“Girls do NOT have unprotected sex because if you do you will get a disease and you will get pregnant and you will have a baby and you will be a teenage mum and that’s that. Life ruined.”
Catholic school sex education 101 right there.
Why is this what our girls are being taught today? (Ok so I’m probably paraphrasing a little but I’m sure its the jist).
But really – why are girls only being told about the dangers of unprotected sex and (on some occasions) unwanted pregnancy.
Why is it that the only thing teenagers hear about after an unplanned pregnancy is abortion? (I’m pro choice by the way, but not all teenagers go down that route so the conversation shouldn’t end there).
I’m not advocating that we encourage unprotected sex in our schools but why exactly do we not hear about miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy? Is it not important enough to tell our 15 year old daughters? Should we leave them completely unprepared to deal with the possibilty of their baby dying? Because of course everyone knows a 15 year old girl is completely prepared to deal with that level of emotional shock and turmoil. I know I coped exceptionally well with mine. (Is my sarcasm reading okay here?)
Teenagers are at greater risk of miscarriage than the average adult woman
Who exactly does she turn to when no-one knew she was pregnant and her school told her it was her own responsibility to have safe sex? Who does she turn to when no-one around her discusses miscarriage? Who does she turn to when the baby she never planned but grew to love suddenly dies and leaves her in physical and emotional agony?
I don’t expect a weekly class on miscarriages but it should at least be mentioned once during sex education. Miscarriage shouldn’t be a foreign word.
If we start by telling our teenagers about baby loss then maybe it will become easier for us to talk about it too. When your child comes home and asks you to bake a cake for “Miscarriage Awareness Day” in school, maybe you won’t feel awkward at the sound of the M word. Maybe the more we normalise it the less shame and guilt those who have suffered will feel. Maybe one day.
TrimestersAndTribulations 