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Contraception
More Teens Getting Pregnant; Who They Are May Surprise You
We often hear media stories about teenagers from poor and single-parent homes getting pregnant.
Research conducted for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, however, concludes that only 28 percent of people who reported giving birth or fathering children as teens lived in families with incomes below the federal poverty line, and only 30 percent said they were living with a single parent.
Although teens from poor families headed by single mothers are disproportionately likely to become teen mothers, "teen pregnancy is not limited to a particular racial group or socio-economic status or a particular family structure," says Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign.
Sponges, Chastity Belts and Douches, Oh My!
From the early-Egyptian contraceptive sponge to the horrifying Lysol douche of the Great Depression — man and womankind has been trying to find ways to keep from getting preggers for quite a while. Check out some of these devices below and go to Newsweek if you're interested in learning more about the history of birth control.
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Condoms vs. the Pill: Which Do You Prefer?
When it comes to preferred methods of contraception among women, condoms have now caught up to the contraceptive pill in the UK. According to a new survey, condoms and the pill are equally popular among women, and those who said they preferred condoms cited its ability to protect against STDs. Of course I'm sure many cautious women use both methods, and with all the other contraception options out there, maybe you use neither!
70,000 Women a Year Die From Unsafe Abortions
After three years of research, the New York-based Guttmacher Institute has concluded that although contraceptive use has lowered the number of abortions worldwide, unsafe abortions still account for a staggering 70,000 deaths a year, particularly in the developing world. More than half the deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with the lowest rates of contraceptive use and the highest rates of unintended pregnancies.
"In much of the developing world," said the Institute's president Sharon Camp, "abortion remains highly restricted, and unsafe abortion is common and continues to damage women's health and threaten their survival."
Many Blessings: Christian Sect Believes Its Kids Will Fix the US
It's not uncommon to say children are a blessing, but Quiverfull (the name of a small movement among Christian Evangelicals) families take the belief very, very seriously. So much that they eschew all forms of birth control, even natural methods, and 10-children families have become the norm. Is it so there's enough love to go around?
Yaz and Yasmine: Are These Birth Control Pills Safe?
Anne Marie Eakins, a 34-year-old history teacher in Grafton, OH, developed blood clots in both lungs in 2007 and even lost partial use of her right lung. The cause, as she sees it? The newish oral contraceptive Yaz, the top-selling birth control pill in the US, which she switched to after a decade of using different kinds of birth control pills without incurring health problems.
Want to Save the Planet? Use Contraception
Society's focus on green technology is a waste of time, according to the London School of Economics. What we really need to do to prevent climate change is to boost access to contraception.
Economists claim that family planning is the cheapest way to reduce carbon emissions.
Hump Day: I Don't Like Hormonal Birth Control, So Now What?
Welcome to Hump Day,TrèsSugar's sex advice column. Are you confused about sex? Do you have trouble having an orgasm?
More Indian Women Casually Using Emergency Contraception
Widespread access to family planning medication can come with some negative side effects. Gynecologists in India are reporting a sharp rise in medical complications, such as excessive bleeding or incomplete abortions, due to women's casual use of over the counter emergency contraception and abortion pills. Doctors say that women commonly look up the dosages on the Internet and then buy the pills themselves, never consulting a doctor.
Italy OKs Abortion Pill, Vatican to Excommunicate Doctors
Over the objections of the Vatican, Italy recently approved the use of RU486, commonly known as the abortion pill.
The pill, which can only be taken up to the seventh week of pregnancy, will not be sold in Italian pharmacies — only doctors will be allowed to administer it. The Vatican has made its opposition clear, promising that any doctor who does administer it will be excommunicated (along with the women who take it).
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