SAU Honors College

The SAU Honors College was founded in 2003 by Dr. David Rankin, president of SAU. Dr. Lynne Belcher served as founding director and is retired from SAU. The Honors College seeks and admits qualified students who seek to pursue a serious academic program with equally gifted peers and committed teachers. Honors classes are small and provide academically enriching opportunities for students and the faculty who teach them. Currently, SAU enrolls nearly 170 honors students and graduates about 66% of admitees in four years or less. Anyone interested in applying to the Honors College or seeking further information should contact the director, Dr. Edward P. Kardas at epkardas@saumag.edu or at 870 904-8897.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Raigama, Thurisha: Teens and Contraception


In general how well each type of birth control method works depends on a lot of things. When women think of birth control, pills and condoms might be their first choice, but the articles indicate that all women, including teenagers should consider IUDs and long –acting reversible contraceptives instead.

  Long-acting reversible contraceptives have been proven to be safe and more effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies than any other widely used birth control methods such as pills and condoms. Long-acting contraceptives, such as IUDs, can also provide a long-term form of birth control. Those contraceptive implants are the best recommendations for preventing unintended pregnancies and abortions in teenage girls and adolescents. However, the long-acting reversible contraceptive methods do not provide the protection against sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. Therefore, health care providers should advise sexually active women to always use condoms along with IUDs and other implants. 

The articles point out that there are barriers to widespread use of long-acting reversible contraceptives among adolescents, including lack of access, high cost, lack of familiarity and misconceptions. In the U.S the low rate of IUD use may stem from a common misconception that IUDs cause infertility, and thus should only used by women who do not want any more children. This concern is rooted in real problem that occurred in the past, when the first device, the Dalkon Shield, was found to be associated with pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility. However, parents need to be sensitive to provide information to dismiss any myth and help their teens to make informed decisions about their sexual lives.

No comments:

Post a Comment