Tuesday 29 May 2007

Catch them young

There is an urgent need for youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services in the fight against HIV Aids, writes ROSE ORONJE
LACK OF SEX EDUCATION AND information is to blame for early sexual activity among young people in sub-Saharan Africa and the spread of HIV/Aids, says a study.
As a result, the majority of sexually active young people in the region do not protect themselves against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/Aids.
According to a study by Infotrak Research and Consulting, more than 50 per cent of girls in Kenya lose their virginity by the age of 16.
In a joint study by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) and the Guttmacher Institute (US) in 2004, about half of young people (age 15-19 years) in Uganda and Malawi, 40 per cent in Burkina Faso, and 22 per cent in Ghana, were found to be sexually active.

Sunday 27 May 2007

Teenage pregnancy: Let's talk about sex


As teenage pregnancy rates remain stubbornly high in the UK, Tom de Castella asks whether a new approach is needed

Teenage pregnancy is one of those totemic issues used to measure how well a society brings up its young people. And in study after study, the UK compares badly with other European countries, with teenage girls here five times more likely to become pregnant than their Dutch counterparts.

In 1999, the Government launched its Teenage Pregnancy Strategy with a target of halving the 90,000 teenage conceptions in 1998 by 2010, and an interim goal of a 15 per cent reduction by 2004. The latter was missed and few experts believe the Government will reach its objective. But the Government and its advisers insist there has been progress. Since the strategy was set out, the number of conceptions for under-18s has fallen by 11 per cent, while birth rates have come down by 20 per cent due to an increase in abortions. But progress is uneven and between 2004 and 2005 conceptions among women under 16 in fact nudged up by 0.3 per cent.

Parents play key role in preventing teen pregnancy


According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a leading think tank studying sexual behavior, in 2004 the U.S. teen pregnancy rate was 96 per 1,000 girls. In the case of California, almost 10 percent of girls ages 15-19 were likely to become pregnant.For parents, this is startling information. Time and again, parents will ask "What can we do?" and the answer starts at home.


School health classes contribute to helping teens avoid pregnancy, but they are only one piece of the puzzle. Some districts have semester-long health programs, while other districts have all but removed health from their schedules by reducing a semester-long class into a weeklong component. Whichever direction a school district opts to go, the time spent dealing with pregnancy prevention is minimal.


Saturday 19 May 2007

Study: Canadian Teen Pregnancy Rates Down, Sexually Transmitted Infections Rates Up


Toronto, ON (AHN) - Canada's teenage pregnancy rate is at all-time low and teen abortions rates have also dropped according to a study. The research shows that the teen pregnancy rate in Canada fell about 40 percent between 1974 and 2003.

Alex McKay, research coordinator at the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada attributed the lower pregnancy rate to birth control, "it's due to greater contraceptive use, not teens having less sex."

In fact, while teen pregnancy rates are down, sexually transmitted infections rates are up. He said that the birth control pill is being used as a primary form of contraception and it does not prevent against sexually transmitted infections.
McKay wants teenagers and young adults to know that preventing infections is just as important as preventing pregnancy.

"One of the things we clearly need to do in this country is promote greater consistent condom use among all young people."


Teen pregnancy rate for region lower than national average

Although a recent report on sex information said Canada's teen pregnancy rate is highest in the north and in rural areas, this region has bucked the trend.
"Leeds, Grenville and Lanark have some of the lowest rates of pregnancy for 15- to 19-year-olds in the province," said Jane Futcher, the director of clinical services at the local health unit.
The report by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada - which also stated that teen pregnancy has hit an all-time low and teen abortion rates have hit a 10-year low in Canada - stated that rural teens lack access to sexual health services that cater to young people.
But that's not the case here.
"We have sexual health clinics in all of our health unit locations in Gananoque, Brockville, Smiths Falls, Perth, Almonte and Kemptville," said Futcher. These clinics generally serve people ages 14 to 27, but sometimes serve younger and older clients in the case that they don't have a family doctor who can prescribe birth control.

Thursday 17 May 2007

Battle teen pregnancy with science, not ideology


Study says federal government wastes money with abstinence-only programs.


In the United States, teen birth, teen abortion and sexually transmitted infection rates are higher than in most other industrialized countries. In 1999, 48 out of 1,000 U.S. women ages 15 to 19 gave birth -- a rate 11 times greater than in the Netherlands and four times higher than in Germany. The teen abortion rate in the United States is more than three times that of France and nearly seven times that of the Netherlands.In New York state, nearly 40,000 teens became pregnant in 2004, according to the New York State Department of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that four in 10 teens in New York will have sex before they graduate high school.


What Every Parent Should Hear: Teen Pregnancy


Over the past ten years there has been a steady decline in the teen pregnancy rate.
Tonight, we continue our series on "What every parent should hear," discussing a teen parenting program.
Kristi Henderson learned what one local school is doing to help educate their students.
Independence High School is dedicated to teaching their students about teen pregnancy and about parent and child development.
And teachers say it starts with making good decisions.


You can watch this program here

Mothers first, then only adults


BECOMING a mother before becoming an adult seems to be a growing trend in South Africa where teenage pregnancy is on the rise.


In a country where the HIV prevalence amongst 15-19-year-old girls is 9 percent, teenagers continue to take the risk of having unprotected sex.

According to national statistics 72 000 schoolgirls cited pregnancy as a reason for not being in school in 2005. Figures from the Society for Family Health (SFH) indicate that 17% of 15 - 24-year-old females are HIV positive. What makes this statistic even more shocking is that only 21% of 15 - 24-year-olds have been tested, which is lower than the national average for testing of 30%.


Monday 14 May 2007

Leveling with kids about s-e-x


One day, point-blank, Harriet Gourdine-Adams' 8-year-old son, what with his ready access to the pamphlets and brochures in his mother's workaday arsenal, asked her to define "sex." She gave him an age-appropriate answer."I said, 'Oh, it's the special way that mommy and daddy love each other.' And he says, 'Oh, OK.'"

He kept it moving, did not bat an eye, did not miss a beat, said Gourdine-Adams, family planning director for Nassau County's community health centers. He was satisfied with her easy, breezy comeback. And this, she said, came as a relief to her 15-year-old daughter, who was standing in a corner listening and, by the contortions on her face, petrified about what would drop from her pull-no-punches mother's mouth onto a little boy's brain.


Sunday 13 May 2007

What sex week forgot?


On college campuses, to warn students of the dangers of 'friends with benefits' and 'hooking up' is so politically incorrect


With headlines focused on college massacres and presidential nominees, it's natural to have overlooked an event that has become familiar on campuses around the nation: Sex Week. The goals of last month's happening at Northwestern University were to examine misconceptions about sexual health and to speak openly about "taboo" and "hush-hush" topics.

Don't yawn -- to dismiss Sex Week without scrutiny would be a blunder.


Saturday 12 May 2007

Fewer Utah Teens Getting Pregnant


Utah's teen pregnancy rate has fallen more than 3.5 percent in the last two years. In 2003, nearly 40 of every 1,000 girls ages 15-19 became pregnant.


In 2005, the number dropped to 38 per 1,000. In 2005, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) set an ambitious goal to cut the state's teen pregnancy rate (includes live births, fetal deaths, and abortions) by 20 percent by the year 2015 (baseline year 2003), which would bring the rate to 32 births per 1,000. There is more good news. Teen pregnancy rates have fallen more than 20 percent in Utah and the U.S. over the last decade.


Friday 11 May 2007

Mothers, daughters talk about sex


As a father, Dr. Dave Solberg concedes that children don't want lectures, so he had a question for girls at a teen pregnancy conference Thursday:

"When you have sex, the question you have to ask yourself is, 'Do I want to be a mother today?'" Solberg said Thursday during a presentation for girls and their mothers.
Dozens of women and girls turned out to hear Solberg and another doctor discuss some of the consequences of sex, including pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections.
Though some of the teens said they didn't want to hear the facts from their parents, the women at "Just for Us Girls!" said they believe their girls need to get the information in some way.


Thursday 10 May 2007

Welcome and leave your comment now


Sorry that I didn't realise that people cannot leave their comment, I have already change the settings for the blog and you are all welcome to leave your comment and start your debate here.

Monday 7 May 2007

Teen pregnancy must be a talking point


Last December, frustrated by a teen pregnancy rate that kept rising even as state and national levels were dropping, a group of Washington County officials decided to risk $5,000 in prize money on the idea that teens could persuade their peers to delay or abstain from sex.


On Thursday night, their bet paid off, as teens, parents and some elected officials gathered at the Maryland Theatre to view a short film, some 30-second spots and some print ads. Many different techniques were used, but the theme for all was the same - sex has consequences.


Sunday 6 May 2007

Posters of promoting sex education



















Change to sex education urged


CONTRACEPTION PLAN: Taiwan should follow the example of Sweden, which instructs on birth control from a young age, the Taiwan Association for Sexuality Education said By Max Hirsch

All they wanted to do was talk about sex.
The 16th annual conference of the Taiwan Association for Sexuality Education (TASE) saw leading experts in various sex-related fields descend on National Taiwan Normal University yesterday for what the association billed as the nation's first ever academic forum on sex education.

Faced with an alarming HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region and the fact that the nation has the highest birth rate in Asia among teenage girls -- statistics suggest a birth rate as high as 12 percent among girls aged 15 to 19 from 2000 to 2005 -- the nation must rethink its approach to sex education, experts urged, warning the government not to look to the US for guidance.

Read More Here

Sex education needs to address teenage pregnancy, expert says




Taiwan's high teenage pregnancy rate can be attributed to insufficient sex education as well as the conservative attitude of parents toward sex, an expert said yesterday.
Kao Sung-chin, secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Sexuality Education, made the remarks during a seminar sponsored by the association.






Kao said that more open sex education, with teachers and parents more willing to discuss issues related to sex, would be most helpful to teenagers. He said that although Taiwan's birthrate has continued to slip, its birthrate among teenagers is the highest in Asia, or three times that of Asia, and five times that of South Korea. He noted that the birth rate among teenagers dropped to eight per 1,000 in 2005 from 14 per 1,000 in 2000, averaging 11.8 per 1,000 over the past five years. This compares with 4 per 1,000 in Japan and 2.8 per 1,000 in South Korea.




Saturday 5 May 2007

'This is not a game'


Abstinence advocate gives students firm talk


Frank, sincere and powerful words about sexual abstinence boomed to Sturgis High School students Monday."Real love respects," said national abstinence speaker, Pam Stenzel. "Love would never ask you to do something that would damage you the rest of your life."Stenzel spoke with a passion that captured the attention of hundreds of teens. The cost of having a baby, the risks of obtaining an STD and the price of a broken heart were all part of Stenzel's hour-long assembly.


The No. 1 fear teens have today about having sex is pregnancy, Stenzel said. But pregnancy is not a disease. It's survivable.


Teen Pregnancy - The Problems Of A Child-Mother


Teen pregnancy is one of the major social issues in today’s society. Today’s teens are becoming sexually active at a younger age than teens of the previous generation. Most of the times, it is due to peer pressure to be “cool” and “popular”. However, sadly, they are not aware of the consequences of unprotected sex, which leads to unwanted pregnancy. The pressures are manifold in such cases, first informing the parent about the situation they are in. Secondly, the guilt and shame such girls undergo can psychologically scar them for life.
Social Problems of Pregnant Teens

Read More Here

Friday 4 May 2007

Abuse major cause for teen pregnancy


A study on adolescent pregnancies, conducted at the Medical College Hospital here, has found that child sex abuse is the major cause of pregnancy in the 15-18 age group.The study was conducted by Dr Khuraisha Beevi, assistant professor at the Prevention of Epidemic and Infective diseases section of the Medical College.


It is high time that we introduced sex education, not just for students but for parents too,?said Khuraisha Beevi.Her study on adolescent pregnant girls who were admitted to the MCH for termination of pregnancies reveal that 19.7 percent cases resulted from sex abuse by close relatives. This is seen more in broken families and families where the parents have a strained relationship,pointed out Khuraisha Beevi.

Read More Here

Tuesday 1 May 2007

School hands out 345 morning-after pills to students - without telling parents


A school has admitted handing out 345 morning-after pills to teenage girls without telling their parents.

The figure for contraceptives distributed at Lutterworth Grammar School and Community College over four years is believed to be the highest in England and Wales.
Parents and family groups were outraged at the "disgusting" and "wicked" scheme which they say encourages promiscuity and could put children at risk of contracting sexually-transmitted diseases.


This is a news that I found from Daily Mail recently.

I think I can't really accept what they did, because this will give encouragement to the teenagers to have unprotected and underage sex.

I think the way to reduce under age pregnancies is not to hand out pills, but to hand out the punishment laid down by law on anyone having underage sex. If some prison sentences were handed out people, particularly young people, would perhaps think twice before indulging in promiscuous activities. And I think they should promote and educate the teenagers rather than handing out the pills.

It is not reasonable that the school not telling the parents becasue schools will let you know if your child has missed a lesson, even when they are 16 plus, is their health of less importance than missing lessons?