LatinaLista — Today marks the 11th annual observance of The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Though the most recent data shows that the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is now at a nearly 40-year low, it’s still higher than other developed countries and too many young Latinas are still becoming mothers before their time.
The only way to combat teen pregnancy is with honest and clear information about sex and girls’ sexual health. It doesn’t do any good for the girl — or boy — who’s wondering about sex to be on the receiving end of evasive answers or misleading replies that don’t represent the whole truth. In the end, they and their families are the ones who suffer the consequences for not having the right information — and society pays for it.
While parents, counselors and medical personnel are the adults most teens naturally turn to for advice, there is one other source that has become the go-to for information of all kinds. Yup, the Internet.
The Internet provides two things that delay some teens from finding an adult to talk to about sex — the Internet doesn’t judge nor ask questions. At the same time, the teen, or anyone for that matter, has to be savvy in knowing which organizations have dependable and credible information.
Two such national organizations that have made it their business to be straight with teens on the topic of sex and sexual health is The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and Planned Parenthood.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy spearheaded the May 2 national day of observance and features a variety of activities and initiatives to engage and educate teens and young women about unplanned pregnancies and birth control. The site carries a blog titled Pregnant Pause: Getting Bloggy about Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy where the latest news and trends of what is happening with combatting teen pregnancy is shared with readers.
Planned Parenthood, a longtime advocate of providing sexual health services to girls and women, especially low-income and minority women, launched a new blog this week to answer the personal questions that too many teens, and women, may be embarrassed to ask about.
With only a few days since their launch, the Planned Parenthood blog also features a real-time, live chat capability to answer readers’ concerns who need immediate answers to specific questions. It’s clear Planned Parenthood doesn’t want its readers to have any doubts.
It’s a goal the two organizations share in what they want to give their readers — the ability to make responsible decisions based on accurate, credible and useful information.
