Women News June 2, 2009

 

Topic: Internet and Teens

Sexy avatars put girls at risks

 

According to TUESDAY, May 26 HealthDay News, a study by Jennie Noll, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati, Children's Hospital Medical Center reported that, "The ways in which adolescent females present themselves online as potentially provocative is correlated with the number of sexual advances they're getting online with people they don't know."

 

In this study 173 girls aged 14-17 were asked to create an avatar and complete a questionnaire on substance abuse, peers and sexual activities. An avatar is a digital representation of one's self. The avatars were rated on a scale ranging from provocative to conservative based on such factors as bust and hip size ("very large" to "very small"), clothing and number of visible navel piercings.

 

Overall, 40 percent of teen girls followed in the study reported having been approached sexually online, while 26 percent said they had actually met a person they had first encountered online

 

Noll warned that the avators can change a girl's. "… because they see themselves a little bit differently than they really are developmentally. The danger is not only who's out there looking for girls, but how it can change the behavior of the actual presenter."

Internet provide Inaccurate information about Adolecent Sexual Health

According to  research from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, many health websites fail to dispel myths about IUDs, Emergency Contraception (EC), birth control, and proper timing of Pap smears.. Dr. Sophia Yen, a specialist in adolescent medicine at Packard Children's Hospital and a clinical instructor of pediatrics at Stanford warns: "Teens should be cautious about finding sexual health answers on the Web. . . . Even widely trusted sites like WebMD are not that accurate when it comes to adolescent reproductive health."

Yen and her team reviewed 35 popular health web sites. About half of these, including such highly trafficked destinations as Wikipedia and Mayoclinic.com, failed to provide accurate and complete information about emergency contraception, also known as “the morning-after pill.

According to the study, "health providers need to activiely debunk six myths perpeturted only and provide correct information to patients"

The correct information to counter the six myths are

§         Emergency Contraceptives are available as OTC to age 17 and older and with a prescription for minors or directly from authorized pharmacist in 9 states (not in Florida)

§         EC does not cause an abortion and is therefore not the same as RU-486

§         IUDs are safe for use by adolescents

§         Birth control pills (hormonal contraceptives) do not cause weight gain

§         Pap Smears Guidelines are 3 years after first sexual contact or by age 21

§         Herpes can be transmitted by kissing an infected individual.

RESEARCH | Review of Studies of IUD Use in Adolescents Finds Favorable Results, Limited Body of Research

According to Monthly Women's Health Research Review, Elizabeth Deans of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and David Grimes of Family Health International conducted a systematic review of the literature concerning intrauterine device use in adolescents to determine the appropriateness of promoting the use of IUDs for adolescents. The authors noted that unplanned pregnancy among teenagers "remains epidemic, and long-acting [contraceptive] methods, such as IUDs, offer the promise of top-tier effectiveness." They said that few recent studies have examined IUD use in adolescents but the findings were generally reassuring. Overall, continuation rates of IUD use in adolescents were high, and cumulative pregnancy rates were low, leading the researchers to conclude that IUDs should be considered for adolescents in need of reliable contraception. However, due to the limited volume of literature on IUD use in adolescents, the researchers recommended that additional studies comparing IUDs with other methods are urgently needed.

UPDATE: Legislature passes anti-shackling measure

May 20, 2009 at 12:19 pm by Casey Seiler

 

Accordng to Timeunion.com, New York just passed a bill prohibiting correctional

authorities from using restraints on a pregnant female inmate who is about to give birth

and is being transported to the hospital. The legislation makes an exception for cases in

which a woman presents a danger to herself, or medical or corrections staff.

Senator Velmanette Montgomery, one of the bills sponsors, called the practice of restraining women in labor "barbaric and unconscionable.”

 

The legislators were joined at the Capitol by formerly incarcerated women who were shackled while pregnant in prison. Tina Reynolds, co-founder of Women on the Rise Telling HerStory, recalled how in 1988 she was transported from Riker’s Island in shackles, and even after delivery was denied the chance to hold her infant son with

both arms.

 

The new law makes New York one of just four states in the country that restrict the use of restraints on incarcerated women during pregnancy or childbirth

 

Pregnancy and weight gain.

 

Last week, the Institute of Medicine revised its 1990 guidelines on the amount of weight an obese mother should gain and placed more emphasis on exercise. 60% of U.S. women of childbearing age are overweight or obese -- a significant increase from 20 years ago. For this reason, six major health organizations requested the study so that doctors could better advise and care for their patients.

 

The recommendations call for a gestational weight gain of 28-40 pounds for underweight women, 25-35 pounds for women of normal weight, 15-25 pounds for overweight women and 11-20 pounds for obese women. The only change is for obese women, who were previously advised to gain at least 15 pounds, with no upper limit. "Although not dramatically different, fully implementing the guidelines will represent a change in the care provided to women of childbearing age," said Kathleen Rasmussen, chairwoman of the committee and a professor of nutrition at Cornell University.

 

Some doctors criticized the report's call for diet and exercise counseling as unrealistic. Because few health insurance plans pay for such counseling and doctors do not have the time to provide it. But the report was praised for its emphasis on exercise. The committee also called for more studies on gestational weight gain, including asking states to adopt a birth certificate that gathers information on weight before and during pregnancy.

 

 

Walmart and Security

 

On Tuesday, OSHA slapped Walmart with the maximum penalty allowed under the law for "exposing workers to the recognized hazard of being crushed by the crowd." This charge resulted from a tragedy that occurred at a Long Island Walmart during last year's Black Friday blitz where large crowds and poor security lead to the death of a temporary employee Jdimytai Damour and injuring several customers. Since then, Wal-Mart has been blasted for its conduct by the media, the victims, and now the government.

 

OSHA thinks Walmart "should have recognized. the need to implement effective crowd management to protect its employees." Wal-Mart has avoided criminal prosecution in New York by pledging to revamp security in its New York stores. There is no mention of boosting security it the other 49.

Jane Blanchard

Joan Froede