Gynecologist Advocates Early Education about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2004 – RuthAnn Heron-Davis, MD, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Albert Einstein Medical Center, knows all too well that STDs are a growing public health concern. She sees too many women – many in their teens and 20s – seeking treatment for a variety of these diseases.

“Since I started practicing in 1996,” says Dr. Heron-Davis, “I’ve seen an increase in STDs overall.”

That’s why she thinks parents should start educating their children at a young age about the potential risks and prevention of STDs. “The subjects of sex, STDs, birth control and abstinence should be broached beginning at ages nine or ten,” says Dr. Heron-Davis. This may seem too young to some parents, who want their children to remain innocent as long as possible. “It’s not really too early when you consider that children are beginning to experiment with sex at ages 12 or 13, and girls may start to menstruate by age nine or ten,” she says.

Dr. Heron-Davis thinks the information age has contributed to children’s early knowledge of sex and sexual behavior, without educating them about the risks. “Exposing children to sexually explicit activities, dances, movies, clothes and speech only contributes to more precocious but immature teenagers,” says Dr. Davis. “The responsibility rests with parents who need to carefully but deliberately keep informing their children as they age.”

STDs are a group of diseases that are spread through oral, anal or vaginal sex. They can also be passed from mother to baby during vaginal childbirth. STDs, which include herpes, HIV and AIDS, gonorrhea, genital warts and chlamydia to name a few, cause a variety of symptoms and health problems, some of which are treatable and some not.

According to the American Social Health Association (ASHA), 65 million people in the U.S. are living with an incurable STD. Each year, more than 15 million new cases are reported, and one in four new cases occur in teenagers.

Physicians, public health officials and organizations such as ASHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to spread the word about prevention.

“The only sure-fire way to prevent STDs is to abstain from all sexual contact,” says Dr. Heron-Davis. “Barring that, using condoms with each sexual encounter and being in a monogamous relationship with someone who has tested negative for STDs can help prevent the spread of STDs.”

The National STD Prevention Conference, held in Philadelphia in March, reported a decline in the number of cases of herpes. However, chlamydia – the most common bacterial STD – is widespread, especially among young people. The Philadelphia Health Department reports that nearly 40 percent of chlamydia cases in 2002 occurred in teens.

Patients who see Dr. Heron-Davis at Germantown Women’s Health Center and Einstein Plaza-Wadsworth support this statistic. “Chlamydia is the number one STD,” she reports. “We see it a lot in teens -- especially teens who become pregnant.”

Chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can cause permanent damage to fallopian tubes and the uterus leading to infertility, chronic pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is one in which the fetus is outside the uterus.

Dr. Heron-Davis hopes people get the message about STDs. “They are out there, and they can be prevented,” she says. “Make your kids understand that the threat is real.”

Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, a member of the Jefferson Health System, provides healthcare services through Albert Einstein Medical Center, Germantown Community Health Services, Willow Terrace (a nursing home), MossRehab/Einstein at Elkins Park, MossRehab at Tabor Road, Willowcrest (a center for subacute care), Belmont Behavioral Health and a number of outpatient and satellite locations. Einstein also operates a primary care network, Einstein Neighborhood Healthcare. For more information, call 1-800-EINSTEIN.

Publish date: March 31, 2004