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, many of whom are recently unemployed.”

I wonder if we’ll have a full-fledged baby boom once the economy finally picks up?

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Too Broke for Kids

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 develop into AIDS.

Of course, there’s also the age-old problem of some men not wanting to wear a condom. They don’t like it makes them feel, they say it takes away from the spur of the moment, the don’t like wearing them, and so on. In many cases, the women have no say and they give in.

Talk of a female condom has been around for years. But now the talk is a reality. Although an earlier version of the female condom has been around for a while, it had its critics. This one, the second generation is supposed to be less expensive and easy to use.

According to this press release issued by the Center for Health & Gender Equity (CHANGE):

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regulatory approval to the FC2 female condom, a lower-cost, second generation product manufactured by the Female Health Company — a move widely praised by HIV/AIDS and women’s health and rights advocates globally.

“We join women around the world in applauding the FDA’s swift action to approve the FC2 female condom,” stated Serra Sippel, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity. “The HIV pandemic among women requires increased investment in woman-centered prevention options, and FC2 approval is an important step forward in putting the power of prevention in women’s hands.”

Something like this can help women take charge of their lives; it can have a significant impact.

Every girl needs to know how to protect herself before she becomes sexually active. Hopefully, with new products like an affordable and easy-to-use condom, this will be easier to do.

~~~

Images: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

FDA approves new female condom

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, but we’re talking about a group of hormone-raging kids who think they know far more about life than us adults. She seems like a good kid – swears she’s a virgin. I just hope she uses her head.

Here is some encouraging news for parents (and aunts) of teenagers and young adults. A new provision in the proposed budget signed by President Obama last week could help significantly reduce the cost of birth control for young women by allowing pharmaceutical companies to reinstate discounts on contraceptives that they had previously offered to family planning clinics. Those discounts had been slashed because of a 2005 federal law, designed to save taxpayers money on Medicaid reimbursements for drugs. An unfortunate side effect of that law financially dissuaded pharmaceutical companies from selling their products to these pharmacies at reduced prices. So women began to see contraceptive pills and product costs rise from $5 to $10 a month to $30 to $50 a month. While there is no guarantee pharmaceutical companies will discount their birth control meds, at least now they are not discouraged to do so.

Sources:
New York Daily News
Associated Press
Photo, Sancya/AP

JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

Clinics May Soon Offer Discounted BC Pills

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

Post from: Blisstree

Can Your Doctor Refuse to Treat You on Moral Grounds?

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 half of the kids ages 14 and younger who were surveyed reported having been on a date or having had a romantic relationship in the previous 18 months.
• About one in five kids had had sexual intercourse by age 14. Percentages increased with age. By age 12, 4 to 5 percent of adolescents had had sex. At age 13, the figure had increased to 10 percent, and by age 14 it was between 18 and 19 percent.
• Boys are more likely than girls to have had sex at an early age. By age 12, 2 to 4 percent of girls had been sexually active, while 6 to 8 percent of boys had been sexually active.
• Among kids having sex, three-quarters reported using condoms. However, half of the 14-year-olds surveyed incorrectly believed it was against the law for kids under 16 to buy condoms.
• One in seven sexually active girls in this age group had been pregnant.

HPV vaccine aside, what does this mean for the sexual and emotional health of our children? What role does sex ed play? What can parents do to educate and protect their kids? What do you think?

Addendum: See Sara’s take, “Maine Middle School to Offer Birth Control to 11 Year Olds” at Healthbolt.

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

Post from: Blisstree

How Young Is Too Young for Birth Control?