All (female and male) methods were mentioned, their advantages and disadvantages discussed and the healthcare professional didn’t forget to show an example of each as some are not widely available, others are used by fewer women and thus not so well known. Nurse Florbela also referred to the so-called permanent methods of birth control such as vasectomy and sterilization.
According to Teacher Maria João Machado / ESPAÇO J and Nurse Florbela Paiva, the ANSC 2 ladies proved it had been worthwhile with all their enthusiasm and interest. So, on behalf of ESPAÇO J, Teacher Maria João would like to thank the ladies for their active participation; on behalf of the 16 ANSC 2 ladies, I would like to thank Teacher Maria João for promoting such sessions and Nurse Florbela for her time and dedication. Many thanks also to the Biology teacher, José Miguel Mendonça.I wouldn’t like to finish though without leaving some personal remarks and suggestions.
The use of birth control methods is not new… people have done “family planning” for thousands of years! Yet today that we have so many safe and effective birth control methods available to us my question is: haven’t we reached a point where unplanned pregnancies really should be rare??? Why then are there still so many unplanned and teenage pregnancies??? Why do so many youngsters ask for Emergency Contraception (Morning after Pill)? Around Europe and in the US, multi-million campaigns have sought to improve access not just to the Pill and condoms, but also to raise awareness of the longer term options. Unlike the 16 ANSC ladies of my class, ALL schoolgirls and boys now have much more information and access to a much broader range of contraception – so much effort and money in a drive to curb teen pregnancy rate. Just to have an idea, have a look at these facts:
In the USA each year almost 750,000 teenage women aged 15–19 become pregnant (by the way... if you are curious, browse a bit "Gloucester Pregnancy Pact" documentary / news);
According to 2009 figures, the number of teenage pregnancies in England is still around 35,000 a year by under-18s, twice as high as in Germany, three times as high as in France and six times as high as in the Netherlands.So, what is failing? I believe our teens at Martinho Árias – Soure can’t complain: ESPAÇO J / teacher Maria João often in partnership with our Local Health Services / Nurse Florbela Paiva have committed themselves the task of bringing some sex education to our school, have been organizing sessions for years and the contest “the Strongest Link against AIDS” has surely contributed for the promotion of healthy sexual behaviours.
I believe high quality sex education in schools is vital and guidance to make that compulsory should be issued – but that is already the government’s role! As parents, we should all ask ourselves if we aren’t failing our kids… it is tough to be a parent nowadays but it is also much tougher (than it was for us) to be a teen – therefore...be sure you are there for them.
Some suggestions now for translations, research or simply for curiosity…
Especially for teachers, I would suggest a great movie on teenage pregnancy in which the issue is dealt with in a creative, different manner. Don’t miss JUNO.Well, there was no time for STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) in this (first :)) session with Nurse Florbela in which so much was updated if not for the ladies themselves for their own teenage children, but... who knows in another one??? Please, Nurse Florbela and Teacher Maria João???
4 comments:
very interestng post, Xana! You are the best!
It was a fact, afternoon 19 of January it was a day of clarification and like young people there are doubt in all ages. In my point of view the bigger problem of teenagers is - dialogue with parent is difficult
So the information passed between them, and unfortunately are not the more correct.
And speak with a nurse is ridicules, friends know everything, and the result is the high rate of pregnancy and disease in adolescence. For example in England there are teenagers who believe if that take a bath in coca-cola aren`t pregnant – do you believe? Of course not, only in their heads confusing and full with incorrect information. So I think they must have sexual education at school.
Thenk you, Margarida, you know how I praise your comments, don't you???
And thank you Lurdes for your comment, too. The beliefs you mentioned shouldn't really exist, for God's sake!! We are in the XXI century. That's also why there should be sexual / relationship education at school, right?
It was a very interesting session. We can never say we know everything and Nurse Florbela showed us that. We are waiting for other sessions.
Thank you all.
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