Are You In a Healthy Relationship?

In light of the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident and the alleged reports of violence, we’d like to take an opportunity to post a short questionnaire for you to evaluate your own romantic relationship.

Remember that people in relationships can be hurt in a variety of ways: physically, verbally, emotionally, and sexually. Threats, intimidation, and the use of force to get a partner to comply are NEVER OK.

Check your relationship to see if it’s healthy:

Do you and your partner…

1. Talk openly about your feelings and tell the truth without fear?
2. Listen to each other’s feelings and ideas?
3. Work together to solve problems and disagreements?
4. Have friends, interests, and activities of your own, and ones you share?
5. Respect each other’s privacy?
6. Communicate respectfully?
7. Talk openly about your sexual needs/desires?
8. Protect each other from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections?
9. Always have each other’s consent for sex?
10. Help take care of each other?
11. Have disagreements without becoming violent?
12. Respect each other’s belongings?

If you answered YES to these questions, it looks like your relationship is happy and healthy. If you answered NO to some or all of these questions, you may want to reevaluate your relationship and whether it is the best thing for you. Remember that healthy relationships are built on mutual respect, honesty and a genuine concern for the other person’s well-being.

If you find yourself in a violent or abusive relationship, there is help available. Please contact your local Planned Parenthood of Delaware 1-800-230-PLAN or the community resources listed below:

Kent/Sussex Domestic Violence Hotline 302-422-8058

NCC Domestic Violence Hotline 302-762-6110

Rape Crisis CONTACT Services
NCC 302-761-9100
Rape Crisis CONTACT Services 1-800-262-9800

Celebrate National Condom Week!

Click here to view some funny video clips about condoms, brought to you by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and remember to celebrate National Condom Week (February 14-21) by lovin’ safely with condoms every time!

Wrappin' It Up For V-Day!

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, we’re posting the Steps To Correctly Using A Condom, so that you’re lovin’ safely this holiday. Remember that condoms are highly effective at reducing the risk of Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Infections (STDs/STIs) and pregnancy, if used CORRECTLY and CONSISTENTLY, every time!

1. Check the expiration date (expired condoms are more likely to break)
2. Check for the air bubble in the package (air bubble = sealed package)
3. Carefully open package (no teeth please…)
4. Check which way it rolls down (it only rolls down one way remember)
5. Squeeze the air out of the tip of the condom to leave room for the semen/cum
6. Place on erect penis and roll all the way to the base
7. Have sex…enjoy yourself!
8. After ejaculation and before the penis goes soft, hold the condom on the penis and pull out (so the condom doesn’t go missing inside of your partner...)
9. Gently slide it off, taking care to keep the semen inside of the condom
10. Discard in the trash (…not the toilet! Be kind to the plumbers of the world.)
11. And if you’re up for it…use a new condom for the next sexual experience!

Planned Parenthood wishes you a safe and enjoyable Valentine's Day!

Virginity Pledges Aren’t Working

A study released in December 2008 reports that pledging virginity until marriage makes no difference on whether teens engage in premarital sex.

The study found that more than half of all teenagers become sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they pledge virginity until marriage or not. Unfortunately, the study also found that those who took virginity pledges were less likely to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy than teens who never took the pledge in the first place.

Although proponents of abstinence-only education criticize the results, it seems that this study has validated the importance of comprehensive sexuality education in schools today. Comprehensive sex ed includes information on sexually transmitted diseases, birth control options and safer sex practices, which is much more effective in allowing teens to make safer decisions.

With half of all teenagers engaging in sexual activity it seems prudent and responsible to provide them with valuable information about preventing STDs and pregnancy. If anything, all teenagers should have the right to access accurate healthcare information in order to make responsible decisions about their sexual health.


Source: The News Journal - Dec 29, 2008

Makin' Love Without Doin' It?!

Have you thought about what you are doing for Valentine’s Day?

It can be easy to get caught up in the aisles full of chocolates, teddy bears and balloons just like it can be easy to get caught up in the idea that romance=doin’ it. But not everyone has the money to clean out the greeting card aisle and not everyone is doin’ it. For many people “making love” doesn’t mean having sex at all. So what else do people do then? I’m glad you asked! There are many safe, fun things to do on Valentine’s day, or any other day, to show your love to someone special. So with that in mind, I give you…

25 Ways to (safely!) make love without doin’ it (no teddy bears required)
• Share your future goals and dreams
• Hold hands
• Cook dinner together at home
• Talk a long walk together
• Give each other a massage
• Exercise together
• Picnic in your living room
• Write one reason you love that person everyday for the whole month 
• Make the your partner’s favorite meal
• Surprise your partner at work or school
• Leave a handwritten note for them
• Choose a favorite song together
• Give each other nicknames
• Dance together
• Go for a hike together
• Sing your favorite song to each other (or one you wrote)
• Write a poem for your partner
• Watch the sunrise or set together
• Go star gazing
• Make a list of things you like about one another
• Play your favorite board game together
• Program a special ringtone on each other’s phone
• Pick out a book for each other to read (or read one together)
• Do a craft project together, like drawing a picture or making a collage
• Call a radio station and have a song dedicated to your partner

Sex-Care in Schools!?

You heard it right!

Free sexual healthcare is being offered in Scotland for 60,000 public school students. Due to the high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, the Scottish Government has endorsed the recommendation made by the National Sexual Health Advisory Committee to provide wide scale sexual healthcare for students. This would include offering pregnancy testing, Chlamydia testing and condoms without parental consent. Up until this point, a large part of the problem was that rural students often lived too far from clinics and couldn’t effectively access sexual healthcare services. The hope is that clinics on school campuses will help to alleviate this problem and allow more students to access healthcare.

Although this seems like a step in the right direction for sexual healthcare, Emergency Contraception or the “morning after pill” still will not be provided in schools, and the types of contraception offered will be left up to individual school policy. Additionally, the Scottish Catholic Education Service will not endorse the mandate so students attending Catholic schools will not be allowed the same opportunity to access sexual healthcare as students in non-denominational public schools.

FYI: In Delaware, many wellness centers at local high schools offer pregnancy testing and STD screening, but cannot give out condoms as contraception or STD prevention.

What are your thoughts on this?


Sources:
Scotland on Sunday
Sex, Etc. magazine Winter 2009

January is National Cervical Cancer Screening Month!

Cervical Cancer, Pap Test, Colposcopy, Human Papilloma Virus, Gardasil…oh my! What does it all mean?!

Let’s decipher these terms together…

Cervical cancer has been linked to a very common STD known as the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which is spread by sexual contact. Unfortunately there is no cure; however, there is a vaccine known as Gardasil which is effective against four strains of the virus, two of which are associated with 70% of all cervical cancer and two of which are associated with 90% of all genital warts. Gardasil is approved for girls and women 9-26 years of age and is available at Planned Parenthood of Delaware.

In order to reduce your risk of getting cervical cancer it is important to have regular Pap tests. A Pap test (also known as a Pap smear) is performed during a routine pelvic exam, when the healthcare provider uses a brush or spatula to collect cells from the cervix and view them under a microscope. If abnormal cells are present, your healthcare provider may recommend a colposcopy. A colposcopy is a procedure that allows a healthcare provider to get a closer view of the cervix in order to determine further testing. Sometimes a colposcopy is done in conjunction with a biopsy, which is the taking of a tissue sample from the cervix.

In celebration of National Cervical Cancer Screening Month, don’t forget to schedule your pelvic exam and Pap test!

For further information regarding cervical health and screening, click here.