Review

Let’s talk about sex

TACKLING TEENAGE PREGNANCY: Sex, culture and needs
Ruth Chambers, Gill Wakeley and Steph Chambers
Radcliffe Medical Press, 2001, £17.95

Teenage pregnancy rates in the UK are among the highest in western Europe. The government has set in motion many initiatives to reduce levels of teenage pregnancy with little apparent success, although recent figures suggest levels are stabilising.

This book records the views of health care professionals, social workers, youth workers and teenagers themselves on recent government initiatives and the issues faced by teenagers such as contraception, pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Although not aimed at teenagers, I think they would find certain parts of this book useful. The information on methods of contraception was detailed yet in my view accessible to young people and would enable them to make an informed decision about which method would be most suitable for them.

The ‘misconceptions and myths’ chapter documents common beliefs among teenagers about sex. For example: ‘If you have a bath after sex then you can’t get pregnant.’ Hard to imagine, but perhaps not so if you are a teenager avoiding formal sex education at school or the ‘birds and bees’ chat from your parents.

Such myths did the rounds when I was at school and I, too, was embarrassed to ask a teacher or my parents if they were true. Perhaps I was naive or perhaps I was just like everyone else. Again, this section could be used by teenagers too embarrassed to ask.

In our preoccupation with reducing levels of teenage pregnancy, we sometimes overlook the problem of sexually trasmitted infections (STIs). Genito-urinary medicine clinics report annual increases in new diagnoses of sexually transmitted diseases, with teenagers particularly affected. The book describes many common – and not-so-common – STIs, lists their symptoms and discusses treatment options, which could be very useful for anyone working with young people.

There is so much more to this book but not enough space to include it in detail: teenagers affected by abuse, teenagers disadvantaged by learning/physical disabilities or circumstances, different cultures and religions attitudes to contraception, unplanned pregnancy, and what being pregnant is like when you’re young.

I would recommend this book to anyone working with young people, who wants a good all-rounder reference on contraception, pregnancy and STIs. It’s informative, comprehensive, and the language used makes it accessible to both adults and teenagers.