Cyclebeads

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/this_is_green/2224717957/)
This is something I read about in a womans magazine article. I found it to be very interesting and something many women do not know about. So I researched the topic online, and this is what I learned. It is a very simple system, however, I do not consider it to be foulproof. it does not work for everyone and is probably only good for women with very predictable cycles.

CycleBeads are a highly effective, inexpensive approach to natural family planning. They make it easy for a woman to track her menstrual cycle and clearly identify the days she could become pregnant and the days when pregnancy is most unlikely. CycleBeads have no side effects due to the lack of hormones or chemicals involved. CycleBeads are based on the Standard Days Method, which works best for women who have regular menstrual cycles (between 26 and 32 days long). In this system, days 1-7 of a woman's menstrual cycle are considered infertile. Days 8-19 are considered fertile. Infertility is considered to resume beginning on day 20. When used to avoid pregnancy, the Standard Days Method has a perfect-use failure rate of 5% per year.

How to use CycleBeads:

CycleBeads consist of a series of color-coded beads that represent a woman's fertile and low fertility days. The color of the bead indicates whether she is likely to be fertile or not.

On the first day of her period the woman puts the rubber ring on the red bead. Each day the ring is moved ahead by one bead, always in the direction of the arrow. When the ring is on the red bead or a dark bead, there is a very low chance of pregnancy. When the ring is on a white bead - Days 8 through 19 - there is a high chance of getting pregnant if she has unprotected intercourse.

Natural Birth Control

Natural birth control is one of the most widely used methods. Some religions and cultural beliefs do not allow artificial birth control devices or drugs. The natural birth control method is more acceptable to these people. This method includes a periodic abstinence, with couples avoiding sexual intercourse during the woman's fertile period.

The rhythm method or calendar method, standard days method, and withdrawal method are some of the natural birth control methods.

In the rhythm method, sexual intercourse takes place based on three assumptions. The first is that ovulation occurs fourteen days before the beginning of menstruation. This method also relies upon the fact that the sperm will remain viable for three days and that the ovum survives for twenty-four hours. With these theories in mind, women can decide on the days of abstinence. The standard day method replaced the rhythm method over a period of time. In the standard day method, the first day of a period is considered as day one. Women can have unprotected sex from day one to day seven. From days eight to nineteen, they should avoid sex. From day twenty to the next period, they can again have unprotected intercourse.

Withdrawal is a method of natural birth control in which the man withdraws his penis from the woman before ejaculation. This method does not always work because the man must have enough control to withdraw in time.

Natural birth control methods allow a woman to have an understanding of her body. These methods have no side effects. Natural birth control methods do not require the use of drugs or chemicals. Compared with other birth control methods, a natural birth control method is inexpensive. These methods can also be used to achieve pregnancy. Natural birth control methods require discipline and charting. This is most suitable for women with regular and predictable menstrual cycles.

RU486

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/85944727@N00/273735564/)
Ru486, or "the abortion pill", contains the synthetic steroid mifepristone which interferes with the body's production of progesterone (the hormone that builds up the uterine lining to prepare for pregnancy). Two medications are typically used when performing a medical abortion: Ru486, which stops a fertilized egg from attaching to the lining of the uterus, and misoprostol, which causes uterine contractions.
The abortion pill is approved for women up to 7 weeks pregnant (5 weeks since conception) or up to 49 days after her last menstrual period. Ru486 helps to terminate a pregnancy without surgery and is 92 - 98% effective when used in combination with misoprostol. When mifepristone is used alone, it is only 64 - 85% effective.
Ru486 is highly effective and less painful to the body than surgical abortion. However, mifepristone may not be an option for women with liver or kidney problems, anemia, diabetes, Rh-negative blood or those who are overweight.

Ru486 Side Effects
Minor cramping
Possible nausea
Vomiting and diarrhea
Bleeding can last 8 to 10 days

Will I gain weight?

( http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicagrace/3288035957/)
One of the biggest worries of women starting birth control is the fact that one of the side effects of the pill is weight gain. Weight gain is a common side effect for all hormonal methods of birth control. Women under the pill usually have an increase in appetite and have easier fat depositions. This is because of the increase in hormones. How much a woman will gain tends to vary. On average, women using the birth control pill gain approximately 10 lbs during the first year of use. Some women may gain more while others may not gain any weight at all. A lot of women who stopped using any hormonal birth control find that the weight comes off easily.
There are things you can do to prevent the dreaded 10lb weight gain. All is not lost. You can try other types of birth control. If you want to stay with the birth control pill you are currently using, being more aware of your diet and exercising lifestyle can also help prevent unwanted weight gain.

Birth Control and Bleeding

Are you still bleeding or experiencing spotting while on the pill? If this is the first time you started using birth control pills, it is normal for new users to bleed during the first three months while on the pill. If you continue to bleed while on the pill, speak with your doctor to see if you should come off the pill for a little while. Once you get back on the pill, there should not be anymore bleeding or spotting.
Bleeding or spotting while you are currently using birth control pills is known is breakthrough bleeding. If you are still bleeding or spotting, you should try switching to a different pill. Bleeding or spotting usually indicates that your pills are not as effective as they should be (additional methods of birth control when you are bleeding or spotting are recommended). Spotting is also a symptom of a sexually transmitted disease known as Chlamydia.
This is something I am very familiar with. I used to be on the pill and experienced abnormal breakthrough bleeding, once for three months. At first I thought I was menstruating, but when it wouldn't go away, I knew something else was up.
However, if you are bleeding after intercourse with your partner, that could be a whole other problem. "f you are bleeding after sex, check with your doctor immediately. Vaginal bleeding after sex can indicate the following:
Cervical Dysplasia (precancerous changes of the epithelial cells that line the cervix)
Chlamydia (bacterial infection transmitted through sexual activity or contact with semen, vaginal fluid, or blood)
Gonorrhea (an STD caused by bacteria. Pharmaceutical treatments available)
Vaginitis/Cervicitis (inflammation, swelling, and/or infection of the vagina or cervix)
Cervical Polyps (smooth, red or purple, finger-like growths grown from mucus layer of the cervix or the cervical canal)
Trichomoniasis (STD caused by protozoan)
Vaginal Yeast Infection (overgrowth of the normal fungi in the vaginal area)
Endometritis (inflammation of the endometrium)
Adenomyosis (when an endometrial tissue attaches itself to the uterus, or another organ, and grows outside of the uterus)
Uterine Polyps (overgrowth of the endometrium causing protrusions into the uterus)
Fibroid Tumors (a benign tumor)"
(http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/blog/2008/12/birth-control-and-bleeding.html)

Over 35 too old for Birth Control?

According to certain researchers(and this ), taking birth control over the age of 35 puts you at many health risks. "Heart disease death rates have recently risen in women ages 35 to 44, and no one knows exactly why. This could be due to an increase in obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and smoking, all of which raise heart disease risk. But it could also be because more middle-aged women are using hormonal contraceptives today than ever before." (http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-women/2009/01/13/should-you-stop-taking-birth-control-pills-if-youre-over-35.html)
There are a number of risks that increase your risk of health problems. They include:

• Smoking: Never, ever take the pill if you smoke—especially if you're over 35. You'll up your odds of blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes, especially if you smoke more than 15 cigarettes a day. Of course, quitting cigarettes will do your heart far more good than avoiding the pill will.

• Obesity: A few extra pounds probably isn't risky, but obese women—defined as having a body mass index over 30—have nearly twice the risk of developing dangerous blood clots if they take the pill compared with women at a healthy body weight.

• High blood pressure: If you have a history of high blood pressure, even if it's well controlled, it's probably best to avoid the pill because it can have a blood-pressure-raising effect. Women under 35 whose hypertension is controlled with medication can safely try oral contraceptives if their blood pressure is monitored, says the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

• Diabetes: The jury's still out as to whether oral contraceptives adversely affect a diabetic's blood sugar levels, but to be on the safe side, ACOG recommends that women over 35 with diabetes avoid the pill.

• High cholesterol: Women whose LDL cholesterol is over 160 mg/dL should avoid using the pill. Ditto for those with a family history of premature heart disease or those with an HDL level less than 35 mg/dL or a triglyceride level greater than 250 mg/dL.

• Migraines: Here's a surprise, at least to me. ACOG recommends against using the pill if you get migraines because some studies have shown that the combination increases a woman's risk of having a stroke by two to three times. I'm going to check with my doctor on this one since I occasionally get migraines—though I used to have far more of them before I went on the pill.

For women who do not smoke or have any of these health problems, the pill can be taken safely into a womans 50s. Birth control can also help with premenstrual symptoms such as hot flashes.

Glamorous Life of Teenage Mother

I know this is a little off topic of the subject of birth control, but when I saw this video, it really made me feel bad for this young girl. She is 19 years old and has an 18 month old son. The father of the child is not around, and she is left to raise the baby on her own. She does not have a job and lives with her mother and grandmother, who do help her.
The short video shows clips from the movie Juno and pictures in magazines from when Jamie Lynn Spears (Britney Spears' little sister) had a baby. The video was hinting at the fact that the media can have a tendency to glorify teen pregnancy. I am not sure how I feel about that statement. I know that teen minds are young and impressionable, but when I was that young, never did the idea of having a baby seem glamorous to me. What came to my mind when I thought about the possibility of becoming pregnant was my parents killing me and the end of my life as I knew it. It is probably the biggest responsibility one can take on. You are in charge of a whole other human being. You have to clothed it, feed it properly, teach it right from wrong-whatever you do is going to shape your child into the person they are going to become for the rest of their lives.
It brought a tear to my eye when the girl in the video started talking about her life and how she has to depend on her mother and grandmother for many things. She said she feels bad asking for things and she knows they get tired of the constant care that goes into raising a child. She had her whole life ahead of her, and now this child has set her back. When teen celebrities have babies, they have money and can go on living a comfortable life. When your average teen has a baby, they usually drop out of school, live below the poverty line and never accomplish the life goals they had before becoming pregnant.
This is a perfect example of why condoms should be distributed in schools to teens who need them and the need for education to inform students how to protect themselves-not only from pregnancy but also diseases.

Bristol Palin Speaking Out for Abstinence

Bristol Palin — Sarah Palin’s 19-year-old-daughter and unwed mother of 4-month-old Tripp — has been chosen as an Abstinence Ambassador for the Candies Foundation. She made the rounds of the morning shows, appeared at a town hall meeting for National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day and declared herself committed to discouraging behavior that would leave other girls in the same predicament she finds herself in. “Regardless of what I did personally,” she told Chris Cuomo on Good Morning America, “abstinence is the only … 100% foolproof way you can prevent pregnancy.”
Hmm, I wonder if Mommy Sarah Palin had anything to do with this. “It doesn’t look good for a future presidential hopeful to have a daughter who had a child and did not marry the dad. They had to re-brand Bristol Palin so that she fits into the conservative base.” It was a mixed message, others charged: “Don’t have sex as a teenager, but if you do, you might end up a happy celebrity with this beautiful baby.” Life is much messier and all the odds were against them, and in a real sense it diminishes Bristol’s challenge, and her clear determination to meet it, to pretend otherwise. Only 4 in 10 teenage mothers finish high school; less than 2% of girls who have babies under 18 will finish college by the time they are 30; just waiting until 20 or 21 increases the odds fourfold. Two thirds of families of young unwed mothers are poor. When pregnant teens do marry, they are 50% more likely to get divorced than those who marry without being pregnant.
She was right back in February when she said it was “not realistic,” she is right now when she says practicing it is hard, and she’s right that it is much better and safer for kids to postpone having sex. She also advocates that kids who have sex should use contraception. This has always been the irony of the fight over sex education. The increased emphasis on abstinence in the past 15 years has been a factor in pushing back the age at which kids have their first sexual experience, reducing the number of partners they have and lowering both the teen abortion rates and pregnancy rates. The problem with Abstinence Only education was not the Abstinence, it was the ONLY. The most effective message is to encourage postponement of sexual activity while providing full and complete information on contraception, decision-making and disease prevention. Which is why the President’s just released budget ends funding for programs that restrict the discussion to abstinence alone.

Birth Control and Muscle Gain

Many women are aware of the side effects of birth control- weight gain, bloating, moodiness, increase chance of cancer, but a new side effect has been discovered that many did not know about. The American Physiological Society conducted a study detailing the effect of contraceptive pills on muscle mass. Its all in this article by empowher (a womens online health forum)Researchers found that women taking an oral contraceptive who performed 10 weeks of resistance training gained 40 percent less muscle mass than women who were not taking oral contraceptives.
Exercise physiologist Chang Woock Lee, and several other researchers at Texas A&M University, says this is due to the way that oral contraceptives affect a woman’s hormone levels. Lee also found that certain pills made muscle gain less likely, such as medium and high androgenic progestins. "In the blood concentrations of women in the study who were taking oral contraceptives, we found lower levels of anabolic or muscle building hormones and higher levels of catabolic or muscle breaking hormones as opposed to women who were not taking oral contraceptives,"

Crazy Man..

People like this get me angry. There is a man, Dan Holman, who stands in front of planned parenthood clinics and harasses women he believes are going to have abortions.
Here is an example of a day in Dan's life:
"Two women turned into the lot. One of Holman's fellow protesters rushed toward their SUV with anti-abortion literature, but the women ignored the protestor and parked in front of Planned Parenthood. Holman was sure they came for an abortion.Holman picked up his unamplified megaphone, which he calls the "Truth Horn." The women opened their car doors. Holman wore a wide-brimmed hat like a pilgrim's, and black clothes to show he's in mourning. "Your baby wants to live!" the 62-year-old Keokuk man shouted. "Your baby don't want to die! It's a beautiful little boy or little girl, your son or daughter, but not yours to kill! Your circumstances will change! You can't bring baby back to life once it's dead!"Holman's voice echoed. The women walked toward the clinic door. Holman wanted to prick the women's consciences. He does this, he said, because he's the last line of defense for a baby's life. In the culture wars surrounding issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, Holman is a front-line combatant."
It is hard enough for a woman to make the decision whether or not to keep her baby, every woman has a right to choose what she does with her body. The decision she makes is what she feels is the best one for life situation at the moment. It is not an easy decision, and it is not a happy one. The process is usually emotional and confusing. This man is not making the lives of these women any easier. First of all, he is a man, he will never know what it is like to be pregnant. He will never know what it is like to make a decision like this, ever.
He may feel like he is helping, because in his own crazy mind, he thinks he is. However, he is just bringing more pain and anguish to women who have alot on their plate already. Who is he to judge?

Finally, a school that isn't afraid to come out and fact reality!

This article from the Seattle Times is about how the Willamina School Board has approved a health plan that includes birth control for students. Teens in these schools who are sexually active may be given birth control, it may also be prescribed if a parent requests it for their daughter. This school district is located in Oregon.
Personally, I think this is a great idea. I also believe this school district has alot of courage for going against conservative views about abstinence only education. So many schools have been reprimanded for giving out condoms in schools and teaching sex education to children, and this school has an agreement with a health center to give out contraceptives. I applaud them to waking up and living in the real world, where teens are sexually active. Teaching abstinence only education will not make teens stop participating in sexual and risky behavior. This teaches teens to be responsible about their behavior, and also will prevent teen pregnancy. You would think in such a liberal state like New York, this would happen here. I mean, thank god schools do not promote abstinence only education, but some teens aren't even aware of birth control, they are not taught.

Yet another method..implanon

New methods of birth control seem to appear almost daily. For a while, they look promising, and then we hear all the old warnings again - like blood clots. A variety of pills are available as well as injections and patches. None of these methods have been proven 100% safe for a woman to use.Now a new one has come on the scene. Will this be the one women have been waiting for? It's called Implanon. The Implanon web site describes it this way:

IMPLANON™ is a small, thin, implantable hormonal contraceptive that is effective for up to three years.

I went on to the website to research this new three year no worry birth control device. The site did not seem totally full of information, I felt like it told me what every other birth control device site would of told me. I would probably want to speak to a doctor thoroughly before trying this new method out. It says after it is put in, you can't feel or see it. It claims to be over 99% effective and even includes a chart to prove this(which i have placed on the side)

As with all new methods though, I would wait awhile to see if any recalls or woman taking it experience any negative effects or health problems.

Giving birds birth control?

Downtown officials have to decided to feed pigeons birth control. I am not sure how I feel about this. They are going to do this because they find the birds unsightly and claim they poop everywhere. You can read about it here. They also claim the bird droppings corrode away buildings and litter sidewalks. "A giant chunk of a building's facade recently fell in downtown St. Paul and officials suspect those nasty pigeons are to blame." So how would they give them contraceptives do you ask? Well the plan is to put up feeders filled with bird feed that are mixed with the birth control.
I have a few questions this article doesn't explain. In fact, this article does not explain much except for the fact that pigeons are "ugly" and ruining the city. Is this feed safe for pigeons? What happens if they eat too much? I know there are side effects and dangers to humans taking birth control, there must be some risk to birds eating it.
Who are officials to play mother nature? We don't go around feeding humans dinner laced with birth control. There are plenty of irritating and usightly children walking around. Does this mean we can limit human births too? Animals are not soley for the use of humans. Animals are a separate species who have just as much as a right to live peacefully on this planet and reproduce freely. Maybe the reason they feel the city is overpopulated with them is because we keep tearing down their homes to build a shopping mall or parking lot.

one in ten woman can't afford their birth control

At the recent conference of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the organization released findings from a recent Gallup poll it commissioned. The survey results reveal as alarming news about women's reproductive health in a declining economy.

Women say that using birth control is extremely important to them but, they can't afford it.

Gallup found that six percent of women using a hormonal form of birth control, such as the pill, said they had abandoned the method because they could not afford it. Ten percent of women said they were worried about their ability to keep paying for contraception. Some women said they had switched birth control methods because of cost. Women reported that, on average, having a reliable method of contraception is extremely important to them (a "9" on a scale of one to 10). Women who said that they have been affected a great deal by the country's economy are more than twice as likely to report that they have decided to limit the size of their family (29% vs. 13%)
Fourteen percent have postponed their annual Ob/Gyn check-up.

Given this, the Obama adminstration could not have had better timing with the report they released today, "Roadblocks to Health Care: Why the Current Health Care System Does Not Work for Women."

The report explains that "Women are more vulnerable to high health care costs than men," and that, "Women's reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care." We're paying for these biological differences too: Women are often charged higher premiums than men during their reproductive years. According to the report, keeping other factors constant, a 22-year-old woman can be charged one and a half times the premium of a 22-year-old man. This difference largely disappears well after our fertility does--by age 64.

The Obama administration is approaching the health care crisis with the understanding that women and men might not have equal access to the care they need. They identify the actual problem before designing a solution. This is heartening after so many years of an administration that viewed the solutions as the problem e.g., Bush’s opposition to birth control. The new approach is to view women's health and rights as critical pieces of our nation's recovery plan. I am beginning to feel better already.

Katy Perry, the famous "I Kissed A Girl" singer takes oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. She takes no risks when it comes to pregnancy. Eventually she will settle down and have children, when she is ready. She says, "I love being in love, I love the idea of marriage and making babies, but not yet. Not until I'm 30."
After breaking up with Gym Class Heros star, Travis McCoy last year. Katy Perry explains to us how she takes her birth control pills: 'I basically chew my birth control tablets - I chew them like vitamin C, I'm like, "nomnomnomnom".'

Girls who are sexually active, should protect themselves from any chance of becoming pregnant. Not everyone is ready to become a mother yet. Katy Perry says, "This is a really important time in my life. During the next two or three years, if I do things right, I will have a real career, and if I don't, well, I'll just be that girl who kissed a girl."

Those who suffer with severe PMS, (premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)) or just plain old mild PMS know how much of a pain in the butt it can be. Some of you may find yourself in severe pain and exhaustion locked in your room for days, while others will be more courageous and step into civilization... turning the friendly greeting from your neighbor into a scene from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There is a pill that claims to help.

What is PMDD?

PMDD is a severe form of PMS. Only 5% of women suffer from PMDD, and although it is not very common, some of us have "in-between" cases of PMS and PMDD that continue to affect the way we live.

Symptoms of PMDD include:



- Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness

- Anxiety or tension

- Unstable mood and frequent crying

- Persistent irritability causing conflict in relationships

- Loss of interest in usual activities or relationships

- Lack of concentration

- Lack of energy

- Changes in appetite, possibly including cravings or binge eating

- Sleeping too much or too little

- Feeling out of control

- Physical symptoms including breast tenderness, breast swelling, headache, joint/muscle aches, bloating, and weight gain.

However severe your PMS symptoms are, there is a safe and convenient way to treat it.

So what exactly is this miracle medicine that is capable of taming the premenstrual beast in you? It's Yaz. Yaz oral contraceptives are the only birth control pills that will treat cases of PMDD. This has been proven by the FDA, when a study showed that women taking Yaz reduced their PMS symptoms by at least 50%. Wow. That would also mean, if you took Yaz, you would have less arguments with mothers, sisters, significant others - and anyone else that gets in your way!

Yaz birth control pills contain levels of the female hormones estrogen and progestin. Together, these hormones exist in harmony and balance the natural processes of the female body. Dr. Andrea Rapkin, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, states: "Like other birth control pills, Yaz contains the female hormones estrogen and progestin. Unlike other versions of the pill, Yaz uses a form of progestin that has unique properties. These hormones, when working together stimulate the bloodstream, the heart, and the brain. This means, that stressed-out organs can finally relax when a balanced dose of the hormones are present.
"For my PMDD patients who need a treatment to reduce their symptoms -- as well as a safe and effective contraception to prevent pregnancy -- YAZ is an important option that can meet both of their health care needs in a single pill" - Dr. Andrea Rapkin

Woman love running, wearing big earrings and hugging friends!

This video is about how birth control is advertised to women. The title is Target Women: Birth Control. The woman in the video is Sarah Haskins. She has a number of videos all how different products are targeted towards women. Basically, they are about how companies advertise toward or the way they depict women. They are pretty humorous, you should them out here.
As it plays, it depicts different birth control commercials. All advertising the fact that the most attractive thing about birth control is that it can you give you lighter periods and reduce irritability and bloating. One commercial shows a group of women, in a nightclub, sitting around and talking about birth control in technical terms. This is totally inaccurate and unrelatable, in fact, if you watch it, its silly. Everyone knows the most attractive aspect of birth control is that it allows you to have sex and not get pregnant. Why is it that they don't point that out in commercials? Is it a faux paus? Do these companies just figure everyone knows the purpose of birth control? As they say in the video, its being sold as period control rather than birth control.
A whole birth control commericial can be produced and watched without even mentioning sex. The whole reason for the pill/shot/patch in the first place!

Male birth control pill?

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/fernandafronza/457996225/)
A birth control pill will soon be an option to men, says this article by msn.com. Not only will a pill be available, but also being talked about is a shot, patch and gel which can be applied to the skin. The method is said to release testosterone in the body. "The Seattle researchers have been testing a sustained-released, testosterone micro-capsule, which consists of a thick liquid administered by injection under the skin."(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3543478/)

This is a new revolution in the world of birth control. In the past, usually, it has always been left up to woman when it came to everything except condoms. Woman have to remember to take their pill everyday, deal with side effects and add the extra cost to their budget. Now as the tables turn, men will inherit a new responsibility. It would also be a new sense of empowerment to men. It would certainly eliminate the whole "she got pregnant to trap me" clique. In the future, if the men seriously does not want children, this method will guarantee no accidents. "“Some women are out there to use men to get pregnant. This could deter women from doing this. An athlete or a singer is someone who could be a target and they could put a stop to that.”(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3543478/)

This pill, so far, has been tested in California and the researchers are working with investigators in China. A clinical trial is now set to happen at 10 different sites across China and includes 1,000 men. Phase III trial involves a single injection given once every month. Similar trials in the United States are a hope to start within the next 2 years. Right now researchers are formulating to find the best method with the least side effects with least amount of medication that gives the strongest effect.

So now the question is "Will men actually take it?" The article says that some say yes, while others say only if there was pressure from a partner and then there are those who won't even consider it.

Birth Control made cheaper for undergrads...good idea!

In 2005, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act, which prohibited pharmaceutical companies from selling contraceptives to college health centers at a reduced price. President Obama, however, signed a bill reversing that provision in the act. This is a very good thing, obviously alot of college students are sexually active, but they are not the most responsible people either. However, according to this article
by the John Hopkins University newsletter, due to the recession, pharmaceutical companies are not giving universities a straight answer on whether contraceptives will be sold at a discounted price. Everytime a drug company is reached a response such as "We'll get back to you" or "We're discussing that at the moment" is given. It all comes down to money in the end, as usual. Before President put the provision into effect, the NuvaRing sold for $3-$5 while oral contraceptives sold for around $10-$11. In the meantime, health centers have been encouraging students to get the generic versions of the bigger name brand contraceptives in stores such as Wal-mart, where it is more affordable. There is complaint though that students have trouble getting to bigger stores like wal-mart and the inconvenience factor is an issue. Students also feel less comfortable going to an outside source of their school.
I do not understand why this provision was passed in the first place. If anyone needs discounted birth control, I would put college students on the list. Many do not have jobs, or high paying ones, and already are on a budget. The standard cost of birth control pills can be as high as $50 per cycle. That is not an affordable rate. Due to the laziness, many students will just stop using contraceptives altogether. The campus even has recorded that once students realized the price of the pills from the health center, they declined to buy them. I truly hope that the drug companies change their minds in the decision to not sell discounted pills.

Should condoms be distributed in schools?

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/riekhavoc/2569245154/)

There has always been some type of controversy surrounding the issue of having condoms distributed in school. This article in the New York Times discusses different viewpoints of different school districts and what is going on regarding this issue. The article states that poor neighborhoods see the condoms as a salvation from AIDS and unwanted pregnancy, while more thriving neighborhoods see the condoms as a catalyst.

One side of the debate here is that the condom distribution goes against religious morals. Other parents say it goes against their attempts to persuade their children to postpone engaging in sexual activity. Others feel that the condoms will just encourage the students to go out and have sex earlier than they had planned to. The truth is, in my opinion, students are going to have sex when they feel they want to. Placing a condom in someone's hand does not make a student crazy and think, "Well hey, I have to use this right away, let me go have sex with the first person who shows an interest in me." I think having condoms readily available in high schools is a good idea. Many kids do not have money for condoms, or are afraid to purchase them. By having them available at school, at least these students will be protected against diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
The article states that about 80 percent of high school students are sexually active, and we should not close our eyes to the fact that this is happening. If the students are not handed condoms but find themselves in a sexual situation, they may engage in intercourse anyway. Wouldn't you rather equip them with the knowledge and "tools" for these situations? Or would you rather have them rely on rumors such as "You can never get pregnant the first time" or lies like "I swear I am a virgin." Parents may like to believe their children are not engaging in risky behavior, but the truth is, they are. I would rather protect and inform students than leave them in the dark and have something that could of been prevented happen.

Growing up Online

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilonap/2924307861/)


This is a video we watched in class done by Frontline about today's teenagers and their involvement with the internet. The video goes through several different teens and their scenerio's. One of them is a family who lives in a small suburban town. There are two daughters and a son. This mother seems very paranoid about the internet and sexual predators. I'm not saying parents should not be concerned with what their children are taking part in online, but I believe she was a bit overbearing. She put the computer in a place where her children couldn't have any privacy and asked for her children's passwords (even though she didn't get them) By emailing the parents of her sons friends about the youtube video depicting underage drinking, she basically lost the trust of her son. Even she admitted that it damaged the relationship they prevously had.
In class, there was alot of mixed reviews about the girl going by the name Autumn Edows. They claimed she was not really happy with who she was, and that is why she created a whole other life for herself online. I would have to disagree with that opinion. In school, she seemed different, "goth" perhaps. Her peers ridiculed her and make her feel bad about herself. When she was online, it was her expression of herself. It was how she wanted to be represented and people appreciated her image. I am happy her parents finally agreed to support her decisions.
Personally, I didn't think this video was informative to myself. It was entertaining and I was a little amazed to see how much these kids were into myspace and how their lives revolved around the net. I believe this video is meant a bit to scare parents into monitoring internet use closely. When you are in high school, I believe you are aware and smart enough to know which decision is going to be a risky one and which is going to keep you safe. Like all people, teens need their privacy too. The generation gap between teens and their parents doesn't help the situation at all either. Teens usually have a limit on when they can leave the house and for how long, especially on school nights. Aim and facebook allows kids to stay socially connected after school without leaving the house. Its just another way of "hanging out." That is what I think some parents fail to understand. Since it is something they did not grow up with or may not use for social networking, they probably don't understand most of what is being done is harmless.

Obama to move on abortion and birth control

This is an article from the website The Australian. It is an online newspaper.
The article states that President Obama will overturn a rule that allowed healthcare companies to deny birth control or abortions if it clashed with their morals.
This, to me, is ridiculous. It is not the job of a healthcare company to guide people morally. Each and every person has their own set of ideals and morals. If someone has an opinion different than yours, then you should respect it, even if you do not agree with it. Whether or not a woman chooses to go on birth control or have an abortion is the personal decision of the woman. There is no need for companies getting involved, trying to tell people how to live their lives.

Abstinence

The choice to abstain from sexual activity altogether or until marriage is called abstinence. If two people don't have sex, then sperm can't fertilize an egg and there's no possibility of a pregnancy. With abstinence, no barriers or pills are necessary because the person is not having sex. Many people believe this is a life choice, not a birth control method, but it is categorized as one. You do not need to be a virgin to practice abstinence. This is something you can choose to do any time, as long as you are happy and comfortable with your choice. There are many different reasons people choose to abstain. Some of these reasons may be to prevent pregnancy and STD's, waiting till they find the "right" partner, waiting until they are ready for a sexual relationship, focusing on school or career path, religious beliefs, medical reasons or to help heal after a bad breakup.
Abstinence is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy and STD's. It is the only flaw proof method. "Although many birth control methods can have high rates of success if used properly, they can fail occasionally. Practicing abstinence ensures that a girl won't become pregnant because there's no opportunity for sperm to fertilize an egg."
(http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/contraception/abstinence.html)
Like everything else, there are advantages and disadvantages to being abstinent.
They are:

• no medical or hormonal side effects
• free

The disadvantages include:

• People may find it difficult to abstain for long periods of time
• Women and men often end their abstinence without being prepared to protect themselves against pregnancy or infection

Abstinence is not for everyone, and for many people it can be a difficult choice. If you are tempted to stray from your abstinence pledge, it helps to stop and think why you chose that path in the first place. In the end, you need to do what is going to make you happy.

Female Condoms

One may ask why I chose this very method of birth control to write a whole blog post on. I guess I picked this medthod because 1. It is not mentioned often, and most people don't know about it and 2. I was curious to know more. Call me weird, call me whatever you will.
This condom has been available in Europe in 1992, and was approved in the U.S. by the FDA in 1993. This female condom carries various brand names in different countries including Reality, Femidom, Dominique, Femy, Myfemy, Protectiv’ and Care. The FC (female condom) is a polyurethane sheath or pouch about 17 cm in length. On each end there is a flexible ring. At the closed end of the sheath, the flexible ring is inserted into the vagina to hold the female condom in place. At the other open end of the sheath, the ring stays outside the vulva at the entrance to the vagina. This ring acts as a guide during penetration and it also stops the sheath bunching up inside the vagina. This condom does not contain spermicide.

In 2005, a new version of the condom was introduced, FC2. This has the same design as the original version but is made of nitrile, which may make it cheaper to produce. The FC2 began large-scale production in 2007.

The VA w.o.w. Condom Feminine (or VA for short) has been distributed as part of HIV prevention efforts in South Africa since 2004. It recently has become available in Brazil, Indonesia and through government clinics in Portugal. One more trial is needed before the
product can gain FDA approval for sale in the USA. The VA is made of latex.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using the FC.
The advantages are:

• Opportunity for women to share the responsibility for the condoms with their partners
• A woman may be able to use the female condom if her partner refuses to use the male condom
• The female condom will protect against most STDs and pregnancy if used correctly
• The FC female condom can be inserted up to 8 hours before intercourse so as not to interfere with the moment
• The FC female condoms are made of polyurethane and nitrile, which are less likely to cause an allergic reaction than latex. These materials can be used with oil-based as well as water-based lubricants. No special storage requirements are needed because polyurethane and nitrile are not affected by changes in temperature and dampness. In addition, these materials are thin and conduct heat well, so sensation is preserved.

The disadvantages are:

• The outer ring or frame is visible outside the vagina, which can make some women feel self-conscious
• The female condoms can make noises during intercourse
  
• Some women find the female condom hard to insert and to remove
• It has a higher failure rate in preventing pregnancy than non-barrier methods such as the pill
• It is relatively expensive and relatively limited in availability in some countries
• It is recommended that the female condom be used only once

"The Patch"

One of the most recent forms of birth control has been the birth control patch. This patch is a thin, beige square patch that sticks to your skin.
The way this works is very simple. The combination of the hormones progesterone and estrogen in the patch prevents ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovaries during a girl's monthly cycle). If an egg isn't released, a girl can't get pregnant because there's nothing for a guy's sperm to fertilize. The hormones in the patch also thicken the mucus produced in the cervix, making it difficult for sperm to enter and reach any eggs that may have been released. The hormones can also sometimes affect the lining of the uterus so that if the egg is fertilized it will have a hard time attaching to the wall of the uterus.
Like other birth control methods that use hormones, a girl uses the birth control patch based on her monthly menstrual cycle. She puts on the patch on the first day of her menstrual cycle. She will place the patch on her skin once a week for 3 weeks in a row. The patch should be applied to one of four areas: the abdomen, buttocks, upper arm, or upper torso. On the fourth week, no patch is worn, and a girl's period should start during this time.
There have been problems associated with the patch. One of them is blood clots. This is because estrogen, which appears in the pill as well, causes blood to coagulate in the veins. It seems though that the patch appears to cause more blood clots than the pill. According to epigee.org, this is the reason for this higher instance of blood clots "the birth control patch actually delivers higher amounts of estrogen directly to your bloodstream. The traditional pill is broken down in your intestinal tract before any hormones reach the bloodstream. By the time it is broken down, about 50% of the estrogen contained in the pill has been lost. However, because the patch delivers estrogen straight through the skin and into the bloodstream, users are actually receiving about 60% more estrogen with this form of birth control. As a result, their risks for blood clots increases."
So then comes the question, is it safe to use the patch? Even though the patch is FDA approved they recommend that women with concerns or risk factors for serious blood clots talk with their health care provider about contraceptive options.

Plan B

Everyone always has a plan a. Plan a is usually your ideal situation, smooth, easy and comfortable. Things will fall into place and you can go on contently with your life. However, we live in a world where plan a just doesn't work out sometimes. That is when plan b comes into place.

This plan a meaning safe sex. This plan b meaning emergency contraception. What is emergency contraception? "Emergency contraception is a method to prevent pregnancy in women who have had unprotected sex. It can be used following many different situations including rape, unplanned acts of intercourse, or when a birth control method fails. For example, if a condom breaks, a diaphragm slips out of place, or a woman forgets to take birth control pills. Emergency contraception medicine is not the same as the "abortion pill." A woman who knows she is pregnant takes the abortion pill with the intent to end an early pregnancy (usually 4 to 7 weeks after conception). Emergency contraception pills are taken after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy from occurring. Unlike most types of birth control, which must be put in place or taken before intercourse, emergency contraception can be used up to 3 days after intercourse." (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007014.htm)

There are several types of emergency contraception. The most popular, known as the morning after pill, is called Plan B. It is the only FDA approved emergency contraception. It is a two pill pack. You take the first pill and then follow with the second one twelve hours later. It is available over the counter for women aged 18 and over. The pill works by delaying ovulation of the egg or slow egg or sperm movement in the fallopian tubes, making it harder for the embryo to stick to the lining of the uterus. Plan B is 89% effective if taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse.

You shouldn't abuse Plan B and use it as a form of birth control. That is not what it is meant for, and if done that way, it becomes less effective. It is for emergencies only.

Did you know?

Did you know?

This short video, presented in class, is about the growing of technology through such a short period of time. It almost makes me feel technologically paranoid. In the video, it states that the top 10 jobs in 2010, did not even exist in 2004. I would be lying if I said I wasn't just alittle scared of all the new advanced technology to come. The internet has become a whole separate world, bigger than the world we actually live in. There are over 200 million registered users on myspace alone, and 1 in 8 married couples have met on the internet. We are entering an information revolution. Almost everything done nowadays is done with a computer. People use computers at work, in school, at home, it is a major part of peoples lives. I almost feel dependant on my computer, sometimes it can be an addiction. If I go a day without checking email/facebook, I crave it, it's actually pretty ridiculous.

When I first watched this video, I didn't think it was xenophobic. I think I was too distracted with all the techological advancements to see it. Then I watched the video again..oh about ten more times. The more I watched it, the more I started to see it. There is a constant comparison between the U.S. and other countries. It starts from the very beginning when they mention the fact about China soon being the country with the largest english speaking population, then about the intelligence rates in children here and in India. It also ends with the birth rates in the U.S., China and India. I almost feel as if it is some sort of competition. Almost as if it is saying "look at the other countries beating us, what does it mean?"

Birth Control

Birth Control. Ah yes, birth control.

This refers to condoms (male and female), "the pill", abstinence, IUD, "the shot", "the ring", diaphragm, natural family planning and withdrawal method. Let me know if I have forgotten any.

The first contraceptive history dates back to 200 AD. There was a greek gynecologist named Soranus who thought that women ovulated during menstruation. His suggestions were to smear pomegranate pulp, ginger, olive oil around the vagina to kill sperm. Also, jumping backwards 7 times after sex to dislodge sperm.

Ever wonder where the word condom originated from? According to Buzzle.com, it derives from the latin word Condus, which means a vessel or container. This word was probably chosen because it was first aimed to hold the semen and bacteria/and or viruses that are sexually transmitted. In 1880, latex condoms were first produced. As time went on, there was a double standard for condom use. Men were prescribed condoms to prevent themselves for disease for premarital sex while women could not get condoms to prevent pregnancy.
A man named Dr. Gregory Pincus developed the first oral contraceptive in the 1950s. The first birth control pill did not appear till 1960. "The first oral contraceptive contained 100 to 175 mcg of estrogen and as much as 10mg of progestin, significantly higher levels of both hormones than in today's pill. (35mcg of estrogen and .25mg norgestimate)"(http://imr.bsd.uchicago.edu) Later on in 1970, something called the "mini-pill" was introduced. It was an oral contraceptive containing only progestin. The mini pill worked by creating changes in the cervix and uterus that make it difficult for a sperm and egg to unite.

Test

I read the New York Times everyday.

I found this image on flickr. (http://flickr.com/photos/slimdandy/3183011251/)