5 Myths We Hear About Reproductive Health

In honor of Sex Ed Week of Action (September 20th-26th), we’ll be featuring a “Top 5″ each day.

If you saw yesterday’s post, you would understand why there are so many reproductive myths out there. Today we are going to debunk five.

5 Myths We Hear (ALL THE TIME) About Reproductive Health

1. You can’t get pregnant if you’re on your period, if you’re in a pool, or if you pee after sex. The truth is you can get pregnant in any of these scenarios. See these three posts for further explanation.  
2. Emergency Contraception (EC) is an abortifacient.  Despite what Nick Cannon said recently, emergency contraception does not cause an abortion. EC prevents pregnancy, while the abortion pill (mifepristone) terminates an existing pregnancy. Check out NARAL’s great fact sheet for more info.
3. Sexually Transmitted Infections are easily recognizable and show symptoms. Actually the majority of STIs are “asymptomatic”—meaning there are no visible signs of infection. This is why getting yourself tested regularly is so important.   
4. The pill causes cancer and other health problems. A 40-year study on the pill was just released in March. It found, over the long term, women who took birth control pills had a noticeably lower rate of death from any cause, including heart disease and cancer, than women who had never used them.
5. I don’t need to use condoms because I can’t get pregnant anymore.  We often here this one while we’re tabling at events, and are approached by parents who need condoms “for their teens.”  While getting pregnant may no longer be an issue, STIs still are. From 1996 to 2003 cases of STIs increased 127% in people over 45. So take some free condoms for yourself, too!