Posted April 3, 2017
From time to time, researching, I’ve come across stories about teen sexual activity, contraceptive use, declining teen pregnancies, and highest ever STD rate. One obvious question seems to be why we hear about decreased teen sexual activity and epidemic teen STD in this same period. Comprehensive Sex Education tells teens that that contraceptive drugs are safe. True? If you have not already reached a conclusion, after reading the following stories, you may deduce what now seems apparent though my research is, by no means complete. Some of the most salient facts directly below precede following details.
Emergency contraceptive, i.e. the morning after pill, Plan B, became available over-the- counter in 2013. The latest available figures about morning after pill use by teens extend up to 2013.
The share of sexually active teen girls who have used emergency contraception (e.g., the morning-after pill) rose from 8% in 2002 to 22% in 2011-13.
[A] CDC analysis of the roughly 600,000 low-income teens who use a Title X Family Planning program for contraception found that the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), such as IUDs and implants – which are considered more effective than other means of contraception – rose from 0.4% in 2005 to 7.1% by 2013.
[D] despite these higher rates in emergency contraception, the study indicated a decline over the past 25 years of sexually active teens aged 15 to 19. Currently, about 45 percent of teens are sexually active, leveling out to a 14-percent decline in females and a 22-percent decline in males.
Total combined cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis reported in 2015 reached the highest number ever, according to the annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Young people, 15 to 24 years old, accounted for nearly two-thirds of last year’s chlamydia diagnoses — and half of the gonorrhea diagnoses.
Why is the teen birth rate falling? April 2016
(Live births 96 per 1000 in 1957 to 24.2 per 1000 2014)
The teen birth rate in the U.S. is at a record low, dropping below 25 births per 1,000 teen females for the first time since the government began collecting consistent data on births to teens ages 15-19, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics.
For one thing, there has been a significant decline in the percentage of never-married teenage females who report that they have ever had sex, from 51% in 1988 to 44% in 2011-13, according to National Survey of Family Growth data. Furthermore, among never-married teens who have had sex, 79% of girls and 84% of boys used a contraceptive method the first time they had sex.
While the overall share of teens using contraception at first sex has not changed significantly, the use of some forms of highly effective contraceptive methods is increasing. The share of sexually active teen girls who have used emergency contraception (e.g., the morning-after pill) rose from 8% in 2002 to 22% in 2011-13. And a CDC analysis of the roughly 600,000 low-income teens who use a Title X Family Planning program for contraception found that the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), such as IUDs and implants – which are considered more effective than other means of contraception – rose from 0.4% in 2005 to 7.1% by 2013.
From 2006-2013. This is 275% increase in the morning-after pill and 1700.75 % increase in long-acting reversible contraceptives, LARCs, such as IUDs and implants. Think about this. From 2013 until today, Plan B, the morning after pill is an over-the-counter drug used by adolescent who brains will not fully mature until they are approximately 25 years old.
Back in 1960, most teen mothers were married – an estimated 15% of births to mothers ages 15-19 were to unmarried teens. Today, it has flipped: 89% of births are to unmarried mothers in that age group.
after the following articles and decide
Reader comment at end of article: This research seems to ignore the impact of Plan “B” as availability has progressed from prescription to over the counter to “free: access for many teens throughout the nation. I recall an article that indicated a 200% increase in Plan “B” when it became available without a prescription and another 400% increase when it became available at no cost. I would argue that the increased access to Plan “B” is a large determinate in the reduced teen birth rates. A quick look at teen STD/STI rates shows a significant increase… indicating that Prevention Education may not be reducing the “Risky” behavior as much as we would like to think.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/29/why-is-the-teen-birth-rate-falling/
Study Finds an Increased Rate of Teenage Girls Use Morning-After Pill, July 2015
An increased number of teenage girls—more than 20 percent—have used the morning-after pill, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since 2002, the number of teenagers who have used the morning-after pill increased from 8 percent to 14 percent from 2006 to 2010. From 2011 to 2013, that number grew to 22 percent.
The morning-after pill is easily accessible since no prescription is required, and in 2013, the 18-year-old age limit required to purchase the pill was eliminated.
According to Bill Albert, chief program officer for The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, this study is indicative that “teens, like adults, often are not very good at contraception,” given the increased usage rates once the age limit was lifted.
Unlike regular birth control, the morning-after pill contains a higher dose of the female hormone progestin. As a result, if the drug is consumed within 72 hours of unprotected sex, chances of pregnancy are reduced by nearly 90 percent.
But despite these higher rates in emergency contraception, the study indicated a decline over the past 25 years of sexually active teens aged 15 to 19. Currently, about 45 percent of teens are sexually active, leveling out to a 14-percent decline in females and a 22-percent decline in males.
Experts attribute these declining rates to larger awareness concerning AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, along with increased levels of sex education.
The report was conducted by interviewing a sample of about 2,000 individuals aged 15 to 19 from 2011 to 2013.
STD rates reach record high in United States, Oct. 2016
The annual report, which was released on Wednesday, showed that the rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis — the three most commonly reported STDs in the nation — increased between 2014 and 2015, reaching an all-time high.
Reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis rose by 19%, gonorrhea cases rose by 12.8%, and chlamydia cases rose by 5.9%, from 2014. All three STDs are curable with antibiotics, but most infections go undiagnosed and untreated, according to the CDC.
Last year, there were more than 1.5 million reported cases of chlamydia, a disease that can damage a woman’s reproductive system and make it difficult for her to get pregnant if left untreated. Young people, 15 to 24 years old, accounted for nearly two-thirds of last year’s chlamydia diagnoses — and half of the gonorrhea diagnoses.
One of the most disturbing findings in the report revealed an increase in syphilis rates among newborns.
Congenital syphilis, which occurs when the infection is transmitted from a pregnant woman to her baby, increased by 6% between 2014 to 2015, and resulted in 487 reported cases last year.
Additionally, there were 23,872 cases of primary and secondary syphilis last year, according to the report, and men who have sex with men accounted for the majority of new cases.
“The health outcomes of syphilis — miscarriage, stillbirth, blindness or stroke — can be devastating,” Dr. Gail Bolan, director of CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, said in a written statement (PDF
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/20/health/std-statistics-record-high/ from
Reported STDs at Unprecedented High in the U.S.
reported conditions in the nation and have reached a record high level.
The Epidemic of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, consequences, damage
Teenagers Face a Greater Risk from STDs (older article with useful info)
Teenagers are particularly susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases or STDs. This fact is alarming since more teens are sexually active today than ever before. An entire generation is at risk and the saddest part about it is that most of them are unaware of the dangers they face. Our teenagers must be given the correct information to help them realize that saving themselves sexually until marriage is the only way to stay healthy.
The medical reasons for teens’ high susceptibility to STDs specifically relates to females. The cervix of a teenage girl has a lining which produces mucus that is a great growth medium for viruses and bacteria. As a girl reaches her 20s or has a baby, this lining is replaced with a tougher, more resistant lining. Also during the first two years of menstruation, 50% of the periods occur with-out ovulation. This will produce a more liquid mucus which also grows bacteria and viruses very well. A 15-year-old girl has a 1-in-8 chance of developing pelvic inflammatory disease simply by having sex, whereas a 24-year-old woman has only a 1- in-80 chance in that situation.
Teenagers do not always respond to antibiotic treatment for pelvic inflammatory disease, and occasionally such teenage girls require a hysterectomy. Teenage infertility is also an increasing problem. In 1965, only 3.6% of the married couples between ages 20 and 24 were infertile; by 1982, that figure had nearly tripled to 10.6%. The infertility rate is surely higher than that now with the alarming spread of chlamydia
http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/epid-std.html
Mirena hormone releasing IUD lasts up to 5 years. On the package, teens will read, “Only you and your HCP can decide if Mirena is right for you.”
http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/plan-b#1-2
Atlantic article, School, Birth Control, and Parent Consent. (Sept 2015)
In Washington State, which gives minors autonomous birth-control rights, a long-standing state-based Medicaid program called Take Charge is tasked with helping low-income women and teens seek family planning services, even if they don’t have parental consent. The program has seen a dramatic increase of student IUDs in recent years. In 2010, the first year LARCs were available to Seattle-area students, Neighborcare Health (which operates six SBHCs in the city), placed approximately 10 devices. By 2015, more than 500 students had received an implant or an IUD from Neighborcare –a 5000% increase!
From the organization, Heartbeat International fact sheet with information up to 2006, we read: THE “MORNING AFTER” PILL RAISES MANY HEALTH RISKS AND OVERTHE-COUNTER USE JEOPARDIZES WOMEN’S HEALTH.
The FDA first approved of Emergency contraception in 1999. This is an older piece and publishing date is not given but Plan B became available in 2013 so some information seems inaccurate i.e. five years after 2013 would be 2018.
Since EC is marketed to those who engage in ‘unprotected sex,’ and since an over-the-counter manner of dispensing the drug precludes proper counseling for teens, OTC/EC will cause a dramatic increase in rates of sexually transmitted diseases. In Washington State, and in Sweden, where EC has been made widely available, rates of STD infection have been increasing significantly since EC was introduced. In fact, in the five years that EC has been made available over-the-counter, cases of Chlamydia have increased 56% (something wrong with dates here).
According to the Population Research Institute, adolescents age 15-19 currently represent 46% of all cases of Chlamydia in the United States. Moreover, 1 in 4 sexually active teenagers contract an STD at some point. HIV/AIDS is of particular concern. Currently, girls and young women acquire HIV an average of 10 years earlier than young men. In the United States, women now account for 30% of new HIV infections each year. Half of the new HIV cases are in those younger than 25 years, and half of those are in women
The Heartbeat International piece continues:
Eliminating the need for a prescription, and making EC available over-the-counter, will eliminate the oversight needed to ensure that EC is not used routinely and that it is not used by women for whom use is contraindicated and/or by women who have not consented to taking EC but have had it “slipped” to them without their knowledge or consent. It will also eliminate the clinical monitoring and follow-up needed to address the risk of ectopic pregnancy, a potentially life-threatening condition. It will cause an increase in the already too high STD rates by encouraging risky sexual activity, and be given by statutory rapists to adolescents to cover up the continuing abuse.
https://www.heartbeatinternational.org/pdf/Fact%20Sheet%20on%20Plan%20B.pdf
Women Who Use Pill At Increased STD Risk, Sept. 2014
Wyoming Institute of Technology, on September 15, 2014 (partial story)
It has been suggested many times over the years that promiscuity among women would drastically increase if they were to be provided with free contraception. The CHOICE project, a study that took place in 2007 found that there is no link between free birth control and risky sexual behavior in women, nor is there a connection with rising STD rates. However, a more recent study that took place in New York City has uncovered evidence to the contrary. Not only are women more promiscuous when they are provided with free contraception, the method they choose may increase their susceptibility to certain sexually transmitted diseases.
Although there was a dramatic decrease in the number of unwanted pregnancies, there was an increase in the number of women suffering from a sexually transmitted disease. An alarming 53 percent of these infections were contracted during the study.
It was found that the birth control pill is the most commonly used form of chemical contraception. Scientists decided to give this pill a closer look. The illnesses then make their way into the bloodstream and the victim starts experiencing uncomfortable symptoms. It can take up to ten years for these symptoms to make themselves known.
Contrary to the previously held belief, providing women with unlimited free contraceptive methods is linked to an increase in high- risk sexual behavior in women, and a higher chance of contracting a dangerous STD.
http://witscience.org/women-use-pill-increased-std-risk/
What is Behind Declines in Teen Pregnancy Rates? September 3, 2014
Basically, teen pregnancy rates can decrease in one of two ways—if teens have less sex or become more effective contraceptive users—or through some combination of the two. The evidence clearly indicates that more and better contraceptive use has been the main factor driving the long-term decline in teen pregnancy.
https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2014/09/what-behind-declines-teen-pregnancy-rates
Plan B One-Step
How to Take Plan B One-Step levonorgestrel (smaller doses in contraceptive birth control pills)
Plan B One-Step can be purchased over the counter at drugstores without a prescription or proof of age. Because it is most effective when taken as soon as possible (up to 72 hours after sex), consider having a ready supply in your medicine cabinet. Better yet, use a reliable form of birth control.
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/sexual-health/a8240/levonelle-one-step-levonorgestrel/
Levonelle one step tablets contain the active ingredient levonorgestrel, which is a synthetic derivative of the naturally occurring female sex hormone, progesterone. … Levonorgestrel is also thought to alter the lining of the womb, preventing it from being prepared for a fertilized egg.
Repeated Use Of Morning-After Pill: Plan B Effects On Breast Cancer, Fertility Sept. 2016
Cancer
In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially classified oral contraceptives as a Class 1 carcinogen. Plan B is composed of levonorgestrel, which is a potent progestin found in some of today’s birth control pills.
A 2006 study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings noted that taking the birth control pill before pregnancy results in a 44 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer prior to age 50. The study analysis noted that 21 out of 23 retrospective studies have shown an increased risk of breast cancer in women who took oral contraceptives prior to pregnancy.
On the other hand, oral contraceptive use has consistently been found to be linked to a reduced risk of ovarian cancer. The research regarding oral contraceptives and cancer risks remains inconsistent and still warrants further research.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/repeated-use-morning-after-pill-plan-b-effects-breast-cancer-fertility-399556
What is the “Morning After Pill”?
Long-term side effects may include:
Ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube)
- Infertility – Infertility can also be caused by certain STDs. It is important to remember that the Morning After Pill does not protect you from any sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).[4]
- While there are no long-term studies to show whether women will be permanently damaged by the Morning After Pill, women who take the Morning After Pill do put themselves at risk for such diseases as cancer from these chemicals being given in such high doses.[5]
http://citruspregnancy.org/the-morning-after-pill
Morning-after warning on embryo risks, March 1st 2017
Women and girls who take the morning-after pill are to be warned they may suffer a dangerous ectopic pregnancy.
The Government’s Chief Medical Officer has told doctors to be extra vigilant over the powerful hormone pill, which is now being handed out in schools.
Its makers, Schering Health Care, have been ordered to change the wording of patient information leaflets to make clear the potential risk of ectopic pregnancy, where an embryo implants outside the womb in a fallopian tube.
The condition can lead to internal bleeding and damage fertility.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-157530/Morning-warning-embryo-risks.html
American College of Pediatricians Latest to Warn of Gardasil HPV Vaccine Dangers
The once held theory that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Gardasil vaccine was safe has officially been proven false. The public has had a front row seat over the years to witness continuous, contradictory “settled science” around the HPV shot become very unsettling. Research fraud has been exposed, and alarm bells sounded as the dominos of perceived safety are falling rapidly now in succession.
The gravity and severity of the damning information exposing the dangers of the HPV vaccine is now in focus. As parents began to report serve adverse reactions to their daughters directly after the HPV shot was administered, those in positions to act did nothing. In a medical and political system that believes in the false idea of herd immunity, severe adverse vaccine reactions are simply not calculated into the big picture.
American College of Pediatricians warns: HPV vaccine causes ovarian failure: March 2017
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-01-17-american-college-of-pediatricians-hpv-vaccine-causes-ovarian-failure.html
New Concerns about the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, American College of Pediatricians – January 2016
https://www.acpeds.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/1.26.16-New-Concerns-about-the-HPV-vaccine.pdf
Oncology Dietitian Exposes Fraud in CDC’s HPV Vaccine Effectiveness Study
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/16/hpv-vaccine-effectiveness.aspx
There are several vaccines to help prevent the spread of HPV, human papillomavirus. Though the American government recommends that eligible citizens receive the vaccination, there are ongoing disputes over the safety of HPV vaccines.
