Plan B

I'm disappointed that Plan B won't be available over the counter to girls under 17. Birth control failures happen. Often. I know children who were conceived while their intelligent, responsible, adult mothers were using almost every type of birth control available to women, including tubal ligation. 


It seems very head-in-the-sand-ish to deny sexually active teens access to this low risk, highly effective backup method to prevent unintended pregnancy. Especially since time is of the essence - the sooner you take it after unprotected/not-adequately-protected/failed birth control sex, the more effective it is.  Every hour counts. And after 72 hours, it probably won't do any good.   

So although our government has decided not to empower the other young women in our communities to prevent a pregnancy that may result from a birth control failure, there's still something we can do to protect our own daughters:  keep Plan B in our medicine cabinets, and let our girls know where it is and how to use it.

It's not cheap - fifty bucks or so. On the other hand, having it available to your daughter as soon as possible if she needs it is, in my opinion, priceless.

And hey, while you are at the drugstore, pick up some condoms, too, ok? Keeping our teens well-stocked with birth control and STI protection is just common sense. It can be kind of excruciating for teenagers to wait in line at Walgreens holding a package of condoms while all their neighbors are coming and going through the door that is five feet from the register. Let's make it as easy as possible for our adolescents to stay safe.

ps:  here is some practical information that will help your daughter learn her body's fertility signals. I wish this was being taught in every health class!  http://www.myfertilitycenter.com/conception-101/signals.php

For more information about Karen's parenting consultations, click here or visit www.karenalonge.com