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D.C. Promoting Female Condoms

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:33:13 +0000

My best friend and I have never had a problem talking about sex and anything that goes along with that topic. We are probably more open with each other than other friends I know who admit they rarely broach the subject of sex with their BFFs. Now, gabbing on the phone with my best friend about sex and protection is one thing, but if you asked me to have that conversation with complete strangers, I think I might run the other way. But there are some safe sex advocates like Charlene Cotton who spends her weeks opening the conversation with women on the street by saying, “Come check out my table. Don’t be scared.” The table she speaks of is covered with bowls of flavored condoms . Once the brave and unsuspecting female pedestrian walks over to Cotton’s table, Cotton asks, “Have you heard of the female condom ?” Using anatomically correct models and condoms, she proceeds to show the woman how the female condom works. Cotton is just one of many safe sex advocates in the D.C. area that is strongly advocating the female condom in order to stop HIV from spreading. D.C. is home to one of the highest HIV rates in the entire nation. As it is, there are several community-based groups that are having “lessons” in public venues like restaurants and churches in order to distribute half a million female condoms and show women how to use them. D.C.-based CVS stores actually have these female condoms on their shelves. This is the only place in the nation where women can buy these condoms without having to visit a health clinic. The local government is also pulling out all the stops by initiating a marketing campaign for female condoms with a new website and posters to be placed on close to 500 buses. These advertisements show a man and woman hugging and a female condom in the foreground with the words, “Get turned on to it. The female condom with pleasure points for her and him – to tease, please and protect. Go on, give it a try.” Mary Ann Leeper of Female Health Co. is leading the initiative to popularize the female condom. She states, “Everybody is doing a full-court press.” What remains to be seen is if having a larger distribution of these types of condoms will mean that more women choose to use these types of condoms. This is vital considering a study done one year ago showed that approximately 3% of the population in D.C

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Teenage Girls Attitudes on Sex and Pregnancy

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:27:12 +0000

I am old enough that I remember the huge uproar that happened when television’s “Murphy Brown” became a single mother. I wasn’t old enough to see the big deal because I was still in high school and I knew a number of girls who already had babies and seemed to be doing okay being single moms. I also wasn’t a mom myself so I had no frame of reference. I can distinctly remember thinking, “Raising a baby alone? How hard could that really be?” I say this now and am slowly realizing how I have forced my husband to go out and get groceries we do not really need so that he could take the kids and I could have 45 minutes of peace to write and actually have a teensy weensy bit of peace….and a margarita. According to a recent government survey, these days more and more teenagers are feeling it is okay for a single mom to have a baby. Thinking back to my own mindset almost twenty years ago, it makes some sense to me. Results from the survey show that teenage girls have admitted to using the rhythm method (knowing one’s days of fertility and avoiding sex on those days) for birth control as opposed to other birth control alternatives like condoms or birth control pills. These results may provide an explanation as to why the teenage pregnancy rate has ceased to decline. Generally, however, results from this recent survey matched up to results from a similar survey done almost ten years ago. This survey was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and had a few differences with the survey done in 2002. For example, approximately 17% of teenage girls admitted to regularly using the rhythm method as a means of birth control. That number is up about 11% from the survey done in 2002. While these girls who admitted to using the rhythm method may also have used other forms of contraception at the time, the fact that teenaged girls are relying on this method makes for some very worried parents and researchers. According to Joyce Abma, the lead author of the report, the rhythm method is only effective about 75% of the time. The survey had close to 3,000 female participants between the ages of 15 and 19. All participants were interviewed in their homes and the survey spanned from 2006 to 2008

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Forever 21’s New Maternity Line

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:08:10 +0000

For some insane reason, my husband records “The View”. Yes, you heard me right. My husband. I never quite pinpointed why he suddenly started watching this daytime talk show. Was it because he thought I wanted to watch it when I got home from work? Does he have a secret crush on Whoopi or, gasp, Elizabeth Hasselbeck? Perhaps he is the one man in the universe who loves to hear a group of women get catty with each other on a daily basis about hot topics. Whatever the reason, I found myself watching it the other day and became intrigued when I heard mention of a clothing store I love to frequent: Forever 21. Inexpensive and cute clothes for teens, twenty-somethings and those thirty-somethings like me that like to pretend I am still twenty-something. The topic on “The View” was that recently, Forever 21 announced that it would start selling maternity clothes in five states, three of which boast some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the entire nation. If you have never heard of Forever 21 before, this store offers hip and fashionable clothing virtually straight off the runway for very affordable prices. Naturally, to do this, the clothing is not of the highest quality but it is nice enough to wear a few times. For this very reason, both times I was pregnant, I headed to the Forever 21 at our mall and bought as many extra- large cute shirts I could get my hands on. After all, I only needed the shirts to last through the last few fat months of my pregnancy and most of the shirts were stretchy enough to keep my belly under wraps. So it comes as no surprise that when I heard Forever 21 announcing their pregnancy line I was a little annoyed only because my husband and I have pretty much decided we already had all the kids we are going to have and I will not be able to personally partake in their new maternity line. I was not at all surprised to hear Joy, Whoopi and Elizabeth discuss the instant backlash that Forever 21 received with this new announcement. Many parents and conservatives were appalled that a store that markets highly towards the teen population would have the audacity to promote a maternity line, and, thus (in their minds) teen pregnancy. Many critics felt Forever 21 was glamorizing teenage pregnancy with their hip maternity tops and dresses. If I can give my opinion here, I think that is a bunch of baloney. And you know what

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Chinese Universities Ramp Up Sexual Education

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:30:02 +0000

All over the globe, nations are battling the AIDS / HIV epidemic. In many countries, especially third-world ones, getting a good handle on the infection rate is virtually impossible. Even industrialized countries like China are grappling with ways to determine an accurate HIV/AIDS infection rate amongst its population. In fact, in an attempt to see what the infection rate is amongst the university population, college students in the Zhejiang province will be given physical examinations. Results from these exams will be able to help in multiple ways, according to Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For one, health departments will be given a more accurate picture of the infection rate. This will, in turn, give health departments a means to architect more specific ways to help control the infection rate and prevent the virus from spreading. This new initiative was spurred when a spot check of 2,000 college students was done at three different universities. Results showed that of the 2,000 students, eight of them carried the virus that causes AIDS. While this put the infection rate at 0.4 percent, it was a wake-up call that many more students could be walking around carrying the virus and unknowingly infecting others with it. The CDC states that in students between the ages of 19 and 23, the number of college students who have contracted the virus is increasing. This was reported in the Zinhua News Agency. A CDC official stated that the main way students were transmitting the disease was through sexual contact. In addition, the official noted that gay males had a higher chance of contracting HIV. As of now, the CDC has not solidified when the physical examinations of the university students will begin, nor have they disclosed how many students would be participating in the new initiative. Statistics from the Hangzhou CDC noted that by May 2010, there were 100 new cases of HIV infections; this rate was an increase of over 7% from the previous year

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Affordable Care Act Helps Pregnant/Parenting Teens and Women

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:52:19 +0000

I have spoken of the many people I knew growing up in middle and high school that got pregnant at a very early age and decided to go through with the pregnancy. Most of these girls I knew that decided to have their babies at such a young age did not turn their children over to adoption. They chose to raise their babies on their own despite the criticism from family members and peers, despite the stares and giggles they received from other students at school who had no idea what they were going through. At the time, I, myself, had no idea what these girls had set themselves up for. My thinking stopped at knowing they were my friends and knowing they were pregnant. Now that I am a mother of two and have not one shred of quiet time until well after my children have gone asleep, I think back on these girls I once knew and marvel at the strength it took for them to own up to their mistakes and take responsibility. I honestly have no idea what types of programs were around for these girls back in the late 80s and early 90s, but these days, young girls and women may benefit from the Pregnancy Assistance Fund. Applications will now be accepted for this fund by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Public Health and Science. This fund was made possible by the Affordable Care Act. This forward-thinking program will basically create a network of support for those teenagers and women who find themselves pregnant and/or parents. The program will provide services ranging from child care, health care and housing in order for these young women to finish high school and possibly gain college degrees, if they choose. The program will grant approximately twenty-five million dollars a year to states and local governments nationwide in order to help those pregnant teenagers and women. The funds provided by this program have also been allocated to help alleviate violence against women and teenagers who are pregnant. Kathleen Sebelius states, “The opportunity created by the Affordable Care Act will provide States and Tribes needed assistance to support vulnerable teens and women who are pregnant and parenting. The Pregnancy Assistance Fund provides States the opportunity to link these families to health, education, child care, and other supports that can help brighten the futures of parents and their children.” State governments will be able to use the monies granted to them through the Pregnancy Assistance Fund to build relationships with various key players in order to provide those services that pregnant/parenting women and teenagers will need. These key players include, but are not limited to, colleges and universities, high schools, State Attorneys General offices and various community-wide organizations. The purpose of this program is to ensure that these pregnant/parenting teenagers and women are able to graduate from high school or college, are able to provide adequate health care to themselves and their children and are able to be great parents.

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Condoms Key In Protecting Against HPV

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 04:49:30 +0000

Yet another reason to add to the list of why we should use condoms both correctly and consistently: a recent study shows that males who consistently use condoms each time they have sex are not as likely as those males who do not use condoms each time to contract the virus that is responsible for genital warts. This report, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, is not exactly groundbreaking but it may help refute past studies that imply condoms may not adequately protect males against HPV (human papillomavirus). If somebody contracts one of the multiple strains of HPV, usually that person’s immune system can quickly rid the body of the infection. There are some strains of HPV, however, that linger and can cause cancer. In fact, having an untreated HPV infection is one of the leading causes of cervical cancer. If an HPV infection can be prevented, those cases of cancer could be avoided. Studies have shown that using condoms during sex can lessen the risk of contracting STDs, but other studies have generated varying results that could indicate condoms may not do much to lower the risk of men contracting HPV. The main reason for this is that HPV is very easily contracted; since HPV can be transmitted with any genital contact, those parts of the genitalia not covered by condoms are susceptible to infection. In this study, over 450 men over the age of 18 up to 40 years old participated and were tested for close to 40 types of HPV. Swab samples were taken from the penile area in addition to samples taken from the anus, scrotum and perineum (those areas that the condom does not cover). Participants were surveyed on their sexual past and were asked if they used condoms consistently in the past few months. Of those men surveyed, 154 men said they did not use condoms, 90 men said they always used condoms and the remainder stated they used condoms off and on. Of those men who stated they always used condoms, their results showed them less likely to have contracted HPV. This same group of men had 38% of them having positive HPV results whereas 54% of those men who stated they never used condoms had positive HPV results. In addition, of those men who stated they consistently used condoms, they were not as likely to have the HPV strains that cause cancer. If those men who stated they always used condoms were truthful, the results show that a significant portion of them still contracted HPV. This shows that consistent condom use does not completely prevent HPV transmission, but it does lower their chance of infection.

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Haunting Sexual Pasts

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:24:08 +0000

I am sure my friends love how easily I throw them under the bus, offering up stories of their various sexual shenanigans and past love lives. Due to the nature of today’s post, I will not be offering up any of their stories because if I did, I would be unfriended by everybody I know on Facebook. Thus, I offer up a completely fictional friend and she shall be named Patricia. Patricia has an embarrassing secret. She is in her 40s and has had only three lovers in her past. No, that is not the embarrassing secret. Her secret is that despite her best attempts to be safe and only be in long-term monogamous relationships, she was left with a parting gift from her second lover: genital herpes. She did not even know of this gift that keeps on giving until years after she had ended that second relationship. How do any of us, like Patricia, know if the past will ever come back to haunt us? I am pretty sure that some of you reading this may be thinking back to your sexual past and remembering a time or two when, in the heat of the moment, you threw caution to the wind and decided you could have sex “just this one time” without using a condom . It happened/happens to the best of us. Is it something we should be fretting over if it only happened once or twice in our sexual history? More than likely not, according to experts (although there are some cases, like Patricia up there), especially if somebody had themselves tested for sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and tested negative. However, if your past included many careless nights where condoms were not used, the risk greatly increases. It also increases depending on the number of different partners you had. Like Patricia, there are some people walking around who may not even realize they were infected with an STD in their past. Many sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea and chlamydia have no true symptoms and are often left untreated because of this. This can cause the carrier to get a pelvic inflammatory disease which, in turn, can lead to ectopic pregnancies or even infertility.

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Ripping Open Condoms A Turn-Off For Some

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:33:41 +0000

Just this past week, a great friend of mine told a group of us at work of a somewhat embarassing moment he experienced while a friend was helping him move bedroom furniture. Evidently, they had to split apart the dresser drawers from the mirror that sat on top. When they did, out from behind the mirror popped a dusty box of condoms . My friend was embarassed for two reasons: a) he had not had sex in so long he forgot when he even bought the box of condoms and b) it was evident to his friend from the mammoth cloud of dust that rose from the box that he had not sex in a long time which led to endless ribbing at work. Despite the jokes we all made at my friend’s expense, I was proud of him. He was being responsible in the bedroom….well, at least when he was GETTING any action in the bedroom which had not been for a long, long, long, long time. And, yes, I warned him of the dangers of holding onto condoms past their expiration dates. Unfortunately, not all people follow the safe sex protocols that my friend at work does. In fact, according to a recent survey led by a Miami-based condom company Grove Medical LLC, approximately 90% of respondents admited to practicing unsafe sex (sex without a condom) at least once in their sexual past. On top of that, one of the main reasons given is actually a pretty lame one. Forty percent of participants (1,000 male and female participants within the United States) in this survey felt that the sexual mood was lessened if the male or female partner had to mess with opening up a condom package. I guess splitting open a foil package with your teeth just doesn’t look sexy to some people. The survey also asked participants what they first thought of when they thought of the concept of love . Forty-three percent though of commitment, fifty-five percent thought of sex, sixty-seven percent thought of romance and seventy percent thought of passion. Survey participants were also asked what actions they felt made a couple more passionate towards one another. Close to forty-eight percent said affectionate gestures as simple as listening to one another could bring on the passion.

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Hispanic Teenage Pregnancy Rates On The Rise

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:11:51 +0000

I have remarked in my writings before of my upbringing in my beloved San Antonio. My neighbor had two (or was it three) children before she graduated high school and it was commonplace at my middle school to see pregnant students wobbling down the hallways heading to their classrooms. I can even remember that Sunday morning reading the newspaper comics and flipping to one of my favorite guilty pleasures: Ripley’s Believe it or Not. I loved reading those mini-stories about the 113 year old woman who smoked every single day of her life or the twins that were born days apart. This particular Sunday as I was eating my Apple Jacks, the story was about San Antonio! Surely, it the story would have something to do with the heroics at the Battle of the Alamo. Nope. The story was that the youngest grandmother resided in San Antonio. She was only 32 years old. Oy! Luckily, a recent article that also comes straight from the San Antonio Express News strives to put an end to the city’s notoriety of skyrocketing teenage pregnancy rates. This month, national and local advocacy groups decided to join forces in order to begin a campaign that aims to lower the teenage pregnancy rate and put more of a focus towards family planning amongst the Hispanic teenage population. The new campaign would be responsible for improving support for Hispanic families; in addition, the initiative would provide more information on sexual health as well as plump up sex education courses. Hispanics are notorious for having the highest teenage pregnancy rate of all ethnic groups in the United States. In fact, the teenage pregnancy rate for Hispanics is practically two times the nationwide average amongst all teens. These statistics are provided by the National Council of La Raza’s Institute for Hispanic Health. Other statistics report that over fifty percent of Hispanic teenagers report becoming pregnant before they even reach the age of 20. I find that extremely easy to believe considering that in the early 90s when I was in middle school, girls were falling pregnant left and right. I think many of my family members were actually surprised that I graduated from high school without getting pregnant. It had become almost a right of passage in my neighborhood.

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The British Masturbation Campaign

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:09:32 +0000

Masturbation is one of those topics that a lot of people feel a bit skittish talking about. Sure, everyone does it, but it isn’t exactly something most people talk about as openly as, say, a one-night stand. I mean, at least a one-night stand has a fun buildup and execution, but how would one describe a masturbation session in that same amount of detail? I lit some scented jasmine candles….dimmed the bedroom lights to the lowest setting…. put on some smooth jazz…..then I looked at my hand lovingly. Nope. Just doesn’t sound as interesting as hooking up with a random hot Latino guy you met at the bar. However, in an effort to open up the sex education conversation, a northern England government is trying just that: campaigning young adults to masturbate. For years, England has unwillingly boasted the highest teenage pregnancy rate in all of Western Europe. Naturally, health officials are racking their brains to find new and compelling ways to lower that rate and their newest efforts have been to encourage young adults to participate in one “orgasm a day” through a new brochure aptly named “Pleasure.” It states, “Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and veg a day and 30 minutes’ physical activity three times a week. What about sex or masturbation twice a week?” A campaign of this type has stirred up some controversy. Its critics feel the campaign is encouraging young adults to have sex at an earlier age and to have unprotected sex. One of the brochure’s authors, Steven Slack, feels that it actually promotes the exact opposite of this. He feels that opening up the masturbation conversation will cause young adults to wait for their first sexual experience until they feel they can appropriately enjoy it. Experts from the United States agree with the message but are a bit skeptical about the means of executing the message.

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