Posted: 06 Feb 2010 09:32 PM PST

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ODDBALL buzzed up: La. lt. gov. replaces Nagin as New Orleans mayor (AP)

41 seconds ago 2010-02-06T23:04:01-08:00

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Teen pregnancy rates rise - MetroWest Daily News

Posted: 06 Feb 2010 08:57 PM PST

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A new study shows more teens are getting pregnant, having abortions or becoming young mothers in a reversal of previous trends.

Last week, the Guttmacher Institute, a research and public education firm with four decades dedicated to global sexual health and reproduction issues, announced the national teen pregnancy rate has increased 3 percent, after more than a decade of decline. The teen birth rate has also risen 4 percent, and the rate of teens getting abortions has increased 1 percent. The study compared data from 2005 to 2006.

The numbers aren't much better in the state - in comparing data from 2006 to 2007, most towns saw pregnancy rates among teens increase, some by as much as 8 percent.

Local health care educators and teenagers say more needs to be done in schools to drive the pregnancy prevention message home to kids.

At Nipmuc Regional High School in Upton, students in a child growth and development learn about pregnancy prevention, though the class is not required for all students. Some, however, think it should be.

Before they took the class, the students - a mix of juniors and seniors - said the last time they were officially spoken to about sex was in the seventh grade.

"Back then, it was like a joke," said Ashley Hill, 16, a junior. "Suddenly you get to high school and it all becomes real."

Sarah King, a 17-year-old senior, said she thinks the pregnancy rate is increasing because birth control is still considered taboo, and teens won't use it if they can't get it, though they'll still have sex.

"It's embarrassing to buy condoms," she said. "Everyone knows what you're going to do with them."

A lot of girls feel like they can't be open with their parents, students said, and tell them they need birth control to help with painful menstrual cramps.

"But they really (have sex) on it, too," said senior Michelle Lindsey, 17.

Joanna Accorsini, 17, said teens are hit with so many messages in the media about teen pregnancy that it has become more accepted in society.

With television shows such as "Teen Mom" on MTV, which is a reality show, and drama "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" on ABC Family, Accorsini said television is romanticizing the idea of getting pregnant at a young age.

"It's more accepted now, younger people are experimenting and they're growing up faster," said Accorsini. "The shows make you think you can get pregnant and have a nice little family."

Famous teens such as Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin, who got pregnant at 16 and 17 respectively, have also made it seem more acceptable, the students said.

"It makes it seem like your parents will come around and support you," said Accorsini.

When asked where they get their information about sex, the students said they used the Internet or asked their parents.

King said many teenagers watch pornography to get their information.

"They think it's educational," she said. "It starts bad habits. It's so not realistic."

Although they said parents may have problems with it, the teens were in favor of providing condoms in schools.

"It would be good if you knew you could get it from a welcoming and safe environment, instead of being embarrassed from buying them from someone you don't know," said King.

Hill said most of the parents she knows are either very conservative and wouldn't agree to allowing birth control in schools, or they don't care either way.

"Parents need to chill out with being so conservative, because you can't stop kids (from having sex), it's going to happen," she said. "It's better to talk to them about it sooner than later."

Kathy Laflash teaches the child growth and development class at Nipmuc. As part of the class curriculum, Laflash uses "Baby Think It Over," a high-tech infant simulator with a computer inside.

Each student in the class must spend 72 hours with "Baby Think It Over," who cries, wets its diaper, recognizes its care giver, and knows when it is in a car seat or baby carrier.

The doll generates reports for Laflash, so she knows how long the baby cried before it was comforted, and if the student passed the doll off to parents or siblings instead of the student taking care of it.

Hill said her older sister had the doll when she was in high school, and after she had it, she swore off having children anytime soon.

"I wish we could afford more, because it is reality," said Hill.

Local health educators say there isn't enough of this kind of education going on in high schools.

In Framingham, a program offering support to teen parents is in jeopardy after it lost major funding two years ago.

This year, the district picked up a portion of the cost and the rest has been paid for by grants, said Judy Styer, the director of School Health Services in Framingham. But next year, it looks like the program the high school has had for 16 years will be gone.

As part of the program, two nurses work closely with pregnant teens and their families and advocate for the student in their education. They also help the teens seek outside services, and make sure they get prenatal care.

Styer said last she knew, the two nurses were dealing with 48 students including pregnant girls, teen fathers, girls who needed sexual health advice, and girls who have already had their babies.

The nurses also run pregnancy prevention programs in the middle and high schools.

"It will be a devastating loss," said Styer. "I've been looking for funding since we lost it two years ago."

Styer said her office has seen a reflection in the Guttmacher Institute's study in increased pregnancy.

"Not only are we dealing with a significant health issue, but there are issues down the road, like keeping the girl in school. If she doesn't, it's going to cost money to support her and the baby," said Styer. "If she's not getting prenatal care and the baby is born with health problems, that's a health care burden and also a burden on the education system later. So there's this big problem and if it increases, it'll increase costs in different places."

Donna Rivard, director of childbirth education at Milford Regional Medical Center, said she thinks the pregnancy rate has increased because teens aren't aware of the long-term difficulties that come with being a mom at a young age.

Rivard said she became a grandmother at a young age when her daughter got pregnant in high school.

"I was devastated, because I could have handled her wanting birth control," said Rivard. "... I think birth control and condoms, especially, should be available in schools. And there should be more education about this for boys. I was just as concerned about my son as I was for my daughter."

Teaching teen moms to be parents is a shocking experience, Rivard said.

"But it's about teaching our children to be the best parents they can be," she said. "They need to know about Shaken Baby Syndrome and what to do with a crying baby."

Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Mass. Alliance on Teen Pregnancy, said three elements are imperative when it comes to pregnancy prevention: comprehensive sex education, access to birth control and condoms, and the perception of an opportunity - or future plans for themselves that won't be interrupted by pregnancy.

"The first two are the easiest but we're not doing a sufficient job of that. Fewer schools are doing sex education than years ago in middle schools, at the age when, much to our dismay, one-fifth of kids are sexually active," said Quinn. "Young people decide (when they want to have sex). As much as we'd like to and should set perimeters about the value of delaying sex, in the end, we aren't the decision makers."

In such a "sex saturated" world, Quinn said, she wonders if people are starting to think young adults are educated about sex just because they are exposed to it all the time.

"I'm not surprised, though it's disturbing, some kids are watching porn and thinking it's educational," she said. "I think parents want their kids to develop mature, intimate relationships with respect for their partners and themselves, and integrity in a relationship. They're not getting that from porn."

Melanie Lown, director of communications and public awareness at Boston's Planned Parenthood of America, said the Guttmacher Study shows what Planned Parenthood has believed for years: abstinence-only education does not work.

"It shows those policies are a colossal failure after a decade of progress of decreasing rates," said Lown. "Planned Parenthood is looking to prioritize sexual health. We want the conversation to become as mainstream as cardiac or dental health."

Lown said studies show teens want to hear from their parents when it comes to sex, though it can be an awkward thing to talk about.

"Parents are primary educators and it's never too early or too late to begin an age-appropriate, ongoing conversation with kids," said Lown.

Nipmuc student Eric Granato, 17, said parents need to talk to their kids about pregnancy prevention no matter what.

"Even if they're conservative, even if they don't care," said the high school junior. "It's important to know the risks."

Krista Perry can be reached at kperry@cnc.com or 508-634-7546.

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Memory lapses a part of being a parent - Florida Today

Posted: 06 Feb 2010 10:15 PM PST

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The only time I remember locking my keys in my car was when I was pregnant with the first kid.

I did it twice and blamed the lapses on the baby bump.

But Australian researchers just published a study saying the notion that impending motherhood causes memory loss -- sometimes known as baby brain or brain fog -- is a myth.

They tested more than 1,000 women but found their scores were unchanged before, during and after pregnancy.

"Part of the problem is that pregnancy manuals tell women they are likely to experience memory and concentration problems -- so women and their partners are primed to attribute any memory lapse to 'hard to miss' physical signs of pregnancy," lead researcher Helen Christensen told the BBC.

For instance, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" says the pregnancy brain effect is extremely common, if temporary.

"You may forget appointments, what you just walked into the store for, where you left your purse, whether you turned off the stove -- and maybe, your phone number," the Web site linked to the popular book advises.

Researchers have conflicting views.

In 2008, a different study found carrying a baby does make expectant moms slightly more forgetful and that the forgetfulness can continue up to a year after birth.

So I took it to the moms on FLORIDA TODAY's MomsLikeMe social networking site.

Women who take part in the pregnancy and labor discussion thread there shared their mommy-memory-loss moments, and anecdotal evidence indicates the second research team is on the money.

"For most of my pregnancy, I would forget where I lived. I would be driving home and pass my street, thinking -- where am I going again? Then I would remember, turn around, go down my street and then drive right past my house," posted Kimhague, who also forgot to put shoes on and left the house wearing slippers.

Javamama remembers getting ready to leave church and looking around for her 2-year-old daughter. "I finally said, 'Where's Ellen?' and she answered, 'I'm right here!' Turns out, I was carrying her. It's a good thing her brother was still in the womb, because I obviously can't keep track of a whole lot."

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Sex Ed, With No Federal Strings? - New York Times

Posted: 06 Feb 2010 07:24 PM PST

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To the Editor:

"Sex Ed in Washington," by Ross Douthat (column, Feb. 1), misses several key points.

First, comprehensive sex education does work. A recent study by the University of Washington found that teenagers who were taught comprehensive sex education were half as likely to become pregnant as those who received no sex education or were taught abstinence-only.

Second, sex education is not a question of ideology. Republican and Democratic governors have rejected Title V abstinence-only financing for their states because abstinence-only programs simply don't work.

Third, Congressional studies have found not only that abstinence-only programs are ineffective, but also that they teach misleading and inaccurate information.

President Obama is right to invest in medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education programs, and to insist on rigorous evaluation of these programs. Our teenagers deserve nothing less than to be healthy and safe.

That's why local Planned Parenthood health centers throughout the country are a trusted resource for parents, teenagers and their communities for teaching comprehensive sex education, which emphasizes abstinence as the best way to avoid pregnancy and infection, along with information about contraception, healthy communication, responsible decision-making and prevention of sexually transmitted infections.

Cecile Richards
President, Planned Parenthood
Federation of America
New York, Feb. 2, 2010

•

To the Editor:

Like nearly every other commentator on sex education, Ross Douthat focuses narrowly on its behavioral aspects — does it "work"? — and neglects its civic potential.

From abortion and stem cell research to AIDS policy and sex education itself, a huge number of our hot-button political issues involve sex and reproduction. Sex education should give future citizens the knowledge and skills to deliberate these questions in an informed and fair-minded fashion. Whether it changes behavior or not, sex education can change minds. And that's the only good reason to go to school.

Jonathan Zimmerman
New York, Feb. 1, 2010

The writer is a professor of education and history at New York University.

•

To the Editor:

Ross Douthat suggests that we should make federal funds for sex education available to localities without strings attached. He writes, "Don't try to encourage Berkeley values in Alabama, or vice versa."

Unfortunately, when the high teenage pregnancy rate in Alabama and other abstinence-only-sex-ed regions costs the taxpayers in Berkeley and other comprehensive-sex-ed regions significant amounts of money in terms of welfare and health care costs for the teenage mother and her (likely) fatherless baby, the strings do in fact need to be attached.

Navin Pokala
New York, Feb. 1, 2010

•

To the Editor:

Ross Douthat's citing of Roe v. Wade as dealing with a mere culture-war issue dismisses federally guaranteed individual rights.

Would he also make free speech and religious practice subject to the whims of 50 separate state legislatures?

Abstinence-only sex education is a misnomer foisted upon the nation by religious ideologues who couldn't care less about the nation's outrageous teenage pregnancy rates, which are higher than comparable nations' rates. Abstinence-only is the antithesis of sex education; it deprives its victims of sex education, substituting futile anti-sex exhortation.

Its failure was anecdotally demonstrated by the ludicrous example of Sarah Palin's daughter and statistically by the higher pregnancy rates in the Bible Belt states most dedicated to this folly.

Its proponents are evidently above worrying about this birth of children doomed to economic and other forms of deprivation guaranteed by birth to uneducated, unwed teenage mothers.

C. W. Griffin
Phoenix, Feb. 1, 2010

•

To the Editor:

Ross Douthat's column didn't mention that comprehensive sexuality education (which would of course cover abstinence) is really not all that common in our schools. Western Europe has lower teenage pregnancy and abortion rates because of comprehensive sexuality education.

As for Mr. Douthat's attack on Roe v. Wade, why shouldn't the privacy rights and freedom of conscience of women be uniform throughout the United States?

Edd Doerr
Silver Spring, Md., Feb. 1, 2010

The writer is president of Americans for Religious Liberty.

•

To the Editor:

The language used within this debate is imperative. "Abstinence-based" education, as Ross Douthat uses it, actually refers to "abstinence only until marriage" programs, which teach, among other things, that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects.

Comprehensive sexuality education does teach abstinence, but it is informed by research and health behavior theories, which indicate that contraception, safer sex and other topics must also be addressed.

Mr. Douthat is mistaken that "courses that social conservatives champion produce unimpressive results — but so do the contraceptive-oriented programs." Actually, extensive research conducted by Douglas Kirby shows that comprehensive approaches help young people delay sexual intercourse and practice safer sex once they do have sex.

Comprehensive sexuality education is invaluable to young people, and must teach more than just abstinence.

Elizabeth Schroeder
New Brunswick, N.J., Feb. 1, 2010

The writer is executive director of Answer, a national sexuality education organization housed at Rutgers University.

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