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| Dr. McIlhaney and Dr. Bush Lecture at FRC |
 
Dr. Joe McIlhaney and Dr. Freda Bush will be presenting the lecture "Why isn't anyone telling our children about the other dangers of casual sex?" at the Family Research Council on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 11:00 AM EST. More than 900,000 unwanted pregnancies and 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year in the U.S. Too few young people consider the emotional and psychological risks of casual sex.
The lecture will be available via live webcast, but you must RSVP for the webcast. For RSVP details and other event information, please click here. |
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| April is STD Awareness Month! |
Dr. Joe McIlhaney founded the Medical Institute because he saw first hand the ravages of STDs on the sexual health of young women in his OB-GYN and infertility practice. Unfortunately, most of our youth still do not understand the serious consequences that can result from a sexually transmitted infection (STI). This observation is supported by the study of Canadian teens that is discussed below.
Because MI recognizes that STIs are a serious threat to teens and young adults in our culture and around the world, we promote "risk avoidance." Risk avoidance entails refraining from risky behavior. Sexual abstinence until a person is in a lifelong, mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner is a risk avoidance measure. This is in contrast to "risk reduction". Risk reduction involves the use of interventions that decrease, but do not eliminate, the probability of adverse outcomes. One risk reduction measure is the use of condoms. Although correct and consistent condom use can decrease the risk of spreading some STIs, research demonstrates that the risk of STI transmission is still substantial. In order to best protect the physical and emotional health of teens and young adults, MI will continue to make risk avoidance its primary message.
However, MI's mission is to improve the sexual health of all young people, including those who have been or are currently sexually active. To this end, MI developed the STD Wizard through a grant from the CDC. This anonymous, free online tool allows the user to understand which STIs he or she is at risk for and encourages them to be tested at their physician's office.
We at MI hope that STD Awareness Month provides opportunities for parents to talk to their kids about sexual decision making and for youth to learn the truth about STIs. Log on to our website at www.medinstitute.org for more information about STIs, risk avoidance, and the importance of parenting adults in the decision making of youth. |
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| Teens and Infertility |
A recent publication by Susan Quach, M.Sc. and Clifford Librach, MD in the December 2008 issue of Fertility and Sterility presented results from a survey of Canadian high school students on their knowledge and attitudes about infertility. The study included 772 students, about half of whom were female, with an average age of 17.5.
Most of the surveyed students were familiar with the word "infertility" (79%) and felt that protecting their fertility was important (70%). However, over 94% of the students did not know that gonorrhea and chlamydia infections could result in infertility. The authors concluded that teens lack knowledge on preventable causes of infertility and that increased educational efforts were needed in this area.
To read the abstract, click on the following link: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(07)03877-0/abstract
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| STD Wizard Now in Spanish! |
The Medical Institute is proud to announce the launch of the STD Wizard in Spanish!
The STD Wizard is an interactive online tool based on the CDC STD Treatment Guidelines. This tool allows youth to analyze their risk for STIs based on their demographics and behaviors, and it recommends tests and vaccines based on the responses given. Previously available only in English, the STD Wizard is now available in Spanish. Go to www.stdwizard.org to try it out. Or go to www.medinstitute.org and click on the STD Wizard link at the top of the home page. |
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| An Ideal Resource for STD Awareness Month: Healthy Coversation Flipchart |
Have a one-on-one, brief conversation about sexual health topics using this 14-page tabletop flipchart! Topics covered include sexually transmitted infections (including photos), testing information, oral sex, condoms and contraceptives, teen pregnancy, emotional effects of sexual activity, abstinence, and renewed abstinence. This is an ideal resource for centers offering counseling and pregnancy or STI testing. Now only $49.99- that's $10 off the regular price! Go to our website at http://www.medinstitute.org/products/item44.cfm to place your order.
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| A Message from the President |
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Throughout the nation much is being said and written these days about unplanned and nonmarital pregnancies, especially in teens. In the United States Congress and virtually every state of the union, proposals are being considered aimed at lowering, hopefully, the rates of these pregnancies. The dollar cost to taxpayers of these pregnancies and the resulting births is, indeed, very high, and improving the situation is a goal well worth pursuing. However, there is another side to the coin. Unhealthy sexual practices can result not only in conceiving children, but also in the inability to do so-- infertility. The consequences of infertility, although not receiving equal publicity and public debate as does the pregnancies issue, is a problem of major magnitude as well.
In fact, when Dr. McIlhaney began the Medical Institute just over 17 years ago (March 10 was our 17th anniversary!) it was, in large measure, in response to observations in his in vitro fertilization practice that about one-third of the IVF treatments he performed were the result of tubal damage commonly caused by an STD. And in almost every case, the victim was totally unaware that she had contracted the disease, how she had done so, nor even that such a disease existed. The basic human desire of many to have children; to reproduce and to build and continue families, is very great, and the inability to do so is absolutely devastating to those suffering the consequences of infertility. As Dr. McIlhaney witnessed the disappointment-- the heartache-- of couples not being able to conceive, and watched them incur great expense and anxiety in a program which was, at best, only sometimes successful, he resolved to try to do something to help alleviate this suffering, and so the Medical Institute for Sexual Health was born.
A COMPASSION for alleviating suffering. That is what MI is all about. During STD Awareness Month, it is our hope that many will learn of the role STDs play in the causation of infertility and other problems, and embark on a course designed to AVOID, not just reduce, the risk of contracting these diseases.
Arthur H. Coleman
President/CEO
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