Sex ed, pregnancy and type 1 diabetes
July 24, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Women's Health
Sex education in the classroom has its supporters and opponents, but there are other aspects in teaching children and teens about reproduction than just how babies are made. A case in point: girls with type 1 diabetes need to learn about the issues that are involved when a woman with this type of diabetes becomes pregnant.
According to a study done in Pittsburgh, PA, researchers found that teen girls with type 1 diabetes (what used to be called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes) didn’t know that there were risks during pregnancy that their friends without diabetes wouldn’t have.
According to the article, Special sex ed course effective for diabetic girls, the researchers developed a program to help teach about the how diabetes “affects puberty, reproductive health, sexuality and pregnancy, and is
also designed to help girls develop their decision-making and
communications skills.”
This is one of those millions of reasons that I think we need comprehensive education on the human body, processes and interactions. From parents, educators, self-discovery. It’s all crucial.