Lisa Perriera, MD, chief of family planning in ob/gyn at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, is available to discuss the new updated policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics concerning adolescents and sex. The AAP, the nation's most influential pediatricians' group, recommends that teen girls who have sex should use IUDs or hormonal implants - long-acting birth control methods that are effective, safe and easy to use. It also says condoms should be used every time teens have sex, to provide protection against sexually transmitted diseases that other forms of birth control don't provide, and to boost chances of preventing pregnancy. The guidelines were published in the journal Pediatrics, and echoes 2012 recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The policy emphasizes that abstinence is 100 percent effective at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and says pediatricians should encourage teens to delay sexual activity. But because many teens do not follow that advice, the policy also says pediatricians need to provide birth control guidance.
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