study, 65.3% of Italian women (of reproductive age) used a contraceptive method, and 48.9% of Italian women used a modern method. It was estimated that 11.4% had unmet family planning needs.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• Once you have a prescription for birth control, you can get birth control pills at local pharmacies ("farmacia" in Italian). Some brands you can expect to see are Novogyn 21, Microgynon, Ovranet, Loette and Miranova.
• Nuvaring (the contraceptive ring) is available in Italy. In 2009, it cost around 13 euro. We'll need to update with a more recent rate.
• You can get condoms ("(preservativi") at grocery stores and pharmacies. There are also condom vending machines, which can often be found outside of pharmacies.

Emergency Contraception (Morning After Pill)

Important Notes: Emergency contraception may prevent pregnancy for three days (72 hours) and sometimes five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Take EC as soon as possible after unprotected sex. If you don't have access to dedicated EC, oral contraceptives can be used as replacement EC, but remember the following: 1) Only some contraceptives work as EC 2) Different contraceptives require different dosages and time schedules to work as EC 3) You must only use the first 21 pills in 28-day packs and 4) They may be less effective than dedicated EC. For general information on emergency contraceptives, click here and here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Italy, you can purchase two emergency contraceptive types (morning after pills) without a prescription. LNG EC (like Escapelle and NorLevo 1.5mg) and UPA EC (like ellaOne) are now available over-the-counter from pharmacies for women who are 18 years of age or older. If you want LNG EC, you must get it from a physician (not a pharmacist). If you want UPA EC, you must go to a pharmacy and specifically ask the pharmacy clerk for it, since it's not on the shelves. Also, if you're under 18 years old, you'll still need a prescription to purchase them. However, for all other EC brands, you do need a prescription.

This is a major improvement over past Italian laws, when all EC required a prescription. This caused much distress for women in the past, and you can read a personal account a foreign student's difficulties trying to access EC in the past here. Fortunately, since April 2015, UPA EC has been available over-the-counter, and since October 2015, LNG EC has been available over-the-counter.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• In Italy, you can purchase emergency (morning after pill) at pharmacies and through physicians. For many brands, you no longer need a prescription. Some brands you can expect to see are ellaOne (this is an anti-progestin pill, and it's considered the most effective but it's a bit more expensive). There's also some progestin-only brands (which are cheap,er but usually not effective after 3 days), such as Lonel, NorLevo 1.5mg, Unlevo 1500 and Levonelle. For all of these brands, you should take the pill as soon as possible after unprotected sex in order to prevent pregnancy. For more details about accessing these pills with or without prescriptions, see the section above ("Laws & Social Stigmas").
• If you can't access dedicated emergency contraception, you can use birth control pills as replacement EC. Remember that, in 28-day packs, only the first 21 pills can be used. You can take Novogyn 21 (take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 2 more pills 12 hours later). You can also take Microgynon or Ovranet (for both of these brands, take 4 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 4 more pills 12 hours later). There's also Loette and Miranova (for both of these brands, take 5 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 5 more pills 12 hours later).

Costs

If you want an LNG type of birth control (like Escapalle or Norlevo), you can get it for around € 13,10. If you want UPA EC (like ellaOne0, you can get it for around € 26,90.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs/STDs)

Important Notes - Learn about PEP and PrEP: If you think that you've been recently exposed to HIV (i.e. within 72 hours), seek out PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a month-long treatment to prevent HIV infection after exposure, and it may be available in your city. Take PEP as soon as possible. For more information, click here. If you are at risk of HIV exposure, seek out PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a daily oral pill that can prevent HIV infection before exposure. To learn more about PrEP, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

There are no travel or residency restrictions related to HIV or STI status in Italy. If you want to work in certain professions (like medicine), you may be required to take an HIV test, but you results will be confidential.

What to Get & Where to Get It

Testing Facilities

• "If you are a woman I'd recommend Sant'Anna which is a public women's health consultorio in Parioli. I've been there for various gynaecological issues and I'm pretty sure they'd test you for STDs."
• Struttura Complessa di Dermatologia Infettiva, Istituto Dermatologico San Gallicano (IRCCS), Rome, Italy
• Laboratorio di Patologia Clinica e Microbiologia, Istituto Dermatologico San Gallicano (IRCCS), Rome, Italy
• Laboratorio di Immunologia Cellulare, Laboratorio di Virologia, Istituto Nazionale di Malattie Infettive, L. Spallanzani (IRCCS), Rome, Italy
• Reparto di Epidemiologia, Dipartimento di Malattie Infettive, Parassitarie e Immunomediate (MIPI), Istituto Superiore di Sanit� , Rome, Italy

Support

• Università del Sacro Cuore di Roma: Offers HIV treatment. Address: Largo Agostino Gemelli, 8. 00168 Roma.
• Lega italiana per la lotta contro l'AIDS: Address: Corso Regina Margherita, 190/e, 10152 Torino. Phone: +39 011 431 0922. Fax: +39 011 521 7552. E-mail: lila@lila.it
• Associazione Nazionale per la lotta contro l'AIDS: Address: Via Barberini 3, 00187 Roma.
• AnlAids

Medications & Vaccines

What to Get & Where to Get It

• If you have a yeast infection, you can ask for a local version of Fluconazole at the pharmacy.
• Since 2007, Italy has had a national HPV immunization program, targeting 12 years olds.
• In Italy, there is no national PrEP policy or clinical trials. However, Lila and Plus are two activist groups working on PrEP in Italy.

Menstruation

Note: In addition to pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups and menstrual underwear for your period. To learn more about menstrual cups, click here. To learn more about menstrual underwear, click here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

In Italy, you can find pads, tampons and menstrual cups. For pads, they can be found in most supermarkets and you'll have many brands to choose from. For tampons, there are less options. You'll typically find OB (without applicator) or Tampax (with applicator). The prices in the supermarkets are generally better than at pharmacies. For menstrual cups, you have a few options. If you want DivaCup, contact Michele and Barbara Fenati at [lamadreterra@tiscali.it La Madre Terra]: Tel: 0039063611823. Fax: 00390645424411. If you want MoonCup, you can have it delivered from the UK to Italy -- check out the Italian MoonCup website for details. For LadyCup, check out Lady Teen and Popolini. For Lunette, check out Io Solo Donna.

Gynecological Exams

Pregnancy

Abortion

Important Note: There are two main types of abortions: medical (also known as the "abortion pill") and surgical (also known as "in-clinic"). For medical abortions, you take a pill to induce abortion. For surgical abortions, a procedure is performed to induce abortion. For general information about medical and surgical abortions, click here.

Advocacy & Counseling