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Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Monday, March 26, 2018
This Week with UHPP
Monday, April 16th 6-8pm
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Poor Body Image May Result in Infrequent Breast Self-Exams
US News Reports:
While these reports may be discouraging, they're not terribly surprising. We already know that people who are overweight may have difficulties and fears about getting a checkup, and the visits can leave patients feeling even more unhappy with themselves if they've been told things they don't want to hear by their doctor.
"Our findings suggest that greater breast size dissatisfaction is significantly associated with less frequent breast self-examination, lower confidence in detecting breast change and greater delay in seeing a doctor following breast change," Prof Viren Swami said.
"Promoting greater breast size satisfaction may be a means of empowering women to incorporate breast self-examinations and breast awareness into their health practice. And promoting greater breast awareness may be a useful means of helping women view their breasts in more functional terms, rather than purely aesthetic terms," he said.
However, it's particularly sad to me that one can be so disappointed by their own physical appearance that they don't even want to touch themselves to ensure their own health and safety. It's easy to preach that we need to take care of ourselves; that we only get one body and we need to cherish it, but I know that it's easier said than done.
Be kind to yourself. Remember, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime; that's more than 266,000 new cases expected in 2018 alone. Early detection is of vital importance. Here is some more information on breast self-exams from the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Women need to perform them regularly not only for detection, but so that we can get to know the topography of our breasts so it's more apparent if something unusual appears. Personally, I have a card hanging in my shower to remind me, and I try to check at least once a week. Don't forget!
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
What's Happening at UHPP in March (and Beyond)
A Public Affairs Update from Nicole Carvalho and Katherine Bruno.
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Thursday, November 10, 2016
Some Thoughts for an Emotionally Charged Time
Please do take care when telling people to 'get over it.' Emotions are high, and the implications of the election will be felt in very real ways. Chances are that a lot of the people you're gloating at are people you actually care about; friends, relatives, even a partner.
Here are just a couple of the ways in which this outcome could affect people.
There is a vacancy in the supreme court. The president-elect has said that he will appoint an anti-choice, anti-equality judge. This could mean a number of things, namely:
1. The reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the supreme court decision that legalized same sex marriage. It would go back to being a state issue, which means many states would ban it altogether. That would be devastating to so many people. Also, how is it okay to say, 'you're married here, but not there?' Married is married! Also, couples would lose access to federal benefits, like social security.
2: The repeal of Roe v. Wade. Women will no longer be able to obtain safe and legal abortion. It will go back to being a state issue, and places like Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, et al will ban it altogether, returning us to a time of back alley abortion where women die of sepsis or perforation of the perineum. Those who oppose abortion are well within their rights to do so, but if you think banning it will stop it, you're delusional.
3. Family Planning Centers could lose Title X funding, which was established by Richard Nixon in 1970, allocating federal funding for family planning services. This does not include abortion. Nixon understood the importance of making sure young men and women had access to education and preventative care so that they could better plan their families. Numbers 2 and 3 of this list combined could result in the mass-closing of family planning centers and jobs will be lost (potentially my own, but I'm probably safe here in New York). This is why people are freaking out and getting IUDs now; because they would be covered for several years if they lose access to birth control. Also, google what has happened to states that have cut off funding for preventative care; the STD and teen pregnancy rates go through the roof. It's not good.
There's so much more I could go into, but this is just a slice of it. You might not care about these things, but if you care about someone who would be affected by any of the above, please take a moment to consider their feelings. Now, there is the possibility that the future POTUS will choose not to go after any of these things, and even appoint a more moderate judge, but right now we just don't know. But if anything happens to his presidency, which-- considering he has to stand trial-- is a real possibility, and Pence takes over, that would be very bad for advocates of equality and choice. This is a guy who pushes for gay conversion therapy-- a draconian practice that is actually banned in five states because it has been proven to be so harmful. He also wants to overturn any and all anti-discrimination laws protecting the LGBT community. These are all things that could really, genuinely hurt people.
The election didn't go as I hoped, but I'm choosing to shake it off and move forward with hope. One thing is for sure, OUR DOORS REMAIN OPEN!
Please. Lets stop the divisive rhetoric. We're all in this together. I quote the great prophet John of Liverpool when I say, 'give peace a chance.' BE NICE!
There is a vacancy in the supreme court. The president-elect has said that he will appoint an anti-choice, anti-equality judge. This could mean a number of things, namely:
1. The reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the supreme court decision that legalized same sex marriage. It would go back to being a state issue, which means many states would ban it altogether. That would be devastating to so many people. Also, how is it okay to say, 'you're married here, but not there?' Married is married! Also, couples would lose access to federal benefits, like social security.
2: The repeal of Roe v. Wade. Women will no longer be able to obtain safe and legal abortion. It will go back to being a state issue, and places like Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, et al will ban it altogether, returning us to a time of back alley abortion where women die of sepsis or perforation of the perineum. Those who oppose abortion are well within their rights to do so, but if you think banning it will stop it, you're delusional.
3. Family Planning Centers could lose Title X funding, which was established by Richard Nixon in 1970, allocating federal funding for family planning services. This does not include abortion. Nixon understood the importance of making sure young men and women had access to education and preventative care so that they could better plan their families. Numbers 2 and 3 of this list combined could result in the mass-closing of family planning centers and jobs will be lost (potentially my own, but I'm probably safe here in New York). This is why people are freaking out and getting IUDs now; because they would be covered for several years if they lose access to birth control. Also, google what has happened to states that have cut off funding for preventative care; the STD and teen pregnancy rates go through the roof. It's not good.
There's so much more I could go into, but this is just a slice of it. You might not care about these things, but if you care about someone who would be affected by any of the above, please take a moment to consider their feelings. Now, there is the possibility that the future POTUS will choose not to go after any of these things, and even appoint a more moderate judge, but right now we just don't know. But if anything happens to his presidency, which-- considering he has to stand trial-- is a real possibility, and Pence takes over, that would be very bad for advocates of equality and choice. This is a guy who pushes for gay conversion therapy-- a draconian practice that is actually banned in five states because it has been proven to be so harmful. He also wants to overturn any and all anti-discrimination laws protecting the LGBT community. These are all things that could really, genuinely hurt people.
The election didn't go as I hoped, but I'm choosing to shake it off and move forward with hope. One thing is for sure, OUR DOORS REMAIN OPEN!
Please. Lets stop the divisive rhetoric. We're all in this together. I quote the great prophet John of Liverpool when I say, 'give peace a chance.' BE NICE!
Monday, August 15, 2016
Volunteer Opportunities!
Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood is looking for volunteers to get involved and to help us engage in our community through outreach efforts and get out the vote opportunities!
In addition, we look forward to working side by side at other community events and continue to fight for reproductive freedom and help educate our community on the importance of safer sex! Together, we can demostrate our power, engage our people and move our work of expanding access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights forward.
For the next few months as we lead up to the election, we are looking for volunteers who want to work on My Vote, My Voice, our voter registration campaign! Get Out The Vote volunteers are needed in Albany, Columbia, Greene and Rensselaer counties. If you are interested in helping us GOTV, please respond below or email Amy at amywolff@uhpp.org.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities!
August
- 15: Letter to editor on Women’s Equality Day (Anniversary of the adoption of the 19th amendment) (copy to be provided by UHPP)
- 18: Tabling at Back to School Night @ LaSalle School, 174 Williams Road in Troy from 6 to 9pm.
- 20: Tabling and GOTV Voter Registration at the Carnival on the Hill @ Star of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, 513 Clinton Avenue, Albany from 12 to 3 pm.
- 20: Tabling and GOTV Voter Registration at the Carnival on the Hill @ Star of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, 513 Clinton Avenue, Albany from 2 to 5 pm.
- 24: Tabling and GOTV Voter Registration at Josephs House, 74 Ferry Street in Troy from 4 pm to 5:30 pm.
- 30: Tabling and GOTV Voter Registration at the Rensselaer County Dept. of Social Services in Troy from 10am to 12pm.
September
- 1: Letter to editor on National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (content to be provided by UHPP)
- 24: GOTV Voter Registration at LarkFEST in Albany. Times to be determined.
- 30: Tabling and GOTV Voter Registration at SUNY Albany, Information Studies Department Annual Program Symposium (Uptown Campus) from 12:30 pm to 2:30pm.
October
- 1: Letter to editor on Planned Parenthood's 100th Anniversary (copy to be provided by UHPP)
- 9: Tabling and GOTV Voter Registration at the Troy ChowderFest from 12 to 4pm
GOTV
- Get Out the Vote tabling in the Albany Health Center (any day in August or September)
- Get Out the Vote tabling in the Troy Health Center(any day in August or September)
Copyright © *|2016|* *|UHPP|*, All rights reserved.
Friday, August 12, 2016
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
The Ongoing-Yet-Completely-Curable Epidemic
By Youth Health Promoter Omiyea Stanford
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| Omiyea Stanford |
Did you know that one out of every four teens becomes pregnant at least once before age 20? Did you know that despite a dramatic decline in teen birth rates and teen pregnancy, the United States still has one of the highest teen birth and pregnancy rates in the industrialized world? Do you know why? Well there are a mess load of reasons, but, a lack evidence-based sex education plays a huge part. Discuss, dissect, and digress? Yes we shall.
A lack of Evidence Based Programming (EBP), is an enormous part of the problem. Abstinence Only Education (AOE), EBP’s bitter enemy and arch nemesis that just won't die, is still used in classrooms across the country. There are so many reasons why AOE programming doesn’t work, including its misogynistic foundations and messages, idealism of heterosexual marriage, sex and gender bias and oppression, lack of consistency in teaching even the most basic aspects of sexual health like anatomy and reproduction, and lack of regulation of information accuracy and bias. However, one of the most prominent problems, is that it is just plain unrealistic! It’s not enough to offer one solution, especially one where the only answer is to do nothing, which is completely impractical and futile. Sex and sexual stimulation are basic human wants and needs, and AOE teachings disregard and create shame around that fact. AOE teachings leave students who become sexually active as teens with zero knowledge of how to protect themselves. EBP, however, works a little bit differently. Ok, actually, it works a lot differently.
Evidence Based Programming (EBP) teaches that abstinence is an option, but not the only option. EBP prepares students for any path they choose by providing them with accurate, inclusive, and unbiased information that spans every aspect of sexual health, sexual safety and responsibility, and even the aspects of healthy relationships. Despite the facts indicating that EBP is effective in reducing teen pregnancy and STD/HIV rates, it is still is meet with googolplexes of opposition. A common critique, is that if you teach kids about sex, then they will be more likely to have sex. My reply is, "and?" Firstly, EBP obviously doesn't encourage and teach kids how to have sex. It teaches them what sex is, and how to be safe if/when they have it. Come on people, that one was a given. Secondly, why do adults feel like it is their solemn duty to keep teens from being sexually active? That’s half of the problem in the nutshell! Teens having sex isn’t the issue! That isn’t what we should be trying our very hardest to prevent. It’s ignorance! This urge in adults to stop teens from becoming sexually active is more about keeping teens “innocent” then it is about keeping them safe. Leave them in the dark and hurl a “just don’t do it” at them every time sex comes up, and I guarantee you they’ll be defenseless. Make sure that they are given the information they need about all the aspects of sexual health, and they will have the ability to make informed, safe and healthy decisions about their own sexual health based on what they want for themselves. Sounds like EBP is our cure-all right? Well, not exactly. There is still something vital to sexual health education that is missing from even the EBP curriculum. And what is that? Pleasure and sex positivity! 
Obviously sex isn’t just about reproduction. If it was we’d barely do it, and we’d probably have a lot less humans on earth than we currently do. Humans are one of the very few species of animals on earth that have sex for fun. If this is true, then why is it that pleasure and sex positivity are missing from EBP curricula in our classrooms? Even with EBP, information about sexual health is given in sex negative ways; in other words, sex is only ever really talked about as it relates to anatomy, reproduction, and preventing the negative consequences. The topic of pleasure is treated similarly. This is an extension of our inability to accept and acknowledge true human sexuality and sexual nature. Pleasure positive sex education curricula really means not disconnecting pleasure and positivity from sex. It’s all a matter of keeping a balance between teaching young people that, yes, sex can be dangerous and it can have very serious consequences, but it can also be fun, pleasurable, satisfying, and enjoyable as well. Sex and pleasure positive EBP would provide the information young adults need to be safe, and dispel shame around sexual desire. Four words: two birds, one stone.
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| Fellow YHP Blinky Lawrence making his voice heard |
And now for the big question: what do we do? Education is an enormous factor in the teen pregnancy epidemic, but in the larger scheme of things, our issues with sex education is just a symptom of a bigger issue. Our culture and society’s lack of ability to accept and acknowledge true human sexuality and nature is not a problem that can be repaired overnight, and as an extension, neither will the teen pregnancy epidemic. Want to know how you can do your part? Be an advocate for sex positive EBP education! If you’re a parent, make sure your kids are informed. If their school won’t teach them, you teach them. Teens; fight for your right to be educated! Get the right information from anywhere you can. Fight for sex positive EBP in your schools and communities. Last but not least: spread the word. A huge part of why the teen pregnancy epidemic is an epidemic at all is that people don’t know what they’re up against. So get the real numbers and statistics, and put the information into circulation in and around your communities.
May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, but efforts shouldn’t end after May 31. Be an advocate 365 days a year! The teen pregnancy epidemic is an incredibly large issue to tackle, but it’s the small efforts of individuals that will bring it down to size. So go ahead people-- get out there and knock this epidemic down a peg or ten.
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