Prenatal Testing

Prenatal testing is a very dangerous procedure. It tends to take away excess fluid from the amniotic sac, which is not a safe situation to put a baby in during the gestational period. I feel that any testing that is necessitated should be held until after the birth of child to avoid retardation or slowed fetal growth. Prenatal testing has many complications that can affect the fetus. The only way it should ever be mandatory for pregnant women is if a procedure comes around that can safely test the fetus without possibility of endangerment. I have known several women, including my aunt, who underwent prenatal testing. My aunt went full term with the baby and the day she had the baby, the child was already dead. The physician felt that the still birth was linked to the prenatal testing she had done earlier in her pregnancy. I feel that this procedure is something that has so many risks that it should never be made routine.

Contraception

I come from a culture that is African-based because both my parents are Nigerian. In Nigeria, there really is no such thing as contraception. Condoms have just recently been introduced in recent years. The culture there is mainly Catholic and Catholics tend to look down on contraception. They make it seem like contraception and abortion are the same thing and feel that contraception is a way to keep a life from happening. Many cultures and religions believe in sex after marriage. However, sex is now beginning to occur more frequently before marriage and commitment and birth control is necessary. I feel that people from cultures and religions that frown upon contraception fear rejection by their own people or fellow followers so they try to avoid contraception because of what “others will think.” I feel that whether or not you are married, you should be able to decide whether or not you want to have kids or not. Americans support contraception but if I was to get on contraception and my parents found out, they would probably kick me out of the family just for the fact that I would even be involved in such a thing. I see that as protecting myself, but my parents would see it as a disgrace to the family. It’s situations like this that make it hard for people to get on contraception. I knew a girl in high school who had several kids by the time we were eighteen and it was because her culture did not believe in birth control, even if they were having sex outside of marriage. They also did not support abortion so she ended up with four kids by the age of eighteen. I thought this was ridiculous but so many people make decisions based on their culture and religion. Hopefully, these religions will someday realize it is not a crime to postpone having babies until the time is right.

Sex Education

Sex education is the teaching of responsible sexual behavior and abstinence. It has been one of the most controversial social topics due to the misconceptions of its actual benefits to society. Sex education comes in forms of abstinence-plus and abstinence only. I believe that abstinence plus is the best way because it conforms to society since young teens and adults are engaging in sexual activity. Sex education was created in an effort to instruct adolescents on sexual activities and teach them the consequences that come with being involved in sex before marriage. Sex educators have applied various methods to find creative ways to get teenagers to abide by the things they are taught from sex education. Parents are meant to be the ones to teach their children on sex, but many parents and their children share a common barrier. This barrier is most likely due to the lack and fear of communication between adolescents and their parents. It also has contributed to the worldwide problem of underage pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy, abortions, and continued spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Sex education is necessary so that educators and caregivers can limit these occurrences and bring down alarming statistics to a minimum. Many parents and educators feel that sex education is good because it will cause adolescents to rethink certain decisions and participate in safe sex by use of condoms. In July of 2001, Surgeon General David Satcher wrote A Call to Action that discussed the promotion of sexual health. He wanted to convince parents that their children would not participate in sex just because they have more information on it. In his review he wrote, “Evidence gives strong support to the conclusion that providing information about contraception does not increase adolescent sexual activity…[and that] some of these evaluated programs increased condom use or contraceptive use more generally for adolescents who were sexually active.” (Morin 9). Ultimately, abstinence plus sex education is essential in today’s modernized society, because it is improving sexual awareness among adolescents. The reality is that children are having sex and they need to be educated on this issue. Sex education provides proper guidance to adolescents and gives them the opportunity to voice their opinions or even seek help if necessary. There are many children who are either misguided through peers or not guided at all by their parents or caregivers. Sex education is gradually declining the numbers of adolescents engaging in premarital sex or casual sex on a regular basis. It is a topic that has been closely looked upon by overseers. It seems to be an issue that goes either way in both the positive realm and the negative realm, but I can say that the good things outweigh the bad. Sex education has come a long way since it first began and its purpose will be accomplished as people begin to see that it is affecting teenagers in an affirmative manner.

Morin, Stephen. “Abstinence Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education.” Policy Monograph Series 1: San Francisco: MLA, 2001

Preventive Practices

My preventive practices compare pretty good. My health can be improved in numerous ways. I need to exercise more and be more physically active. Being tied up with school, work, and other activities tends to take away from physical activity, which causes weight gain. It also causes people to become accustomed to an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle. School and work also cause increased stress levels which can affect blood pressure and cause insomnia. I suffer from high stress and elevated blood pressure myself. This is caused from worrying too much and staying up to late to meet deadlines and to study for my classes. However, I strive to make sure that I obtain at least five or more hours of sleep per night. In addition, I wear seatbelts and practice safe driving conditions to avoid motor accidents. I dance on a regular basis, but I need to try to engage in other forms of cardiovascular exercises in addition to dancing to obtain an optimal level of health.