Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2017 - 17

religious beliefs, and socioeconomic capabilities. As a provider,
it is important to differentiate between your personal beliefs and
best practices. In lieu of formal education to address this issue
with adolescent patients, Dr. Elise Devore Berlan of Nationwide
Children's Hospital suggests that providers become adept at asking
adolescents one question, "Do you plan to become pregnant in the
next year?" A response of "no" enables you to discuss options for
effective contraception or abstinence. A response of "yes" enables
you to find out how long the patient has felt this way and some of
the reasons behind the desire to become pregnant. Being open and
nonjudgmental can open lines of communication and allow you to
have a discussion about the most effective contraception for your
patient. If you do not offer contraceptive services in your practice,
it is imperative that you are aware of local resources where you can
quickly refer your patients. Last, a response of "I don't know" or "I
haven't thought about it" is a red flag. According to Bill Albert of
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy,
ambivalence about pregnancy is a huge risk factor as the pregnancy
rate for teens who haven't given much thought about becoming
pregnant is about as high as it is for girls who want to get pregnant.
Again, this is an opportunity to ask appropriate questions of your
patient to understand why she has not given any thought to teen
pregnancy as well as discuss the best option(s) so that she does not
become pregnant. With practice and increased confidence, any
answer to, "Do you plan to become pregnant in the next year?" should
afford you the opportunity to discuss pregnancy prevention with a
patient.
Berks Teens Matter has been working with select providers
to raise awareness and increase comfort with regard to teen
pregnancy prevention. These providers include All About
Women/Reading Health, All About Children, Berks
Community Health Center, Childrens Health Center/
Reading Health, and Family Health Center/Reading
Health. Representatives from these sites serve on our
Leaderhsip Committee and have made great strides in
the past three years as partners in our teen pregnancy
prevention initiative. A pocket-size "tip sheet"
was developed to assist providers in opening
the lines of commuciation about sexual and
reproductive health with adolescent patients.
"How To Talk With Your Child About Sex," a
brochure developed for parents and caregivers
of (pre) adolescent patients, is available in all of the
aforementioned provider sites. Last, staff members,
clincial and non-clincial, have received training on the
teen birth rates in Berks County as well as a provider's
potential role in helping to decrease these rates. In
November, our provider partners will receive additional
training: "Best Practices for Youth-Friendly Sexual and
Reproductuve Health Sevices." BTM is extremely proud
of, and grateful for, the dedication that our current
partners have exhibited in the first few years of our
initiative. For more information about how BTM
can assist providers, please contact Dr. Jen May at
jmay@berksteensmatter.org or review some of the
rescores we provide for professionals at
www.berksteensmatter.org.

FALL 2017

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Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2017

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