Delaying children until you are mentally, spiritually, and financially ready to care for them is the right way to go. In today’s economy, some families are choosing not to add to their brood just yet. Many are delaying the addition of children because they simply can’t afford to raise them right now. In some cases, they are turning to sources like Planned Parenthood to help with medical and contraception needs.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania branch of Planned Parenthood says there has been a “10% increase in the number of women coming into its local centers in the past three months, …read more

When I was a teen (in the dark ages), the most women had to worry about if they were sexually active was getting pregnant or catching a treatable sexually transmitted disease (STD). Because of the pregnancy concern, the Pill was a major breakthrough for women, changing their lives.
Unfortunately, the world has changed significantly since the 70s. Now, sex without a barrier method of protection is like playing Russian Roulette. I don’t think we should even call barrier protection birth control. That’s a misnomer, in my mind. Those barriers are life-savers. They prevent the transmission of illnesses like HIV, which may …read more

Now that the shotgun has been lowered, it seems the possibility of the wedding between Bristol Palin and the father of her child, Levi Johnston, is off – at least for now. Levi, who says they broke up a week or two ago, says he’s not “mature enough” for marriage. Wow. What a shocker there.
This happened in my family when my sister was barely 19. My sister married the guy; They’re now divorced. Their youngest daughter Ashley, now 16, is hanging out with us this week for spring break and I’m getting a crash course in high-schooler-ology. Sure, teach abstinence, …read more

This is a topic I read about in a recent issue of one of my many magazines, and I can’t find the one: doctors refusing to prescribe birth control and other treatments because it conflicts with their religious beliefs.For religious reasons, I as a patient refuse certain treatments, but I was shocked to learn that doctors can say that they won’t treat me because of a religious objection. The religious side of me understands where they’re coming from, but the patient side of me doesn’t give a rat’s patootie. If you sign up to provide medical care, you have to …read more

Earlier this year, we had some very lively discussion on whether it’s appropriate to mandate the HPV vaccine for school-age girls. Some folks argued that parents don’t know when their kids will become sexually active (let’s all hope it’s older than 12, shall we?), so mandating the vaccine protects girls who many not know that they’re risking cervical cancer with sexual activity.
NYT health blogger Tara Parker-Pope revealed some startling findings (reported by researchers at Columbia University) that make me think that contraception during the middle school years may not be such a bad idea after all:

Middle school kids “date.” Nearly …read more