As our new leaders and the American public begin to think about how to address the inefficiencies in this nation's health care system, we have an opportunity to ensure that the issues we care about are front and center in this national discussion.
The new Administration wants to know what's important to you, and they're encouraging people throughout the country to host or attend community discussions on health reform over the next few weeks.
We want our elected leaders to know: Any changes to improve the health care system must include ways to help teens and young adults avoid too-early or unplanned pregnancy.
But how do we do it? We have some ideas, but we want to hear from you. We hope you'll take a few seconds to let us know your thoughts by leaving comments on this blog post, and we'll make sure that the new Administration gets the message loud and clear.
As an inner city teen pregnancy prevention program provider, we see hundreds of inner city adolescents every year. Our outcomes (low pregnancy rates among our participants) are very positive yet we just received a cut in our funding as did all other similar programs. We badly need to help legislators and the new government understand the cost-effectiveness of these programs when compared to the national social and tax payer costs of teen pregnancy.
Sexual abuse among these teens is also rampant so everything possible needs to be done to facilitate easy and caring access to medical and psychological help for these kids.
I currently work in the field of teen pregnancy prevention. My program focuses on high risk teens in alternative schools within the east and south Los Angeles areas. Working in the field and directly with the teens, I see the problems first hand. We need more funding! Most teens don't know about programs like Family PACT, most teens don't know that they can get free condoms at clinics. Most teen girls don't know they have affordable options for birth control. EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION we need to fund these programs and teach these kids how easy it is to protect themselves. Abstinence is great, but for the kids I see its not realistic. They're having sex and having babies, that is real. Fund our programs to provide the education these kids need.
Hi, I teach the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, a medical model of natural family planning. I also teach chastity classes. The Wonder of Myself class for Mothers and Daughters have been very promising. I'm educating the mothers and daughters that giving contraceptives at a young age may retard their daughter's fertility. According to the 40 years of work by Dr. Erik Odeblad, we know that the cervical crypts age and/or atrophy when contraceptives are used. One in six women now have infertility issues, and part of this may be related to early use of contraceptives. We need to fully educate our young women about the risks of contraceptives, and then work to develop a holistic approach to teaching about relationships, caring for their overall health, so that it will help them to make good decisions. If we do not inform about the risks of contraceptives on relationships and health, then we are dishonest and may endanger teen's future fertility and also be contributors to their inability to form healthy relationships.
MORE EMPHIASIS NEEDS TO BE PUT ON DISAPPOINMENT AND DISCOURAGING OUR YOUTH FROM BECOMING PREGNANT. THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT IT IS A BIG PROBLEM IN OUR SOCIETY AND THAT BY BECOMING PREGNANT AS A TEEN THEY ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THIS PROBLEM. I DON'T THINK SOCIETY IS HONEST ENOUGH WITH YOUNG PEOPLE TO EXPRESS TO THEM HOW DISGRACEFUL AND SHAMEFUL TEEN PREGNANCY IS. I KNOW THIS SOUNDS HARSH BUT IT'S THE OPINION OF A YOUNG LADY THAT PLANS ON WAITING UNTIL MARIAGE AND PLANNING CHILDREN WITH HER SPOUSE BEFORE BECOMING PREGNANT. WE ARE DONATING PRESENTS TO THE MARGRET HUDSON PROGRAM FOR TEEN PREGNANCY AT WORK AND ALTHOUGH IT MAKES US FEEL GOOD TO HELP LESS FORTUNATE PREGNANT TEENS AND TEEN MOTHERS.. IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE WE ARE SUPPORTING THEIR UNSAFE SEXUAL ACTIONS AND THE CONSEQUENCES THESE TEENS NOW FACE. SOME TEEN PARENTS TRY TO GLORIFY THEMSELVES BY SAYING " I DIDN'T HAVE AN ABORTION.. I'M RAISING MY CHILD." BUT WHAT THEY FAIL TO ACKNOWLEDGE IS THAT IN MOST CASES THEIR CHILD IS GOING WITH OUT CERTAIN THINGS BECAUSE THEIR CHILD IS BEING RAISED BY A CHILD. I HAVE FOUND, THROUGH MY COUSINS EXPERIENCE WITH PREGNANCY, THAT GIVING THE CHILD TO A FAMILY THAT CAN'T HAVE CHILDREN BUT WANT TO ADOPT IS THE BEST THING TO DO FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED. ALTHOUGH I HAVE NEVER BEEN PREGNANT MYSELF I AM VERY OPINIONATIVE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT. I HAVE FOUND, FROM TALKING TO OTHER YOUNG GIRLS, THAT MANY OF THEM JUST DON'T CARE (IF THEY GET PREGNANT) AT THE TIME THAT THEY BECOME PREGNANT MAINLY BECAUSE THEY WANT THE YOUNG MAN THEY ARE SLEEPING WITH TO STAY WITH THEM AS A COUPLE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE AND BELIEVE GETTING PREGNANT WOULD ENSURE THAT FOR THEM. THEN THERE ARE THE GIRLS THAT DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO PREVENT PREGNANCY BUT IT HAPPENS ANYWAY... THOSE ARE THE GIRLS I WANT TO HELP.. THE OTHERS NEED A WAKE UP CALL. WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO WAKE THESE YOUNG GIRLS UP BEFORE THEY BECOME PREGNANT. HARSH BUT TRUE.
Girls need confidence and to be empowered. We need more afterschool programs for young girls to get them engaged and then opportunities as they get older to keep them engaged. A bored teen is a dangerous teen.
We certainly need to delay the onset of sexual activity. This alone will reduce unwanted pregnancies as well as reduce the ecidemic of STIs.
The value of marriage as a motivation for abstaining should not be igored. The health and security benefits of marriage should be taught. Marriage on an average is still healthier than the alternatives.
We should also teach the dangers of early romance, and make known the characteristics of good relationships and unhealthy relationships.
Abstinence untill married, is objectively still a very good approach toward general well being.
Tim Bardell
ALL birthcontrol options need to be presented and explained to all people. It is unethical to have many options for keeping our bodies safe and healthy, and for preventing unwanted pregnancies and not allowing the correct and acurate information to be taught.
We also need to make all birthcontrol options affordable to everyone!
I have beem teaching sex education for over 30 years. In the schools and in the community, we need a broad spectrum of preventive education. In the schools-puberty education, abstinence education, STI education, and birth control education. In the community, free birth control for teens and young adults and STI screenings.
I believe that we need to teach our children both abstinence and birth control. Most teens will have sex by the time that they are 16, some start much younger. I have a niece who started having babies at 14 yrs old. She now has 5 children with 3 different fathers.
My daughter also had a child at the age of 17. As much as I talked to her about birth control, she still went out and got pregnant. That was back in 2005. The father wanted her to get an abortion, he told her that it would ruin her life. We have a great place here that is funded by the churches. It is called "Life Choice". They help the mother with whatever choice she makes. They were a life saver for my granddaughter and my daughter. They council the young people on the facts of life with a child: "What if this happens?" "What if that happens?"
They bring the facts of life up in their face. They have to know who will pay for medical care, food, clothing, diapers, ect.
My daughter is still with the father of her baby. They have come close to separating several times. They have not married and I don't think that they will. I think that they will separate before too much longer. My daughter forced the father to take care of her and her baby by moving in with him when she turned 18.
WE MUST TEACH BIRTH CONTROL!!!
Raging hormones and sex are a natural part of a young persons life. Most of them will not fight the urge for very long.
Please do whatever it takes to help our young people.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
my teenage daughter 15 is 5 month pregnant. i talked to my daughter about sex and diseases and also how to protected herself from getting pregnant. but teenagers dont want hear there parents talk about sex they will do the opposite of what there parents will advice them. ist just the way it is.when i asked my daughter is she is having sex. she said no and that i need to stop worring because she is lesbian! that why the government need to spend money on programs that will help the inner city kids about sex and birth control. or every girl that is entering high school is required to get birth control enforce by law!