Condoms.
 

I've just watched a programme on television about a year in the life of a lad from Leeds who was diagnosed with HIV.

It was very sad, but he kept saying he wanted to know who gave him the disease. I really wanted to scream at the screen YOU DID!

As someone who was just coming out of my teens when AIDS became front page news, my generation knew the risks, and how to help to protect yourself against infection. Any one old enough will probably remember the government sponsored ads on tv featuring tombstones and icebergs, as well as a leaflet sent to every household in the country advising of the risks of unprotected sex.

There now seems to be a whole generation of young people who don't know the risks of having unprotected sex. Cases of all sexually tramsmitted diseases have risen, inculding HIV. I know for a fact that in the clubbing scene 'barebacking' is poular, if the young people who do it knew the risks, I don't think they would gamble with their lives.

One statistic from the programme showed that last year in this country, there were more new cases of HIV in hetrosexuals than homosexuals. This is a problem that could affect anyone who isn't trying to protect themselves, and lessen the risks of catching this or any other STD.

I was lucky, education kept me safe. It wasn't the case for over ten of my closet friends.

It was used in the adverts in the 80's but is still relevant, 'don't die of ignorance'. Better still wait until you are in a stable, loving relationship.

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You mean Spike Milligan got it right then when he said
"Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion"

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Yes but in his day you could wash them out and use them again.;)

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I remember those ads on the telly and used to joke about them. They stuck with you and most of use played it safe even through the embarresment of going the chemist. Nowadays they think its uncool to have protection and hate the idea of it dispite the risks. If some guy aint man enough to use condoms then he deserves all he gets and can blame no other. Another side is the number of single mothers around because "macho man" decided he would rather ride bare back than use common sense. Even the lassies are going to have to force the issue if all this is to be controlled. Is it really worth it in the end all the pain associated with STD's Aids etc just because they dont like condoms.

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I'm probably going to get shot down for this but the enemy that is MTV gives teenagers the best guielines for safe sex! I left an Accrignton High School this summer and in 5 years there NEVER received a single sex-ed/awareness lesson, we were expected to know everything through biology and r.e!

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Teenagers are now the victims of what they do know and should know and as for schools answer it hasnt improved since i was there. Always wondered what the bike sheds were for. Biology is ok being clinical but were is the bit on the emotional side to come from you cant get that on MTV.

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Chylamidia is now nearing epidemic proportions amongst young women, and can lead to all kinds of problems including infertility, but is easily avoided through the use of barrier protection such as a condom.

I should point out that the lad in the programme contracted HIV through having unprotected sex, but only with the six people he had a relationship with.

A friend of mine Anthony died aged twenty eight in 1991. He had only ever had a relationship with one person.

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don't see why you should get shot- think youve raised an area were awareness SHOULD be raised.;)

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no im just saying how strange it is that MTV provide more contraception awareness than schools with their big celebrity campaigns and the like...

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That fact that you didn't receive any information at school, that could save lives, really angers me.

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They seem to forget it takes only one infected person to start a chain of infections but will still take the risk of a bit of pleasure regardless of the fact a lifetimes pain can come of it.

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Thank God for MTV, that's all I can say.

At least someone is acting responsibly.

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Its a sign of the times when dispite all the pontificating by the govenment that a TV show is better for education. Like G it is madening but its also beyond belief

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and this is the channel which in many people's opinion is melting teenager's brains!!
melted brain or an sti....know which one id rather have, and it most definitely is NOT having livestock in mi undercrackers

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With the wide spread of binge drinking amongst young people, use of a condom may also help lower the teenage pregnancy rate, currently the highest in Europe.

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thats exactly what i meant.
though wouldn't say it angers me,more saddens.

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It will have to become cool to use a condom so maybe some of the teen idols should help as they have the influence. If a footy player singer or actor can get them to buy certain cloths why not a simple life saver.

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the stats of the behaviour of teenage Britain are absolutely shocking.
and this is what they call a civilised state? the powers that be desparately need to get ther arse in gear and sort it out!

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By the time that happens you could be a pensioner.

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its saddening that that may well be the case
it angers me that this is such a simple issue which could be resolved relatively easily....simply by including an extra hour for life-saving in the national curriculum

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no sorry spug shoemaker WILL be a pensioner.;)

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I've read this again, and morality aside this is disgraceful. So young people in state schools are being taught the rudiments of reproduction, but absloutely nothing about having respect for your body, and how you can protect themselves in a loving relationship/marriage.

No wonder under sixteen year old pregnancy is so high in this country.

I'm so angry I feel like asking Vitty if I can write the next 'It really makes my blood boil' column.;)

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What is so stupid was that nearly twenty years ago there was a massive public health drive about this.

What the powers that be have failed to realise is that it is a message that has a potential new audience every year, and needs to get through to every new generation.

Although HIV can be somewhat controlled by combination drug therapies, it is still an incurable and ultimately fatal condition.

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hit the nail on the head.
all we were taught were what goes where in biology...and in RE how the pope wont let you use anything to protect yerself!

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go for it rindy if you feel that strongly ask the man. i always say god loves a trier.

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Ironic really that now aids can be "battered" a bit into easing off that the next STD that could cause major problems is ignored until its too late or until a panic sets in.

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the quote i live by!!!
mi mam says im very trying :D
lol

back on topic though; i think the govt. unnecessarily skirt around the issues of AIDS and HIV; have you ever heard Tony Blair mention raising NHS funds to help the research into these malicious diseases? i certainly havent...

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The sad, and crazy thing is that under pressure, the last Pope issued a statment, because of many deaths in Catholic countries, saying that condoms could be used but they had to have a hole in the end [not the hole your winky goes in, the other end,] because life is precious.

Life is precious, if you are dieing of it as well.

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There is a lot of sense in that.

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They have warnings about puppies as presents about them being for a life time not just christmas. Why can this not be pushed for the teenage pregnancy issue. For some its a life of ease as the stae pays for everything maybe that should stop as well. All this hassle can be avoided with a pack of 3 or 2 if from a pub vending machine.

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someone needs to tell the Pope a quote i read by a certain Mr Hendrix
"Once you're dead, you're made for life"


(dont quite fully get it myself but its interpretable)

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It could even help with the health of the nation, as I believe they are even available in 'fruit' flavours.;)

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5 pieces of fruit n veg a day.....i believe the phrase 'at it like rabbits' proves quite apt



....doubt they do cabbage flavour, like


...now brussels, that may be a diferent matter

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Rembering the eighties, you then had all kinds of celebrities on prime time telly, showing how to use condoms properly by putting them on cucumbers!

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Never tried them but know a lassie who could answer that. Mind you will have to have a will and epitaph ready for when i do.

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No its not a lady of the night just a feisty one I work with.

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on prime time telly in the 80's, not even an hours lesson in a state school in 2005.
scary

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Seriously, in the X-Factor slot now they had Johnathon Ross and teams of celebrities, having races to rubber up salad vegetables.

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its like eurotrash meets its a knockout!!!

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What is tv coming to if thats their idea of entertainment since when did veg need safe sex.

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:) You had to be there.

Tv in the middle years of Thatcher's Britain wasn't that good.

At least they didn't have to face Louis, Sharon and Simon afterwards for comments.

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Theres the answer to the problem behave or face the terrible trio.

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"the way you unwrapped the condom was DISTINCTLY average"

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:eek: 'It's Chico time' would certainly take on a whole new meaning! :eek:

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but seriously folks....

lets have some suggestions as to how/when the govt. could bring these public info adverts back to the public?
obviously TV is probably the best way to get across to a wide range of people but would the govt. fork out for the advertising fees?

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This government is still afraid of what it sees as a vote loosing issue.

Remember Blair is a convert to Catholicism.


Mean while a whole generation of young people are growing up unaware of the risks that they may be taking.

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what is scarier than your government being blissfully unaware of a potential epidemic amongst young people? ...not a reet lot

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Gonorrhea
Chlamydia
Syphilis
Herpes
Genital Warts
Hepatitis B
HIV

and if that lot dosnt get you bird flu will :rolleyes:

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If any local school is failing our children in this way we should all know about it, that way, there is the possibility of changing the situation. If this sort of thing is going on then it is no wonder that we have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the country.

How about performing a public service and naming the offending institution? If you feel iffy about it, PM me and I will name it for you.

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How about a government that is aware and still does nothing? Now that is scary!

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I have to agree with all of your comments so far. Anyone who has read the thread 'Alarming Health Stats' in the archives of the Hints, Tips and Advice section will know that this is a subject which I take great interest in. Now for the government bit...

For donkeys years money has been put into the NHS for general services etc. Sexual health services were not seen as a priority. In the last 5 years the government have been appalled by the number of STI's spreading through this country. We have seen a re-emergence of Syphillis, Chlamydia affects roughly 4 out of 10 16-24 year olds (both males and females) Gonorrhoea tends to happily co-exist with Chlamydia and about half of the people who have Chlamydia will also have Gonorrhoea. HIV numbers have risen tremendously and is more prevalent amongst heterosexuals. In 2001 the government brought out its first National Strategy for Sexual Health. This documented plans to upgrade sexual health services, make them more accessible and tackle the growing numbers of Chlamydia and other STI's.

It was followed up in 2003 with Guidelines for GPs with special interest in STI's and the pilot study for opportunistic Chlamydia screening which was started in 2000, has now been rolled out to several health authorities. Honestly we are finding Chlamydia, especially in the young, at a rate that you would not believe. So the government is doing something...........

Unfortunately it is nowhere near enough. You see, what has happened is that the sexual health services have received so little for so long that they will need a massive amount of cash to actually treat and screen the number of people who need it. There are now waiting lists for GU Clinics...... A massive campaign like the one in the 80's is needed now to combat HIV. The government are well aware of this but they won't do it. This is because the sexual health service will be swamped with people coming for testing and advice. Due to the run down nature of the services, they would not be able to cope with mass screening. They struggled to cope with the 80's campaign, so the government, even though they have been lobbied by the people who work in sexual health, won't do it.....

Anyone who wants current figures for STI's will be able to find them on the Health Protection Agency website, the Dept of Health website also contains the above sexual health strategies. Have a read of 'alarming health stats thread' it was posted nearly 2 years ago, that may give you extra info. I will be looking at the effects of HIV in Pregnancy in january for dissertation for my BSc, so this is a topic very close to my heart....:D

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For anyone who's interested here's the link to 'Alarming health stats'

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/s...g+health+stats

:D

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Minister of Health Patricia Hewitt admitted on a recent Panorama programme, that like Lettie said, urgent funding for STD clinics has been delayed because the clinics can't cope with the numbers of people already using them, and fear even more over stretching of an already under funded sector of the health service.

The programme makers called every STD clinic in the country, and the earliest appointment was in a month, the latest was in eleven weeks. In the meantime these people, who obviously had fears something was wrong, could be infecting other people, including spouses and partners.

All this could be lessened by by a mass education programme, about how people should be protecting themselves. I recently complained about a glossy magazine that was delivered through my letter box, it was filled with statistics about the local NHS.

I know where I would much rather that money be spent, health education.

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I do think that sexual health should be taught in schools, as part of a programme that shows sex should be part of a loving, commited relationship, but when it isn't protection is vital. I think in this case young people's rights are more important than parent's rights to decide what their children are being taught. People are living with the consequences right now.

It's good that Moor Head was visited by a bus giving out information, [do we know who this was?] but in the meantime a whole generation are growing up unaware of the risks to their health they are putting themselves at.

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I'm the same age as you Garinda and you're right - when we were at the age when we wanted to experiment HIV was huge news. It scared the living daylights out of me - as it should!

But I do agree with Willow - parents have got to take some responsibility for sex education.

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It is very interesting from the official treatment figures to see that after the last mass media HIV campaign in the 80's, that although the figures for all STI's increased due to worried people turning up for testing, they then fell to startlingly low levels as people started to protect themselves.

A similar campaign today would initially increase the workload of GU clinics and stretch an already overworked and underfunded service, but then the knock on would be a decrease in STI's. Surely a mass campaign, with funding set aside for the initial onslaught would produce results.

Interestingly, these same figures show an increase in STI's right after the second world war, when our lads came home......:D

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Teenagers today do seem as interested in horizontal sports as when long ago and just within memory I was.
It is an important thing that we realise that to protect all our children then, as Rindy has already suggested that they are encouraged to put safety first, a difficult thing with all those hormones flowing through young and healthy bodies, after all nature is set against abstinence it wants them to breed. It isn't a case of promiscuity therefore it is our responsibility to encourage them to act responsibly, difficult for both parties when,
a/ It's embarrassing trying to tell your children not to do what you wanted to do when you were their age.
b/ They do actually at that age feel invulnerable to any thoughts of death and disease affecting them and lets face it when we were their age we thought it was our generation that invented sex, buried our heads in the ground at the thought that our parents could possibly have had as much enjoyment at that age.


So on and on goes the cycle, it is our turn to wring our hands and worry and their turn to grasp at life and it's joys.

Without becoming strict and locking up our daughters (an impossible task, ever tried to keep a cat on heat in the house? They have ways of escaping from your best efforts just when you think you can relax).

Encouraging pride in themselves without being too critical when they show their natural failings would be a big help but just as difficult, they will always listen to and mimic their peers before they will allow themselves to learn from our nagging, erm, experience.

All We can say to these young experimenters is:-

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Also, when questioning teenagers about sexual health, they are actually a lot more knowledgeable than we were... They tend to know where to get treatment, and don't worry too much about Gonorrhoea/Chlamydia, because they are easily treatable. However, teenagers today see HIV and AIDS as old peoples diseases. Publicity dictates that people die of AIDS when they are older (which is true in most cases). teenagers equate this with catching the disease older......

Modern drug therapies give HIV sufferers an near normal life span these days, but 30 years worth of treatment comes at a price, roughly £100,000 per year, per person. With over 50.000 known sufferers in the UK receiving treatment (a large percentage of which are immigrants) the cost to the UK taxpayer is enormous...

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they put big enough messages up for the quit-smoking campaign around blackburn and accy, and i think these issues should be much more important to the govt than getting people to quit the stick...
prioritise mr blair!

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At present there is nothing to be gained politically from this situation thus its left to simmer away on a back light. The posters are there to make it look like something is happening when its not and as pointed out these posters are in the wrong place (that or they are meant to put a pensioners blood pressure up). The diseises are curable and thats were the complacencey lies because they have treatment and a cure for these. Aids on the otherhand is "battered" into but eventually kills.

What happens if some of these STD's start to become resistant to the treatment or new strains appear that they cannot control? Will they panic? Would they have an answer? Or are these people condemed because of their arrogance niavity and the "we have other issues to deal with attitude of the govenment departments" I hope my own child and the children/teens of members out their can trust there parents enough to talk about this subject. Their health is more important than whats cool whats not and the latest crazies. I care about my daughter and would bend over backwards to help her avoid this "sleeping" disaster.

Rammble finished for now.

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Spuggie, Gonorrhoea has already become resistant to some antibiotics now. They have had to change the treatment and sometimes it takes more than one course of treatment to get rid of it. The long term health costs of these treatable diseases being left untreated is phenomenal. Men and women can be left infertile, reactive arthritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, severe testicular infections (honestly Buster Gonad would be jealous), severe chest and eye infections of newborn babies whose mothers have the infections. The list goes on and on.....
A lot of people don't realise that these long term illnesses exist. Lets face it. How many fellas would tell their mates in the pub that they were hospitalised with the 'Buster Gonad' problem because they had Chlamydia...:D

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the best protection in my day was just to say'' thanks but no thanks.........

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Unfortunately its the in thing to try it now GC and to hell with the end result.

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Like other people have mentioned, when you are young you feel imortal, and all thoughts of death seem along way off.

Even people that are aware that there are risks in having unprotected sex, seem to think that 'barebacking,' [sex without a condom,] is a risk worth taking because 'it won't happen to them.'

It does, and education is the only answer.

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I think there are a lot of good points and HIV is a local issue now. Suffers live within the Hyndburn area as do drug users and the chances of infection are greater.

We need the needle exchange proposed by the PCT and it got planning permission but who leant on the PCT to pull it, Britcliffe.

I would not want my son infected with AIDS with someone else [on the pill for eg?] who may not even know they are infected.

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Graham the point you made that just because the needle exchange wasn't granted permission for a town centre location because of Britcliffe, doesn't mean that drug addicts will still not come into town to do there shopping like everyone else, was a very good one.

The message needs to be got across that you only need to sleep with one person ONCE to become infected. You are coming into contact with that one person's other partners, and their partners, and their partners, and their partners........the list is endless.

Self protection is easy, if abstinence isn't an option, and that message should be getting through to young people right now.

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At the end of the day, no matter how much knowledge is given to our young and older people even, not quite the same is it with one of them things on !?! Mixed with the pill and no fear of pregnancy, stirrings take over. Difficult to keep common sense at times like this.
Agree with Garinda though re. immortality in the young, but not just the young, you never expect it to happen to you.

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Yeah condoms are a bit of a pasion killer, but the good thing is there is no stigma in buying them nowadays. You can pop them in your basket with your groceries, and not have to buy six combs from a chemist, or have the barber trim your hair twice in one day because you were too afraid to ask for 'something for the weekend.'

Especially if I was a girl, and knew all the health risks that I might be facing, I'd make sure the boy rubbered up, even if it wasn't 'quite the same.'

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I completely agree that a needle exchange should be available in central Accy. We have our fair share of HIV affected people in this borough. John Moores University in Liverpool publish the exact figures on a yearly basis. These figures are available online.

There are a couple of things that I do disagree with though :D :D :D

Firstly..... your son would not become infected with AIDS. He would become infected with HIV, which is actually different. HIV eventually leads to AIDS but that may take 20-30 years if he's lucky..

Secondly.... by assuming that the person giving him HIV is on the pill, you are assuming that this person is a woman!!!! Current research will confirm that the numbers of women contracting HIV is increasing. They are catching this through sex with infected men. These studies actually show that married women have more chance of contracting HIV because they are in relationships where they feel they have no need to use condoms, and some husbands have extramarital affairs. Many of these women are from minority ethnic groups who traditionally don't have affairs. Many women in relationships involving domestic violence feel powerless to demand the use of a condom within that relationship.

If I were to advise your son on protection against HIV and other STI's, I would advise him to use a condom with every sexual contact, be they female, male or martian....:D

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Like Garinda, I have watched in helpless agony as friends wasted away and died of HIV. Wonderful, lively, creative people, who lost their lives through ignorance. I also have several friends who are living with the condition, and coping wonderfully, but all are damaged by it.

I think that it is appalling in this day and age that schools are not teaching our children everything there is to know about something that could ruin their lives or even rob them of it. Earlier in this thread one school in Accrington was singled out as failing miserably in this regard, it came as NO SURPRISE to learn that it was the same school of which I myself was once a pupil...


This school failed me and my contemporary's in so many ways. How sad and infuriating to find that it is still failing the young people of Accrington. As far as I am concerned, the sooner that religionists are told to keep their peevish, tight-arsed noses out of education the better things will be for all concerned.

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You can provide the youngsters with information......you can provide youngsters with Condoms......but you cannot regulate what they will do with either of those things. I worked in an area where sexual health was a hot topic. I dealt with young girls who presented themselves for termination of unwanted pregnancies.......I frequently gave these girls written and verbal advice and information...oh yes, plus of course a supply of the pill AND condoms...I always, always documented this......many many times the same girls came back time and again for repeat terminations. So having the information is not always the answer.

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My own sex education came from my father. He told me that if I ever brought disgrace on the family, I would be thrown out......along with what I came into the world with. (Nothing).....The word NO was my protection.

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Wonder why things like aids etc were not as problem when the family was regarded as a complete institution & parents educated their kids in sexual matters. There may have been the rare occasion but these people were the shame of the family & often had to move away. Not condoning such action in todays society but people seem to rely too much on others will educate rather than getting things into perspective at source. Parents have kids then it is their responsibility to educate in such matters, not schools or playground title tattle. Margaret you are right- the word "no" is a forgotten word today.

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i think this may well be because people think they can get knocked up and there's no need to worry because you can go and get a mornin after pill from the info centre and yer mam wont know anythings happened!
as much as it pains me to say as a 16 yr old i think that if people are to use the info centres parents should be informed; as i think the sheer embarassment would deter most of 'em from goin at it like rabbits with no protection!

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[quote=Margaret Pilkington) I worked in an area where sexual health was a hot topic. I dealt with young girls who presented themselves for termination of unwanted pregnancies.......I frequently gave these girls written and verbal advice and information...oh yes, plus of course a supply of the pill AND condoms...I always, always documented this......many many times the same girls came back time and again for repeat terminations. So having the information is not always the answer.[/quote]

can i just ask a question margaret please??

How come in the hospital, when you have just suffered a miscarriage of a baby that was SO wanted, do they put you in a ward with young idiots who can't keep their legs crossed and go to have abortions like its the pill??
So many times after I lost my baby, i wanted to get up and rip someones head off in that ward but pain stopped me.

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Slinky that is disgraceful, and I'm sorry.

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It seems apparent that we have no sexual health message being taught in schools, and the problems are getting worse. Perhaps it might be an idea to try and educate these young people as to the consequences of their actions, including using terminations as a form of birth control, and all the resulting problems.

Although you were a good girl Margaret, lots of people weren't. Terminations were still carried out by desperate people in the past, as well as numerous adoptions, and probably a lot of shotgun marriages that wouldn't have taken place if people had been better informed.

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this is exactly what we shouldve been taught in school; the emotional stresses that come hand in hand with sexual relations (oh god i sounded like Clinton then) along with awareness of diseases and prevention

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We've read in your journal of your first chaste kiss yesterday.

We will be keeping an eye on your developing relationship, and hope you show as much common sense as you have posted in this thread.:)

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He could be an example to others.

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ooerrr should i be awaiting a call from some govt advertising blokes in suits?!


and the use of the word 'we' makes me a liiiitle anxious lol

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Think of all the people you could educate before starting to put the teens back on the right road.

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I remember there being a certain stigma attatched to coming home pregnant as a teenager and none of us would dare do it. The threat of that stigma (and a good hiding from yer dad) made you careful.

I also remember the awful stigma attatched to having HIV in the 80's, where ignorant people proclaimed it as 'the gay plague' or Ar$e Infected Death Sentence....It was awful and has thankfully come a long way. People are more educated about HIV, especially the people who were around at the outbreak. The government had their large campaign, but most of us who are interested have largely educated ourselves.

The only thing with attatching stigma to a certain condition or disease, is that it prevents people from seeking treatment or help. Whether that be antenatal check ups for a pregnant 14 year old or life prolonging treatment for somebody who is HIV positive, any kind of stigma attatched deters treatment.

All of our research shows that pregnant teenagers are far more likely to suffer complications such as pre- eclampsia (which is fatal to both mum and infant). This condition is detectable by regular check ups and pre- eclampsia can be treated. Mortality rates are higher for very young mothers as well as very old mothers. Stigmatising teenage pregnancy would only push the maternal mortality rate up again.

The government know this and that it why they are providing all this care and extra money etc. for teenagers. One of the benchmarks for health services in any country is maternal mortality, and ours is relatively low, which to the outside world makes our services look good..

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Well I'm glad that there is more than the word no, now Margaret, because no sometimes wasn't good enough.
I remember during the 80's a story in the Telegraph I think it was, about a lady that was being moved into 'care in the community', after spending 40 years, yes, 40 YEARS on a mental ward in a local institution, What had she done to be locked away from society for such a long time? She had had a child out of wedlock and because she refused to have it adopted her caring family had her commited!

Not the sort of thing that is happening now thank goodness, let's stick with education for them rather than going back to a time when society could let that sort of thing happen.

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Lettie mentioned the stigma attached to AIDS in the mid 80's. I thought I'd just remind us here that Accrington made the national papers when the owner of Plus-2 hairdressers hit the headlines and television news because of disinformation.They put up a signs in their window refusing the custom of any gays, because they thought they'd catch the virus from them.

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er, how did they know potential customers were gay?:rolleyes:

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They all looked like Daffyd from Little Britain of course, the only gay in the village.;)

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The mid 8o's were at time when because of hysteria in the press, particularly the Sun and The Sunday Times, cleaners and even some nurses refused to treat people with HIV, I had a friend whose meals were left outside his hospital door. Theatres were closed to some touring companies because they thought actors might bring infection with them.

Sad days. At least the government campaign at the time resolved some of the fears about how HIV was spread.

Re: Condoms.
 

Re: Condoms.
 

never was a royalist,but what she did was a great help in my opinion.

Re: Condoms.
 

With the disease on the increase again then maybe its time for another campaign. I was one of those who was there in the 80's and saw and heard the ignorence first hand. There is now another generation that needs educating on this terrible disease and how to prevent it spreading. It does not discriminate against gender sexual tastes race colour or age. The quicker they learn this the better as too many think medical science has the answer.

Re: Condoms.
 

No matter what people thougt of Diana, she was the first public figure in the world to be seen in physical contact with an AIDS patient. She helped break down a lot of barriers.

Re: Condoms.
 

She had more balls and understanding of the pain and sufering that is caused by aids that it changed the views of many. Its a pity there are not more famous personalities with here attitude and willing to help. This does not just apply to AIDS but all killer diseases in the world especially concidering what is happing in Africa.

Re: Condoms.
 

Slinky and Willow.....if you suffered miscarriages I might have looked after you. Looking after women who wanted babies and those who didn't was always a contentious issue. What I would say to you both is that you were given the treatment that you needed....as were the women who wanted abortions. People used to ask me how I could work in such an environment and I used to tell them it was easy really......any one of us could be in the situation of being unhappily pregnant........and I felt that I could give help to both situations. I always gave contraceptive advice and information.......it was much harder if the girls came back for a second termination......they would say that they hadn't been given any condoms/pills/information/advice etc........I would flick back in their notes and show them where I had documented exactly what advice and contraception was given. That would stop them in their tracks......I would also explain very graphically that pregnancy wasn't the worst thing that could happen to them...I would outline the risks of STI's. HIV, Hepatitis, Genital Herpes and cervical cancer. I'm sure that some of them left feeling pretty scared, although it wasn't really my aim to scare anyone. I DO feel that without all the information you cannot make a realistic choice about sexual health. I also would point out that there is no such thing as safe sex.......only safER sex.

In relation to the women who lost babies through miscarriage, I, and my colleagues worked tirelessly to get information and support......I was instrumental in the provision of a memorial book and wrote the entries and provided parents with a copy of their own entry.......we wanted a memorial garden and eventually we were successful in getting that.
Women who had late miscarriages were given footprints, hand prints and photographs if this is what they wanted. I am sure that there were women who we couldn't help, but it was not for the want of trying.

And the women who opted for termination of pregnancy.......well, I think they just swopped one set of problems for another. Remember, they have to live for the rest of their lives with the guilt of what they have done......and even those women whose first initial reaction to ending a pregnancy is relief.......I think they MUST think about what they did throughout their lives.