A Victorian mother says she's been stripped of her parental rights after a school nurse took her 14-year-old daughter to a doctor to get the Pill.

The girl, from Geelong's Bellarine Secondary College, had not told her parents she was sexually active. Her mother and father only discovering the medication after searching her school bag.

The school's principal defended the staff member's actions saying they were bound to protecting the students' welfare and privacy.

Samantha Aldridge from Relationships Australia believes parents need to maintain open communication with their children, so decisions like this can be made together. She says it's important for parents to know whether their child is sexually active. This open relationship makes for sensible and mature decisions.

How do you make teenagers turn to you when they need help?  What's your experience?

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Marie Stopes, an international rcharity providing a full range of sexual and reproductive healthcare services , provides an online guide for parents about talking to teenagers about sex