THIS MAKES ME ASK: 'WHY??????'
(LACK OF DECENT BC INFO IN SEX ED??)
More teens using rhythm method for birth control
Associated Press
Posted: 06/02/2010 08:55:12 AM PDT
Updated: 06/02/2010 09:10:02 AM PDT
ATLANTA — A new national survey found that a growing number of teens say they use the rhythm method for birth control, and more teens also think it's OK for an unmarried female to have a baby.
Experts say those findings may help explain why there hasn't been a drop in teen births in recent years. The rythym method of contraceptive requires abstaining from sexual intercourse on the days of the woman's menstrual cycle when she could be ovulating and most likely to get pregnant. It is called the natural method because no birth control pills or devices are used.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday released results from a sex survey of about 2,800 U.S. teens.
Teens' use of birth control changed little since a similar survey in 2002. But there were exceptions — 17 percent of teens say they had used the rhythm method, up from 11 percent.
Also, the percentage of teen boys supporting unmarried motherhood rose dramatically.
CDC report:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs
If I had to guess its because they're trying to hide the fact that they're sexually active from their parents. This way they don't need a doctor's appointment, won't be caught with pills or condoms, etc. Guess it's better than nothing.
This reminds me of an old joke: What do you call people who use the Rhythm Method?
Answer: parents.
Its kind of funny that the teen breeding rate is about the same or increasing in the US, where here in Canada its actually falling and the age that its climbing at is for ladies in their 40s.
I'll never understand why people refuse to use birth control. Even if you're not taught sex ed in school, we live in the internet era. Millions of articles and endless supplies of information are at your fingertips. Do some freakin' research! Ignorance isn't an excuse anymore.
Though I agree with Koi that one of the major reasons is probably because they don't want to tell their parents. But I've always believed that if you're uncomfortable talking about sex, you shouldn't be having it.
This is a subject of interest to me because I did a research paper on this in college and it was saddening to see the reasons why younger people didn't use birth control.
Several findings and of course you guys know I love lists:
1. Lack of knowledge. If you are raised in a home without adequate sexual education you'll end up believing god knows what you learn off the street. I've heard people believing you can't get pregnant on your first time.
2. Lack of real education. How many school districts have abstinence only sex ed programs? As many of you know I'm a strong supporter of education and loathe the idea of withholding information so this really disgusts me.
3. The idea that it won't happen to you? I mean what are the chances of an accidental pregnancy? It disturbs me to realize that there are people who don't think that something can happen to them.
4. Religion. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who believe that a baby is intended by god and if it happens then it happens. The irony is that they sure as hell don't hesitate to go to the government for help with the cost of said child despite hating the godless liberals who put those programs there in the first place.
5. Shame. In the class we were required to purchase condoms in two different scenarios. One was going to a store and facing an actual clerk while purchasing the condoms. There were several students who outright refused to do such a thing even though the project was approved by the dean of the college as not being against anyone's beliefs. All you had to do was literally buy a condom and yet people wouldn't do it because they didn't want to be embarrassed.
6. Difficulty in obtaining birth control. This may not seem like a concern but it is. Imagine being underage and not having a lot of money. It's not so easy to get birth control pills since you need a doctor to approve which is completely asinine. Even if you have money, what happens when you live in a small town where the pharmacist knows your parents and they will mention that you got condoms or pills? That's a huge chilling effect.
7. The whole idea that people don't want to admit that sex is a part of life. I'm admittedly asexual but honestly, sex is a part of life and having or preventing childbirth is part of dealing with that. Pretending that this aspect of humanity doesn't exist is just wrong.
Eddy, re: #2, pretty much all schools recieving government funding are allowed only to teach abstience only. The curriculum is only allowed to mention the failure rates of different birth control methods, thus downplaying the importance of actually using them in favor of just saying no.
Good list, Eddy.
Thank GAwd in California we were smart enough to refuse federal funding for sex ed and it is supposedly comprehensive here.
Sadly, the tying of federal funding and abstinence only was endorsed by George W. Bush and to my knowledge really hasn't been repealed. Even foreign aid programs have this requirement which disgusts me.
I haven't heard that it has been repealed, either. It kinda fell off the radar with the oil leak, war, etc.
The "rhythm method" is no longer considered a method of birth control by almost anyone, including the Catholic Church. Its original premise was to use past cycles to predict future ones, which pretty much every woman who pays attention knows is just plain stupid. The newer, more scientific method is called FAM (fertility awareness method), and it's based on body signs in the current cycle. It involves keeping charts, taking temperatures every single morning at about the same time, checking vaginal discharge, and feeling for cervical position. It has built in "unsafe windows" during which you're not supposed to have sex or do so only with a condom or diaphragm. If it's done properly and consistently, pregnancy rates are comparable to being on BCPs.
I can't imagine most of today's teens would have the time, knowledge, or inclination to make that work. I used it for nearly three years, and it was an enormous PITA. The main benefit for me was that I learned that BCPs were the cause of some problems I'd had for years. It's also kind of cool to see how your body works and be able to tell what it's doing.