Argentina is a Catholic country, but the good news is getting birth control in Buenos Aires is incredibly easy.
If you find yourself in need, here are 3 easy steps to how to get birth control in Argentina, including how to ask for your prescription in Spanish.
When I first moved to Buenos Aires, I was terrified by the idea of finding a new gynecologist and getting a prescription that worked for me.
I happen to suffer from the dreaded endometriosis; and my birth control is kind of what keeps me functional, so I had to figure out how to get it rather quickly. If you’re planning on being in Buenos Aires or Argentina for a long time, here’s how to get birth control in Buenos Aires.
Step 1: Head to the Pharmacy
In Buenos Aires you don’t need to go to the doctor to get a prescription for birth control. You simply head to the pharmacy. The best thing to do is bring the pharmacist all the information you have on your current birth control.
Step 2: Save or Bring Your Prescription Information
You know that little folded up packet with itty bitty print that comes with your pills that you always toss out? Save it for your travels.
Chances are, your birth control doesn’t exist in Buenos Aires, but something similar does. The pharmacist will be able to look at the packet and check all the specific levels of hormones within your pill and find you the best match.
Step 3: How to Ask for Birth Control in Spanish
If you don’t speak Spanish very well, here are a few helpful phrases that should make this process a little less painful:
“Necesito pastillas anticonceptivas.” – I need birth control pills
“Este es mi receta” – This is my prescription
“¿Hay algo parecido?” – Is there something similar?
11 Comments
What a handy article. It’s something that you may not think of before you leave. Nice to have some backup.
In Vietnam, no prescriptions are required anywhere. You just write down the medication you want and the pharmacist will give you that (or something similar). But you have to be careful. Most Vietnamese don’t want to take locally made or Chinese made drugs. It’s best to check the expiry date and the country of origin before you buy. Probably a good idea to do that in South America too.
Thanks for stoppin in! That’s really interesting about Vietnam and Chinese-made medicine. Makes you think, for sure!
In other, more remote parts of South America you might want to be careful. Checking the expiration date is not a bad suggestion. However, Buenos Aires has incredible medical schools and state of the art doctors. Like I mentioned in my article, they are very good at matching the medicine you are looking for with something you need. My pharmacist even wanted me to call him after I started with the pill to make sure it was working for me.
I bought BC in Colombia and Ecuador, no prescription required and I just showed them my old box. Bought it for a fraction of what it costs at home.
Great article! I wish I read this before I left the states to BA! Thankfully a friend of mine directed me in the right direction though, and like you said, once you know where to go it is super easy to get. I used the brand Divina, and they gave me as many packs as I wanted for about 15 USD per pack, much less than in the US!
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Rease, which pharmacy did you go to? My daughter tried your advice, but it didn’t work. She was told that she needed something from a doctor. Will you please let me know right away so I can pass the information on to her? Thank you.
Eva,
Please feel free to email me.
I have gone to 4 different pharmacies and never had a problem. The one I went to the first time was on Malabia and Guemes in Palermo, I dont remember the name but it is right on the corner. I have also gone to one on the corner of Juan B Justo and Paraguya (Palermo area)
Thanks for the tips, especially your suggestion to bring the little drug info packet! I went to the Farmacity on San Martin in Villa Crespo – the pharmacist matched the chemicals exactly to my prescription in the US, and was very pleasant and helpful. It was also much, much cheaper than buying at home. I wish it was this easy for women everywhere.
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Thank you for this post! You may be interested in the Gynopedia page for Buenos Aires, which provides information on birth control, the morning after pill, STI tests and more in Buenos Aires: http://gynopedia.org/Buenos_Aires.