Community | January 27, 2009 | 15 comments

The American Fertility Association launches campaign to educate younger women.

source: http://www.newsweek.com/id/181840

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seanalyn
When I first read the title of this article "New Fertility Campaign Targets Younger Women" my knee jerk reactions was "what women are just baby factories? we have to just make kids? whats this all about?!" then I actually read the article.

The AFA is starting a program to educate younger women about infertility diseases which can greatly affect your life outside of having kids. I myself suffer from two of the most common ones, Edometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) so this issue is very close to my heart.

Women are not properly educated on their reproductive health, which as I mentioned, effects a lot more than you ability to give birth. Even if you never want children you have to on the watch for infertility diseases since they can cause a myriad of other health problems. Whats sad is gynecological health isnt really discussed much in this country because anything to do with the female reproductive system is viewed as "dirty" and "taboo." Younger women often dont consider their reproductive health because they just assume that nothing can go wrong until they hit their 40s and have to start watching for menopause or breast cancer. Many women develop gynecological diseases in their teens and 20s that can cause infertility if not caught early. I myself was diagnosed at the age of 15 with Endometriosis and PCOS at the age of 18. Many women I know have lived for years in pain due to undiagnosed fertility related diseases simply because both they and their doctors are not educated enough on gynecological diseases.

What the AFA is doing is creating a safe and non threatening environment to engage younger and encourage them to be more proactive about their reproductive health. Although the campaign unfortunately seems to put a little too much focus on the biological clock and thinking about pregnancy, I applaud it for trying to get women engaged and educated on their own bodies.

Read the article and let me know what you think...should young women be engaging in discussion on reproductive health? Or is it putting too much pressure on having kids?
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15 comments // The American Fertility Association launches campaign to educate younger women.

  • ClareW
    • 0
      ClareW  

    • Any education is always a good idea, generally no matter what the topic or age group. hopefully the campaign will banish a little more ignorance!

    • 3 years ago
  • purplefox
    • 0
      purplefox  

    • Wow, that is certainly a provocative picture but what the article is highlighting is important. So much of our educational focus is either on sex or on having/preventing pregnancy. More attention needs to be paid to these lesser known issues.

    • 3 years ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  

    • Obviously a huge step forward from the bullshit abstinence only, "fear your body" programs that Bush tried to force on the public.

    • 3 years ago
  • ruebezahl
    • 0
      ruebezahl  

    • Informed decisions, I like the sound of it, education is the base of informed decisions. Do we have this kind education? If so, where?

    • 3 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  
    • ruebezahl:

      We have not had this type of education in quite some time. But believe it or not it did exist. It was called, oddly enough, health class and usually taught by phys. ed teachers. I think it has been replaced by dodgeball.

    • 3 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  

    • Good article over all. These are important issues and should be openly discussed in order for women to make informed decisions. Maybe our culture is maturing ever so slighty.

    • 3 years ago
  • justright
  • Tayllerand
  • Tayllerand
  • Lazybones
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • Lazybones:

      By informal did you mean personal? Or did you intend to say that as long as the purpose of the program is to -inform- and not have a biased opinion that you would be ok with it?

      Your post made that kind of unclear.

    • 3 years ago
  • tanyetta
  • cerealforeal
  • sgwhites
    • 0
      sgwhites  

    • Really interesting. I have to say I had the same first reaction--I was afraid it would be something along the lines of that 'pre-pregnant' crap they tried to pull recently--but it was fascinating. We need to start tearing down some of the taboos associated with discussing women's bodies (and, by extension their health).

    • 3 years ago
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