What % of women don't know basics of female anatomy?

Nurses General Nursing

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I had a wonderful daughter of an elderly patient assist with doing a minicath. I missed the first try, making some comment about getting the correct hole, and the confusion at times. The 60 something daughter said "2 holes?". I said something like, you know the pee and the baby hole?

The lady was shocked she had no idea there were two holes down there. I good naturedly covered up my utter surprise at her ignorance regarding this matter.

How many women don't know about this?

Did I bring up abstinence only?

Did you mention the word abstinence? No. Did I claim you mentioned the word abstinence? No. Were you in your post indirectly alluding to abstinence/ refraining from having pre-marital sex? I believe so.

This is what you did say and what I responded to:

Also, with Sex Ed, there is concern that kids will be taught about lifestyles with which parents might disagree, contraception, STD's, and other controversial issues.

Sex Ed can include a whole lot more than just anatomy.

I know from previous posts in other threads that you don't approve of pre-marital sex so that knowledge was a part of my interpretation of your post.

But even without that previous knowledge, I think that I interpreted the meaning of your post correctly and your new post in response to mine, seems to support that conclusion:

In my day, families taught their values to their own kids re: sexual behavior.

However, what many people object to is the view that it's OK for people to have sex before marriage.

And this regarding what your mother told you about sex:

She said that some of the parents were pro providing contraception to their kids because they believed their kids would have sex anyway.

My Mom made it clear that she believed I would not, and that she wanted me to not because becoming a father so young would really mess up my life. She advised that it was best to finish my education and get established financially before making any babies.

She told me she would help me if I did become a father, but that it was most definitely her prayer and her expectation that I would use good judgment and restraint in this area.

(my bold)

The reason I linked scientific research was to show that not including information about contraception and STDs in Sex Ed, is detrimental to the health of teenagers. Whatever your view happens to be on teenagers having sex, surely we should all be able to agree that the option that results in fewer teenage pregnancies and fewer teenage cases of STDs is preferable?

If you or others keep on believing that talking about pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is controversial, the health of teenagers will suffer. I personally don't think the topics are the least bit controversial, but they are important factors to be aware of.

Sex Ed has to cover more than just anatomy and physiology, otherwise it's just a biology class and doesn't qualify as Sex Ed. Merely knowing the biology isn't sufficient information/guidance to help a teenager make smart decisions for his or her future, protect their health and enjoy a healthy sexuality.

I suppose it isn't bad or wrong, and maybe it is good or best to teach kids about STD's and contraception in school.

I obviously agree with this part of your post. This is what the research I included demonstrated.

I won't use the Quote button because it's an insanely long post to even sit there and delete to get to the one line needed, but the reference to the Ballard High School abortion case is what I'm talking to.

Yes, thank you for the link, it is true that one time in 2010 a ridiculous misuse or abuse of policy occurred that resulted in a teenager being able to obtain an abortion without her mother's consent, and with the assistance of the school administration. It was completely wrong, and it seems it's now a good legal teaching tool of what not to do.

However.

That was one case in 2010. Doesn't negate what happened but it sure doesn't mean that a parent should expect a teen to be able to repeat this in her own school. It isn't part of any Sexual Education class, which is what you took issue with. Sex Ed doesn't teach one how to go about getting a school pass and taxi fare to get an abortion. Sex Ed does teach methods to avoid becoming pregnant in the first place, thereby negating the need for the abortion at all.

The very best way to prevent abortions is to prevent the unwanted pregnancy in the first place. For that, education is required.

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

I'm amazed at all the sex education in schools. When I was in middle school, nothing. In high school all we got was a few hours of talk about STDs & a big push on abstinence. I'm not that old, I'll be 29 in 2017. Yes I do live in Texas but the fact that nothing was covered in either middle or high school is very alarming. I don't know if the school is any better now but I doubt it. I wish we had a health class. I have two boys & I will definitely be talking to them about this subject.

I won't use the Quote button because it's an insanely long post to even sit there and delete to get to the one line needed, but the reference to the Ballard High School abortion case is what I'm talking to.

Yes, thank you for the link, it is true that one time in 2010 a ridiculous misuse or abuse of policy occurred that resulted in a teenager being able to obtain an abortion without her mother's consent, and with the assistance of the school administration. It was completely wrong, and it seems it's now a good legal teaching tool of what not to do.

However.

That was one case in 2010. Doesn't negate what happened but it sure doesn't mean that a parent should expect a teen to be able to repeat this in her own school. It isn't part of any Sexual Education class, which is what you took issue with. Sex Ed doesn't teach one how to go about getting a school pass and taxi fare to get an abortion. Sex Ed does teach methods to avoid becoming pregnant in the first place, thereby negating the need for the abortion at all.

The very best way to prevent abortions is to prevent the unwanted pregnancy in the first place. For that, education is required.

I doubt this was the only time a secret abortion took place. I will be looking for more instances.

We can agree or not on what Sex Ed should include.

Mac's comment that certain issues are not controversial is debatable. I think. LOL. Too distracted right now to figure it all out. I guess everything is debatable. Just depends on a person's view.

How about handing out condoms to students? To me, that just encourages sexual activity and tells a student that he or she is just a bundle of hormones that should be kept riled up at all times. This is definitely different than teaching that sex belongs only in marriage. Certainly folks can see where this might not be considered by some parents and members of the community as being proper Sex Ed or Health or Reality Show or whatever.

Specializes in Hospital medicine; NP precepting; staff education.
Asked sounds? You mean astounds?

.

Yup. Two typos in that post I caught too late to edit.

Specializes in Hospital medicine; NP precepting; staff education.
Maybe s/he was using the dictation function on his/her phone and it misinterpreted what was said; that's happened to me on more than one occasion.

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You nailed it. I have a chat group of friends and they've asked me to stop talking to my keyboard because of it. :)

Specializes in Hospital medicine; NP precepting; staff education.

A couple of days ago because of this thread I talked to my 15 y.o. daughter to discern her ongoing understanding. (We've been talking frankly of sex and anatomy for many years). She had no confusion about the quantity nor placement of anything. She correctly stated the word urethra, I taught her, or reinforced, the difference in lady parts and vulva, and even introduced her to the word introitus. (That will likely never be in the public lexicon.)

I am 40 and I really had decent exposure to sex ed beginning in 5th grade. Granted, it was conservative and limited, but I had those classes every year. Where I grew up and went to school is quite a conservative area (Bible belt), and my school district (per national standards) fell behind. I think that is what lends to my being somewhat surprised with the pervasive ignorance about our bodies. It's not intentional, it seems that it is just what people are not exposed to.

My son, as well, is aware. Even though at 17 he is uncomfortable talking about it, he will with me. When he has a question he'd rather come to me than his dad, "because you're Mom."

I think I'm doing something right.

A cute aside: when my son was 5 he couldn't say testicles. He called them nickels.

How about handing out condoms to students? To me, that just encourages sexual activity and tells a student that he or she is just a bundle of hormones that should be kept riled up at all times. This is definitely different than teaching that sex belongs only in marriage. Certainly folks can see where this might not be considered by some parents and members of the community as being proper Sex Ed or Health or Reality Show or whatever.

Regarding the bolded part, you would be mistaken. The data on the topic is clear, students are no less likely to engage in sexual behavior because they had no access to condoms, they simply engage in the activity without benefit of those condoms. Sex Education has been proven to reduce unwanted pregnancies by educating about sex. That's the point. We're not talking about reality tv shows, we're talking about bonafide standardized education.

It is not up to a Sex Ed class to teach that sex belongs only in marriage, that is a morals issue that should be addressed at home. The classroom is the place to appropriately teach human reproduction, and the discussion of sexuality that goes along with it. There is no debate whatsoever that since the advent of standardized sexual education in public schools teen pregnancy has been reduced. By contrast, teaching that sex belongs only in marriage, aka Abstinence Only, pregnancy rates not only don't drop, they increase.

When young adults are given facts, they can make choices, and the morals their parents have taught them will dictate what they do with those facts and what choices they will make. When given no facts, they don't make choices, they are essentially treated as children who are not capable of making good choices, and they become victims. Which would you rather your children be, capable young adults who have a clear understanding of their bodies and consequences of choices they make with those bodies, or sheltered immature youths who do not understand enough about their own bodies to make those choices wisely?

Historically, the system of telling a teenager Don't Do That without an explanation as to why and what happens if they DO do that doesn't really work.

Specializes in Pedi; Geriatrics; office; Pedi home care..

You & I must have had the same textbook.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
You & I must have had the same textbook.

Please utilize the quote button at the bottom of the post to which you are responding to provide your post with context as to what you are responding. As it stands, this post makes no sense in regards to the previous few posts.

Nickels lol! One of my kids pointed and said "That's where I keep my eggs". Would have been ok, perhaps, except that it was my SON who said it, pointing to his scrotum. I kept working on it at that point lol.

Specializes in ICU; Telephone Triage Nurse.
Yes, it's pretty sad. Also, vulvas are mythical/mystical/magical in a somewhat evil kind of way, I've learned. Even many people in healthcare don't want to know anything. I was invited to do a poster presentation at the local EBP symposium, and when I submitted the .PDF of the poster (which had a the graphic on it) I was asked by the symposium coordinators (who were healthcare people) to please remove the vulva from my poster.

How dare you present anything educational, or draw something anatomically correct! Bad nurse! :)

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