Advocacy Project: Emergency Contraception 101

Emergency Contraception 101

Purpose:

To provide education for people who are interested in knowing more about emergency contraception. Educating others' on this would help lower pregnancy rates, abortion, and adoption processes. It is also very important for both men and women to know where emergency contraception is readily available just in case of an accident.

-Read 10 Common Myths, Misunderstandings, and big Ol' Lies About Emergency Contraception to learn about common myths associated with emergency contraception (EC)

-Learn more about Emergency Contraception from Planned Parenthood. They are a great agency that offer many resources for people of all ages. (Hint Hint)

-Go to the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and play the Method Match activity. You choose 4 different methods of birth control and it compares the cost, effectiveness, side effects, prevention of STI's, and etc. It is very informative!

Instructions:

• After reading 10 Common Myths, Misunderstandings, and big Ol' Lies About Emergency Contraception, please list 3 myths and why they are false.

• Next, do some research and find & list 3 places you could go to obtain emergency contraception in Duluth, MN.

Emergency contraception is a safe, effective way to prevent a pregnancy from occurring in the event of an accident. Hopefully after doing some research you can decide for yourself if this is something you would ever choose to use.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Final Weekly Review & Overall Project Reflection

My SMART goal is I will eat 4 servings (serving= 3 oz.) of hormone-free, grass-fed meat, per week. The new goal of 4 servings worked out great. I say this because this past weekend I had a second Thanksgiving so I ended up eating more meat than I usually do but I did not go over my SMART goal!

The strategies that helped me be most effective was letting my friends and family know what I was doing. Many of my friends and family did not understand that their are differences in meat so they had never really looked until I said something. Also, since I have told my family about this they either buy hormone-free deli meat or soy burgers if I am going to be home. The challenge I faced the entire time was when I went out to eat. I did cut out going out to eat a lot but of course there were times when I either did not have food or did not have time to make something.

I was very happy with myself this past week. I stuck to my new goal and let others know this option is out there. I felt most happy when I could explain to others what we have learned and why I chose this as my SMART goal. Many people have no idea what I am talking about which does not surprise me because I just learned a lot of it this semester! I learned I can easily do things I put my mind to and if you feel passionately about something try to influence or educate others to do the same.

Original SMART goal: I will eat 3 servings (serving= 3 oz.) of hormone-free, grass-fed meat, per week.

Updated SMART goal: I will eat 4 servings (serving= 3 oz.) of hormone-free, grass-fed meat, per week.

My goal changed because I felt I accomplished what I wanted to. I found hormone-free meat at a reasonable price so I felt I could increase my intake a little. It was nice having a variety in my meals. It also worked out perfect with the holidays approaching.

As I stated above what helped me most successful was letting others know what I was doing. Because they knew, they understood when I would search for the hormone-free option or wanted to stay in and make dinner. The one thing that complicated my goal was restaurants. It would be nice if they could state where they get their meat from. Not only would this make people feel comfortable knowing their meat was not injected with antibiotics or hormones, but it could increase their sales.

My SMART goal led me to new things. Never before did I think to look over my meat packages to see if they were hormone-free. I never thought about this before because I really did not know much about it. Accomplishing my goal made me realize I can do anything I set my mind to. I also learned I am able to influence others by my decisions. Many people do not know what really goes into their meat because they do not question it. I hope I can keep spreading the information I have learned to others. Behavior change is not hard when you really want to change. It takes time, will power, and confidence to really see a behavior change.

Making this change benefited the companies that sold this product and farms that chose to raise their animals the natural way. Hopefully by educating friends and family what I am doing they will do the same. Farms that choose to raise their animals the natural way should be rewarded and receive the most business.

I will continue this behavior because it is easy and rewarding. Taking the extra couple of minutes to look over the package is worth it. If I can somehow help farms who raise their animals without hormones I will do it.

Recommendations for others: Stick to your goal, modify if you want/have to, if you have questions....ask, and know you can do whatever you set your mind to!

"Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain."

Picture Source: You are free: to share-to copy, distribute and transmit the work

Advocacy Project: Letter and Fact Sheet

December 5, 2010

Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Senate

302 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

VOTE YES ON H.R. 5561: EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION EDUCATION ACT OF 2010

The proposed bill on educating others' about emergency contraception use is very important. Emergency contraception would significantly lower the rates of teen or unwanted pregnancies. Instead of aborting the baby or having to go through the adoption process, ovulation would never occur. As a soon to be health educator I feel every person should know there are options out there if an accident were to ever happen. The use of this pill would help lower the cost of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.

This act would provide education to people who are interested in knowing more about emergency contraception. Educating others' on this would help lower pregnancy rates, abortion, and adoption processes. According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), "Nealy half (49%) of the more than 6 million pregnancies that occur each year are unplanned". Also, the effectiveness for emergency contraception can be as high as to 89 percent (ACOG 2010). Mistakes and accidents happen so lets inform people there are options out there to help.

Opponents of this bill may say emergency contraception is abortion or parents/guardians may feel it will be an incentive for kids to be sexually active. Kids will do whatever they want to do. Parents and guardians need to face the reality that they cannot be there for every part of their children's lives so we need to have another plan, like education. If we are able to educate kids or people in general, they will know they have this option and can choose for themselves whether to use it or not. Also, emergency contraception is not abortion. It stops ovulation so the sperm and egg do not meet. With the use of education, we can reach out to many people and provide them with resources to meet their needs.

I appreciate your support on health care, education, and family and children. Family planning is very important in all three of these groups. I hope you realize how important this is for people out there and vote "yes" to H.R. 5561. If I could provide you with any other information, please contact me.

Alicia

Emergency Contraception Use

Fact Sheet

What is Emergency Contraception?

Emergency contraception, also called the morning-after pill, is a pill that prevents pregnancy after unprotected sex. It can be started up to five days after intercourse.

When should you use emergency contraception?

• condom broke or slipped off, and he ejaculated in you
• you forgot to take your birth control, you are not on birth control, or birth control was ineffective (e.g. ring fell out, diaphragm slipped out of place)
• miscalculated your "safe" days"
• you were forced to have unprotected sex or were raped

How does emergency contraception work?

Emergency contraception is made of progestin, one of the hormones found in birth control pills. The hormone in the morning-after pill keeps the ovaries from releasing an egg so sperm and the egg never meet. This pill also thickens the cervical mucus, which blocks the sperm and egg from joining.

How effective is emergency contraception?

There are many different brands of emergency contraception. Some of the more popular brands are Plan B One-Step, Ella, and Next Choice. These brands reduce the risk of pregnancy by 89 percent when started within three days of unprotected intercourse. This is effective up until five days after intercourse but gets less effective as time goes on.

How safe is emergency contraception?

The morning-after pill is safe. It does not have the same risks as taking ongoing birth control because this is made for a one-time use.

What are the disadvantages of emergency contraception?

There can be side effects while using the morning-after pill. Nausea and throwing up are the most common side effects. However, many women feel fine after taking it. Other side effects of the morning-after pill may include:

• breast tenderness
• irregular bleeding
• dizziness
• period may become irregular (come earlier or later, last longer or shorter)

Where can you get emergency contraception?

Emergency contraception is available from drugstores, clinics, or outlook clinics. Women and men older than 17 do not need a prescription. If you are younger than 17 you will need to go to a health center like a clinic to get a prescription. Places like Planned Parenthood or outlook clinics are a convenient and fast way to receive the morning-after pill. They are also able to bill most insurance companies if you do not have sufficient funds to pay for it.

Information provided by Planned Parenthood