Preventive or Corrective Care...Life Hanging In the Balance.

Last night I had the opportunity to visit a church in Raleigh that was promoting a program geared towards abortion prevention. Although this is a very valiant effort to support, my immediate thought was to focus on preventive care instead of corrective. Why work so hard to keep our young girls from ending a life when you can focus on sexual awareness and responsibility? 

Even with declining numbers in regards to teen pregnancy and abortions, the issue is still prevalent among the African American community. 

According to research conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, 41 per 1,000 women between the ages of 15-19 who have undergone procedures for abortion were African-American teens .

Not to bore you with numbers, I want to share one last statistic. 

According to the State Center for Health Statistics, 26,192 abortions were performed in North Carolina in 2011, down 15 percent from the prior year. Teen pregnancy (tracked among 15- to 19-year-olds) dropped 12 percent between 2010 and 2011.

We have to get back to talking to our daughters, nieces, sisters, about the importance of abstinence and other safe sexual habits. Parents, family members, friends; it is up to us to give our daughters the information and confidence they need to protect themselves. We are all aware of the consequences of having unprotected sex. It's time we share our truths with them in a responsible manner. It is time we prevent our girls from becoming a patient, a statistic, a single mother, or woman dealing with the emotional trauma of losing a child. 

As a single parent and teen mother, I understand the challenges that come with such a feat. I have taken the issue of Teen Pregnancy Prevention seriously for many years now. I encourage my nieces and other young ladies I have the pleasure to meet, to wait. I know they will eventually make the decision to have sex so stating the importance of safe sex and birth control is my second most important message.

I believe preventive care is far better than corrective. If you prevent a problem before it happens you will not have anything to correct.

Jennifer Michelle works with the Advocates for Youth Program and National Teen Pregnancy Prevention (NTPP). 

Jennifer Michelle, MTAM
"More Than A Mannequin"
www.jmichellemtam.com