A new study by the Brookings Institute has shown that just watching the popular MTV reality show 16 and Pregnant has been effective in lowering teen pregnancy incidence. Nearly 6% of the reported overall 18% decline in teen pregnancy rates has been attributed to this show. Brookings also followed Tweets posted during airing times and found the teens, themselves, saying things like “16 and pregnant? How about 18 and graduated?” Go teens!
Share your best stories on how to impact teen pregnancy.
Finally we can all rest. It has been proven. Birth control does not promote risky sexual behavior. Says who? The lovely, very serious Gina Secura, PhD, Researcher at the renowned School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. It doesn’t get better than this.
Anyone looking for more details, please go here.
Everyone else can savor the news and is welcome to enter comments below.
For pro-plan supporters, responsibility in intimacy is a given. If you favor abstinence or the pill, the goal is not to judge, but to support responsible behavior, eliminate the taboos on contraception that plague our society, and make abortion the rare incidence. The message is clear. Or is it?
Ross Douthat, Columnist for The New York Times, penned “More Imperfect Unions” on January 25th, an editorial about the roots of marriage’s decline, implicating more or less the roles of contraception and abortion. Slate’s William Saletan countered on January 27th with “The Case Against Reproductive Freedom.” On January 29th Wall Street Journalist James Taranto added his two cents with “Party Like It’s 1959.” The fury prompted Ross to address their objections on February 20th with “Contraception in the Shadow of Abortion.”
This is all interesting and provocative lecture on how contraception and abortion are potentially intertwined and have possibly changed behavior and the institute of marriage.
We would like to point out, however, that abortion dates back to ancient times. For one, legalization has definitely made it more safe. Is a responsible couple’s desire to explore each other intimately and plan pregnancies not just as ancient?
In a new survey by the Univision organization covering 12,038 self-identified Catholics, 78% of all responders supported the use of contraceptives. Topping the list was Latin America at 91% favorable, Europe with 86% in favor and the US at 79% yes. The Philippines with 68% not in favor were the most strongly opposed and Africa posted 54% against contraception.
These results are consistent with the Gallop poll conducted in 2012 and prove again that vast the majority Catholics are in disagreement with key policies of their own Church.
The perhaps most surprising results from the poll were regarding abortion, where overall 9% responded in favor in all cases and 57% feel it should be allowed in some cases.. In the US, only 20% of participants feel abortion should not be allowed at all.
The survey was conducted in 9 languages, across 5 continents and in 12 countries with self-identified Catholics. These 12 countries represent 61% of the world’s Catholic population.
What do you think?
The Population Institute has issued the US an overall C- on its second annual Women’s Health report card. The main culprit of the grade is the persistence that about 50% of all pregnancies in the US are unintended. Weighing in against this was the major win of emergency contraceptive Plan B One Step being made available OTC and without age restrictions.
California, Oregon, Washington and Maryland all were awarded As. Overall, however, only 17 states were awarded the grade B- or better. Sadly, 13 states received an absolute failing grade including Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Get the full report on your state’s performance at the Population Institute’s website. Tell us what you think.
We would like to not be considered pro-IUD above all others, but with so many misconceptions about it still lingering, we are happy to share reprints of such articles, the latest here from HuffPost entitled IUDs 8 Things Every Woman Should Know.
It cannot be that even medical care providers are not clear on the current status of IUDs. They may not be for everyone and certainly some women do not wear them well. But at 99% effective and an extremely efficient price-point, this must be an option for all to consider.
Here the current top 8 things to know
1 Today’s IUD is not your mother’s
2 There are non-hormonal options (s. the copper IUD)
3 IUDs do not cause infections (also do not prevent STDs…)
4 but they won’t help your skin (like the pill usually will)
6 Cramping is common (initially some bleeding as well)
7 You might stop getting your period (is this a pro or con?)
8 Size can matter (be fitted well!)
Please feel free to share your IUD experiences.
Thanks to HuffPost for another great article – see the full version here
and also thanks to wiseGeek for the pic!
Here an interesting and worthwhile tidbit about improving your experience with the the birth control pill from Women’s Health Magazine, their article entitled BEHIND THE PRESCRIPTION PAD
They report: “The most surprising thing about oral contraceptives is how many gynecologists prescribe them carelessly.”
This is not surprising to many readers? Right. Doctors are human, too; they favor the products they know, and perhaps those for which they have free samples in their drawer.
What to do?
To find the optimal pill cocktail for any individual patient requires a little effort, such as a hormone test. “The test is easy — you just spit into a small plastic tube once during the second half of your cycle. The small sample of saliva is a snapshot of how your levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol fluctuate during the course of your menstrual cycle.” Sounds easy enough, and worth it for anyone trying to avoid pill side effects such as PMS.
If you feel your mix is perhaps not optimal, ask your doc about the hormone test and a re-assessment – or find a doctor who will do this with you. How is your mix? Anyone care to share their experience with the hormone test? Maybe a friend needs this advice as well?
With thanks to Women’s Health Magazine!
As many news feeds have consolidated and well documented, legal access to abortion services has become restricted over the past few years. The latest report from Erik Eckholm for the New York Times includes the graphic shared here that portrays the news in no uncertain form: State legislatures passed 70 new abortion restrictions in 2013 and more over the past three years than they did from 2000 to 2010.
Here a summary of legislation enacted in 2013
3 Bans on abortions at 20 weeks post-fertilization (22 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period)
4 Restrictions related to reason for abortion, like gender or fetal impairment
4 Amendments to abortion reporting laws
9 Restrictions on abortion providers
10 Limitations on insurance coverage of abortion
17 Limitations on medication abortion
23 Other, includes parental involvement requirements, bans on abortion at 6 or 12 weeks, ultrasound requirements and extended waiting periods.
For the discerning observer, however, some details seem worth dissecting.
1. Restrictions related to reason for abortion includes gender and fetal impairment. For many, these may seem two vastly different reasons, one sounding like but I wanted a boy/girl and the other where something terrible has gone wrong, often cases where the fetus may not make it or be born into a life of tubings. Our supporters may astound at the former, yet sympathize with the latter.
2. Bans on abortions at 20 weeks post-fertilization also seems to be a melting pot. Many fetal deformities are not assessed prior to this time. Is it fair for legislatures to lump expecting parents now facing traumatic circumstances in with those who may just decide very late?
3. The new Restrictions on abortion providers include requiring doctors performing abortions to have local hospital admitting privileges and imposing surgery-center standards on abortion clinics. Here again, what do we believe? What is truly in a woman’s best interest? Many medical procedures nowadays are performed in-office and all procedures are not without risk. For example, plastic surgery and vascular surgery are regularly performed in practices. Are these also unregulated? Actually, we understand no. The same requirements of local hospital registration and surgery-center standards apply. Are the standards inappropriate? Do we accept lesser standards for the sake of upholding access to abortion?
4. Waiting periods: many strong pro-choicers argue against any waiting period at all; they support abortion-on-demand. The cases of failing access to birth control and lack of education are often cited in defense. But the fact is, about half of women having abortions today have been there before, at least once. So the reasoning is shaky. Perhaps such waiting periods would enable care-givers at least two chances to consult patients on their going forward needs. Would this help reduce repeat visits? Imagine, we could halve the abortion rate just by eliminating repeat business. Why is this so difficult?
It seems obscene to even have to pose these questions, yet being in favor of legal abortion access is not without it testing our common sense and any realm of limits.
Here is a full schedule of state laws provided by the Guttmacher Institute if you would like to check where your state stands.
As we move forward toward hopefully keeping legal abortion available and safe, yet making it the rare exception, we need to be cautious of assessments and labeling all legislative initiatives as direct assaults rather than efforts to also bring individual accountability and responsibility into these services. Would you agree?
Some 1.5 million women in 50+ countries currently use the NuvaRing.
In the US alone, over 44 million prescriptions have been issued for it over the last ten years. Have women been deceived? Is there truly a higher risk of clotting and deathly circumstances than with other hormone-based contraceptives? Apparently. Unfortunately.
NuvaRing prevents pregnancy while eliminating
the inconvenience of taking a daily pill. (Getty photo)
Thanks to Sabrina Siddiqui @HuffPost for a very thorough report on the details.
Please read them and for anyone using the Ring, check back with your physician, thanks.
So the title of the article really should read
“Women Now Planning Their Families” or “Less Unintended Pregnancies Among Women”
Women are being empowered to take charge of their lives and plan their families through the use of contraception, including for teens, simply waiting longer before becoming sexually active.
More such highlights, please!
Read the CNN interview here