Academic Journal
Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 26 Nov 2012 - 3:00 PST
Teenage girls should be prescribed emergency contraception in advance, because it has been shown that they are more likely to use it promptly when needed, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced in Pediatrics online on November, 26th, 2012.
Even though the number of teenage pregnancies has dropped in the USA over the last few decades, the country still has significantly higher teen birth rates than other industrialized nations, the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) informed.
Federal policy bans the OTC (over the counter) sales of emergency contraception to females aged under 17 years of age. The AAP believes that if young teenagers had emergency contraception on hand - with advance prescriptions - their chances of becoming pregnant unintentionally would be reduced.
In February 2012, the Guttmacher Institute published a report informing that in 2008, teenage pregnancies in the USA reached their lowest levels in nearly four decades. Pregnancy rates among adolescents peaked in the early 1990s, and then fell dramatically, as did birth and abortion rates in this age group.
In this latest report, the AAP discusses how emergency contraception can lower the risk of pregnancy in teenage girls.
Many adolescents in the United States still continue to have unprotected sex. According to the AAP, up to 10% of girls are victims of sexual assault.
Barrier and other forms of contraceptives do not always work:
- Condoms may be faulty
- Condoms may slip
- Contraceptive doses may be missed
- Contraceptive doses may be taken late
The AAP says pediatricians may play a crucial role in counseling teenage girls, and providing them with emergency contraception when in need.
The AAP emphasizes that emergency contraception plays no role in protecting against STIs (sexually transmitted diseases). Doctors should discuss the importance of STI testing with their patients, and when needed, what treatments are recommended.
Pediatricians should also advocate for better insurance coverage, as well as better access to emergency contraception for adolescents, regardless of how young they are.
In August 2010, the AAP wrote that America had the highest pregnancy rate among teenagers in the Western Hemisphere. 25% of US teens had an STI. The authors of a report "Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media", which was published in Pediatrics, said that we should be paying careful attention to media messages regarding contraception and sexuality. Teenagers like certain websites and TV shows - the way they portray sex might have a major impact on how young people initiate sexual intercourse, the authors added.
Unlike most other industrialized nations, emergency contraception has been a controversial subject in the USA for many years.
Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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Visitor Opinions (latest shown first)
EC works BEFORE conception
posted by Peavy on 26 Nov 2012 at 8:08 amPlease use FACTS.
There are two kinds of EC pills: levonorgestrel (Plan B One Step, Next Choice) and ulipristal (ella). Both kinds work by blocking OVULATION. The release of the ovum (egg) from the ovary is either delayed or prevented: NO egg, NO fertilization, NO conception, NO zygote, and certainly NO abortion.
Hormonal implants call for long-term disruption of usual hormonal cycles. Personally, I find the idea of point-use of EC (which is also hormonal) more acceptable, but this should be an individual decision.
Contraception goes against God
posted by Rev. William Fletcher on 26 Nov 2012 at 5:56 amThe Lord said "Go forth and multiply". Contraception of any kind is sinful. Shame on you!!
A better Option. Contraceptive implants under the skin
posted by Curly on 26 Nov 2012 at 5:48 amThe proposal to give young girls the morning after pill before hand has some merit but it still leaves gaps. So a better way in the long run would be to implant an under the skin birth control implant at the same time the young girls are given their HPV vaccinations. These implants are good for about 5 years. When the girls are ready to start their families then the implant could be removed. Both boys and girls should get the HPV shots when a birth control implant is developed for men then the boys should also get it. Until this method is fully accepted the passing out of the morning after pill should be continued. In addition the cost should be picked up by the federal government should pick up the cost (including of the morning after pill) so both rich and poor can have access to this preventive.
A tiny new life begins before "pregnancy"
posted by Russ on 26 Nov 2012 at 5:27 amPregnancy is often defined as implantation of the embryo in the womb. However, a new human life begins at conception, not at implantation. These "emergy contraceptives" function in part by preventing implantation and run the risk of terminating the tiny human life.
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