Contraception awareness among teenagers severely lacking

SINGAPORE : September 27 is World Contraception Day and some health groups in Singapore are taking the opportunity to call for improved education on the choices and usage of contraception, in light of increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections among teenagers.

It has been eight years since schools started teaching about sex and contraception but it seems students are still woefully ignorant.

In a survey of 240 youths aged 15 to 20, it was found that 30 per cent thought washing the genitals after sex could prevent pregnancy while 15 per cent believed urinating will do the same.

16 percent believed that exercising vigorously after sex will help shed off sperm, thus preventing pregnancy.

The survey, conducted by pharmaceutical company Bayer Schering Pharma and with doctors advising on the study, found that about 1 in 4 youths engage in sexual activity and about half of them are not using contraceptives.

Said Dr Janet Lee, a general practitioner at Temasek Medical Centre: "I do see teenagers with unwanted pregnancies, and a lot of times, they do not even realise that they are pregnant because it never occurred to them they can be pregnant through unprotected sex.

"Their mindset is that it will not happen to me... I think we need to educate youths about the importance of abstinence, and also educating them about condom use and contraceptive pills so as to prevent unwanted pregnancies."

Teenagers account for about 12 percent of abortion numbers every year, and the number of teenagers with sexually transmitted infections has also doubled in the last decade.

The Ministry of Education has made it compulsory for all schools to have a sexuality education programme, but it seems the message is still not getting through to all teenagers.

Some said it’s because teachers gloss over sexuality education. Others feel teenagers may be too embarrassed to ask questions about sex in class.

"It is not just enough for the schools to be teaching, or for the VWOs to come in. They (teenagers) need to be guided to the right sources of information, and parents can also play a part to be more open, to encourage their teenagers to approach them if they have questions about sex. But I think this will take time, as we are still a pretty conservative society," said Joanne Tan, spokesperson for the Singapore Planned Parenthood Association. — CNA /ls

extract from: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20080927/tap-716-contraception-awareness-teenager-231650b.html

Erm, hope everyone was not among those that did the survey.

Just a friendly reminder- Abstinence.

The Angel and Mortal game mentioned by Jasmine (Tan)

GAME PLAY
everyone is a mortal and an angel at the same time
the name on the slip of paper indicates the name of your MORTAL
everyone has no knowledge to who his/her angel is
this is the fun part of the game
1) angels may write letters to their mortals
2) angels may give gifts to their mortals
3) angels are to try to conceal their identity to their very best


RULES AND REGULATIONS
1) if you hate your mortal to the max, you may choose to ignore that person
so by the end of the game, that person knows how much u hate him/her
2) you MAY try to create confusion by writing to other mortals

So, any comments? Want to play this game ma??

Reg

Wahahaha!!!!

24 days more!!!!

24 days more to end of promos!!!
wakakaka...im optimistic =)

okok...now de depressing one....12 more days to start of promos!!!~~~

Ok...Exam Schedule


18 Sept, Thurs: GP paper 1 & 2


22 Sept, Mon: Econs paper
23 Sept, Tues: MT paper
24 Sept, Wed: Maths Paper (3hrs..OMG!)
25 Sept, Thurs: China Studies
25 Sept, Thurs: Physics Paper 2


29 Sept, Mon: H2 MT Paper
29 Sept, Mon: Physics Paper 1
30 Sept, Tues: English Lit Paper

That's all!!!
OK!! Those written in Red are morning papers...Those written in Blue are Afternoon paper.


After that...it will be all fun and laughter and games!!! wahaha!!!
Dun worry...i will be planning outings after promos!!! We can have bowling, pool, k-box, Cineleisure, eat, visit to Mr tan's house, neoprinting!! haha...Who wan come can come!! :)


Announcement:
There should be no more posting till end of promos...well...at least i'm not...so unless DE OTHER moderator(s) come and post, yup, there will be no more posting till end of promos


All The Best!

Posted by: Chor Chuan

muahaha.. dis is de 95th post!

homeworks::

lit - essay on digging by mon rite in journal
maths - revision package [not sure if is it complusary or not.. but it is a revision package, so should be do at ur own pace bah] n i will be buying the past year paper on mon so get it from me!
gp - comprehension
chi [h1] - do de wkshts cher gave
econs - holi assignments by mon

dis SHOULD be all

jy everyone..

and take care of ur health.. alot of virus going along.. i guess no one wana get sick during promos and most importantly, no one wana get sick after promos rite?
drink more vitamin C!! =D

jaspanda signin off..
sayonara..

Random Posts!!!

PARIS (AFP) - - Men tend to wind up with life partners who look like their mother, while a woman is lured to a partner who looks like her father, scientists reported on Wednesday.

Heterosexuals are deeply attracted to individuals whose faces are similar to that of their opposite-sex parent, they said, suggesting that this characteristic is rooted in an evolutionary drive.

A team led by Tamas Bereczkei at the University of Pecs in Hungary created a model of facial ratios -- width of jaw, distance between mouth and brow and so on -- comprising 14 facial zones.

They measured 312 Hungarian adults from 52 different families using this method. Each family included a couple, along with two sets of parents.

The researchers found a significant correlation in facial similarities between a woman's mate and her father, and also between a man's partner and his mother.

The team tested the model on faces that were randomly selected from the general population and repeated the experiment with a panel of judges, who also picked out the same pairings from randomly selected groups of photos.

Interestingly, men and women focused on different parts of the face when they home in on a potential mate, they found.

A man's lover and his mother tended to have similar fullness in the lips, width of mouth, as well as length and width of jaw.

But for women, the critical features were the distance between mouth and brow, the height of the face, distance between the eyes and the size of a man's nose.

The choices are driven less by psychology and socialisation and more by evolutionary pressures, suggests Bereczkei.

Too much genetic overlap -- as can happen with incest -- is an evolutionary no-no.
But seeking similar genetic traits "may confer individuals with additional adaptive advantages," he wrote.

It could increase the degree to which parents share genes with offspring, enhancing the genetic representation of future generations.

Finding similar partners might also help perpetuate genetic complexes that have evolved to adapt to a particular environment.
There may be an additional bonus, which probably has more to do with happiness than a genetic imperative.

"Human couples who are similar in physical and psychological characteristics are more likely to remain together than dissimilar partners, possibly leading to an increase in fertility," the study concludes.

The research appears in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The Royal Society is Britain's de-facto academy of sciences.PARIS (AFP) - - Men tend to wind up with life partners who look like their mother, while a woman is lured to a partner who looks like her father, scientists reported on Wednesday.

The research appears in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The Royal Society is Britain's de-facto academy of sciences.

taken from yahoo news.