Monday, November 7, 2011

Preventing STD's

The governments of Uganda, Philippines, United States and India have had success promoting the ABC approach as one of the best ways to prevent the spread of AIDS (Link) (Link) (Link). 

The ABC Method has 3 Parts:

- Abstain from sex
- Be faithful if you do not abstain
- Use a condom if you are not faithful (Link)

How well do condoms prevent AIDS?

A study from the National Institute of Health states that condoms reduce risk of transmitting AIDS by roughly 85%, leaving a 15% chance of transmission each time a person has sex with an infected partner (Link). 

Other STD's

"There is no clinical proof that condoms are effective in reducing the risk of infection from chlamydia, genital herpes, HPV, syphilis, chancroid or trichomoniasis. Some protection was found for men against gonorrhea infection, but not for women" (Link).

Does the Birth Control Pill prevent STD's?

The birth control pill does not prevent STD's. Common side effects of birth control pill include headache, dizziness, breast tenderness, nausea, breakthrough bleeding, decreased libido and mood swings (link). 

What is abstinence?

Abstinence means refraining from sexual intercourse until a specified time, such as marriage or a committed relationship (Link). 

Abstinence is Uncommon

According to a recent study, 99% of all Americans have had sex by age 44, and 95% had done so before marriage (Link). This study does not account for those who have had sex in the past but may be currently practicing abstinence for whatever reason.

"Safer Sex"

There are many people who may find complete abstinence difficult. On their website, Planned Parenthood states that "Another way to practice safer sex is to only have sex play that has no risk — or a lower risk — of passing STDs. This means no vaginal or anal intercourse" (Link). According to this article, two factors which suggest that a person is ready for "safer sex" include: "I am ready to let my partner know my limits when it comes to taking risks. I am ready to say no to sex when I don't want to have it."

How well do condoms prevent pregnancy?

"The typical use pregnancy rate among condom users varies depending on the population being studied, ranging from 10–18% per year. The perfect use pregnancy rate of condoms is 2% per year" (Link).

Does uncommitted sex lead to other problems?

Sometimes sex, even protected sex, leads to pregnancy. Sometimes the mother chooses to have an abortion. "More than 1 out of 3 women in the U.S. have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old" (Link). Some rare but serious side effects of abortion may include "heavy or persistent bleeding, infection or sepsis, damage to the cervix, scarring of the uterine lining, perforation of the uterus, damage to other organs or death" (Link). Other times, if the parents were not committed or choose not to commit, the child will grow up in a single parent household. "Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, suicide, poor educational performance, teen pregnancy, and criminality" (Link).

Abstinence Tips

American pregnancy.org suggests these tips for those who wish to practice abstinence:

" - Do things with friends or in groups:
- Go on double dates
- Minimize physical affection that could lead to passion and desire, making it harder to abstain from sexual intercourse
- Avoid situations where you are alone "(Link)

1 comment:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete