IUDs have made great inroads from years ago.
They are placed at 99% effective against pregnancy (though not STDs!).
Women can now choose ones with hormones that help pre-menopause dilemmas (check with your doctor…).
And more good news on top came out this year: IUDs are safe for teens.

IUD

Alarming on the other hand was another study this year that birth control costs more in poorer neighborhoods than more wealthy counterparts. Abominable, don’t you think?

 

Thanks to Catherine Pearson @HuffPost for a great wrap-up of some key 2013 women’s health studies. There are more to peruse, here the article link.

Emergency Contraception NOT Effective for Heavy Women?

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Lots of reports swirling that the European version of the morning-after-pill called Norlevo is reduced effective for women 166+ pounds and entirely ineffective for those carrying 176+ pounds.

A package of Plan B

Apparently the chemical recipe of the medication in question mirrors that of popular US versions including Plan B One-Step, Next Choice One Dose, and My Way.
Mother Jones has reported this information from an FDA spokesman who indicated they are evaluating a label change requirement for US manufacturers.
Given that the average weight of American women ages 20+ lies just over 166 pounds, this would mean half the population are not viable candidates for this method of contraception. From 2006 to 2010, a CDC survey reports around 6 million American ladies used emergency contraception.

pro-plan-now suggests all women always being armed in advance for intimacy and not relying on such medications.
Contraception: It’s okay to talk about it!

26 Women Share Their Abortion Stories — New York Magazine

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Here is a very touching if not gut wrenching article put forth by New York Magazine. 26 interviews with those who have been there, all entitled: My Abortion

One in three women has an abortion by the age of 45.
How many ever talk about it? New laws, old stigmas. 26 stories.

Nicole, 19, Kentucky
(Photo: Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos/New York Magazine)

What is missing?
Any mention of these women being bombarded with information and tools to prevent their being there again. Several of the stories point to horrific clinic handling as well.
Half of women having an abortion today have had at least one previously. Please help us change that.

26 Women Share Their Abortion Stories — New York Magazine.

 

What Women Don’t Know About Birth Control Is Frightening

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This is the information age – or is it?
Why is it then, that “Only 1 in 5 Women Know Which Birth Control is Most Effective“?
Do you know?

Only1in5WomenKnow HuffPost 2013_10_BirthControl

What Women Don’t Know About Birth Control Is Frightening (INFOGRAPHIC).
with thanks to Jan Diehm and the Huffington Post!

You’ll notice that the easiest and most widely available form of contraception – the male condom – shows up in the graphic at an overall effective rate of 12-24 pregnancies in 100 women.
Why such a poor showing?
Poor usage…
The real rate should be 98% !
Here is a great video from the NAF with everything you need to know about how to use condoms correctly

Check your knowledge – and PLEASE pass along to your friends! and children!

 

 

New Survey on Birth Control Knowledge & Misperceptions

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New Survey Spotlights Women’s Knowledge, Misperceptions About Birth Control Options and Effectiveness

Excerpt: “When presented with a list of 16 birth control options, 57% of the women surveyed ranked birth control pills as the most effective, while 43% said condoms were the most effective.”

We have a long way to go with awareness and education on contraception…

OMOTSurvey_HomePgRight

With thanks to the American College of Nurse-Midwives 

OMOT 2013 Survey Results.

82% of Catholics Say Birth Control Morally OK

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Americans, Including Catholics, Say Birth Control Is Morally OK

Here an excerpt from 2012 Gallop Poll:
Eighty-two percent of U.S. Catholics say birth control is morally acceptable,
nearing the 89% of all Americans and 90% of non-Catholics who agree. 

Perceived Moral Acceptability of Birth Control -- by Religion, May 2012

EC=BC: Emergency Contraception Is Birth Control, Not Abortion | ThinkProgress

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It may be better if they called it contraception to keep it in the true prevention category
but nonetheless a good article and reminder that not all hormone pills are the same.


EC=BC: Emergency Contraception Is Birth Control, Not Abortion | ThinkProgress

EC=BC: Emergency Contraception Is Birth Control, Not Abortion | ThinkProgress

U.S. teenage birth rate at new low

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Some great news worth cheering about!

Go kids!

 

Excerpt: The [pregnancy] rate for girls ages 15-19 dropped to 29.4 births per 1,000 last year…. This was less than half the 61.8 births per 1,000 teenage girls recorded in 1991.

U.S. teenage birth rate at new low, government report shows | Reuters.

A Test for Republican Government | Terry Newell

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This article says a lot and is refreshing in that it points to the extremism on both sides of the coin. 

“It is time for politicians of all strands to recognize the danger with which they are flirting. The belief that extremism can achieve its ends while preserving public liberty flies in the face of too much of recorded history to be seriously entertained in this nation. Courage, not rashness or cowardice, to achieve the political center is the only thing that stands between us and anarchy …”
A Test for Republican Government | Terry Newell.

Do you think it possible that we all move a bit closer to the middle?

It’s Time To Rediscover The IUD, Women’s Health Advocates Say : Shots – Health News : NPR

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“What will it take to make intrauterine devices sexy?”
With a lead-in line like that, this article is worth pressing and passing along:
its-time-to-rediscover-the-iud-womens-health-advocates-say

Intrauterine devices are one of the most effect forms of birth control, but are relatively underutilized, at least in the United States.