Thursday, April 16, 2009
Sex Education at the Doctor's Office
On Women (US News & World Report blog): Teens and Sex Education at the Doctor's Office, by Deborah Kotz:
I was heartened by a recent story in the Houston Chronicle discussing how some Texas moms concerned about their teens and sex have found a suitable alternative to sex education when their daughters' schools teach only abstinence: the gynecologist. While most of us feel comfortable having the basic birds-and-bees discussion with our girls, these parents rely on a gynecologist to answer the kinds of questions about sex that their daughters may not feel comfortable asking or that they themselves may not know the answers to: Will I gain weight on the pill? Can I get a sexually transmitted disease even if I don't have intercourse? Why is one breast larger than the other?
It may sound strange to take a 13-year-old to the gynecologist, but many moms are doing so these days. Some bring their daughters in for the Gardasil vaccine against the cervical-cancer-causing human papillomavirus. Others figure it's a good transition time from pediatrician to family doctor. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends a first visit to the gynecologist for those ages 13 to 15 and, in this helpful online pamphlet written for girls, says this visit "may just be a talk between you and your doctor" and won't necessarily involve a pelvic exam.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/reproductive_rights/2009/04/sex-education-at-the-doctors-office.html
I feel that girls today should be getting sexual education information from their doctor when it is not available at their school. It can be extremely awkward to ask a parent questions about those issues and doctors such as Gynecologists do know a lot about the subject because it is their profession. It is much safer to have teenagers getting facts about sex from a doctor than from their peers. Having to pay for a doctor's visit is a lot cheaper than what parents might have to pay for if a teen goes uninformed about sexual education. Also I believe that all girls entering their teen years should receive the HPV vaccine. Who wouldn't want to prevent their child against a disease that could cause cervical cancer? This vaccine is a great discovery and parent's everywhere should be taking advantage of it's availability.
Posted by: Veronica | Apr 19, 2009 5:13:55 PM