November 2022
Issue 11
This newsletter was developed (in part) with federal funds from the Office of Population Affairs. For more information on the rules and regulations that apply to our programs, please visit
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The Wyoming Health Council works to ensure that all people can access safe, unbiased, high-quality sexual and reproductive health care. |
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The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges!
This includes innovative ways to provide culturally competent sex education to the many different tribes throughout the United States.
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The United States is home to 574 federally recognized Native American tribes, about half of which are associated with reservations. Each tribe has its own identity within geographic and spiritual niches, maintained through generations of storytelling and traditions. All Native American cultures are unique; even with regional similarities, these cultures uphold hundreds of different belief systems. Lumping all of them into one group fails to recognize the various distinctive values and lifestyles, but there is one trait they share: perseverance in the face of adversity.
A long history of oppression has repercussions on micro- and macroscales, including access to sufficient sex education, which in turn affects sexual health.
Sex education and health
Sex education has proved a huge battleground in the larger fight for rights and justice in the United States, and too often, its quantity and quality have suffered. Native American tribes have their own unique obstacles to sex education.
"It's difficult to generalize this given the vast diversity of opinions, customs, beliefs, values and historical experiences among Native Americans; even within tribes, some customs may vary," said JeNeen Anderson, M.P.H., who serves as the senior director of health equity at Power to Decide, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization focused on preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy. "In terms of what cultural restrictions prevent certain topics from being taught, this could ultimately depend on the cultural norms of the reservation."
Anderson explained the importance of tailoring curricula to address the needs of Native American youth while still focusing on local contexts and culture.
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Built on Tradition: Sexual Health Education for Indigenous Youth |
Respecting the Circle of Life is a program that focuses on reducing sexual risk for Indigenous young people by teaching them about pregnancy and STIs, building positive peer groups, and promoting condom use.
The program, which emphasizes communication between youth and their parents and caregivers, also addresses striking health inequities among Indigenous communities, where STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis take a disproportionate toll.
RCL connects with concepts important to Indigenous communities such as respecting one’s body, making empowering choices, and interacting as a positive community member, Barlow adds.
“Culturally, these are sensitive topics,” she notes. “Many of us didn’t grow up speaking freely about them.” Harvey uses Navajo expressions and openly examines this cultural reluctance to discuss certain subjects. “If you say something, you may make it happen,” Harvey says. “That’s why it’s taboo, it’s hush-hush.”
Learning about pregnancy and STI prevention was also the most salient takeaway for LeAndre Frank, a 17-year-old member of the Navajo Nation who attends high school in Flagstaff, about a three-hour drive from his family’s reservation home. He appreciated useful life skills, such as how to put on a condom, as well as how the program’s goals aligned with Navajo values.
“It’s always said that our bodies are sacred, our creator’s gift,” Frank says. “The program is just about being safe and careful.”
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Looking for resources for Native American youth and adults?
Check out WeRNative for topics such as My Culture, My Relationships and My Mind!
Needing educational materials?!
Check out Health Native Youth, where educators and health advocates can find curricula and more such as Respecting The Circle of Life, Native It's Your Game and Native Choices! |
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While 99% of US women have used some form of birth control, the truth is, the attacks on abortion are also extending to our birth control. Everyone deserves access to the birth control method that works for their body and their life! Birth control allows people to plan for a family on their own terms and gives them the power to decide their own destinies.
Speaking up about birth control access could hardly be more important than it is NOW! It’s time to get LOUD and shout! By saying #ThxBirthControl we hope to remove the controversy and acknowledge how much contraception makes possible for everyone.
How has birth control helped you live life based on YOUR terms and YOUR timeline?
Share your story on social media November 16 #ThxBirthControl
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Contraception in the United States: A Closer Look at Experiences, Preferences, and Coverage
Contraceptive care is an important component of overall health care for many people. Federal and state policies shape access to and the availability of contraceptive care, but factors such as provider characteristics, as well as individual preferences and experiences also impact contraceptive choices and use. This report provides a close examination of reproductive age (18-49) females’ (including those who identify as women and other genders) experiences with contraception, insurance coverage, contraceptive preferences, and interactions with the health care system based on an analysis of the 2022 KFF Women’s Health Survey, a nationally representative survey of females ages 18 to 64 in the U.S.
Use of Contraceptives
The majority of females 18 to 64 (90%) have used contraception at some point in their reproductive years and many have used more than one contraceptive method throughout their lifetime (76%). People’s needs and preferences for different types of methods can change and speaks to the importance of having a broad range of contraceptive options available.
Not surprisingly, most people use contraception to prevent pregnancy (85%), but four in ten also say that they use contraception for another reason such as managing a medical condition or preventing a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
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How One Clinic in Texas Explains The Threat to Contraception
SAN MARCOS, Texas — In a small one-story clinic with peeling white paint, Community Health Services provides health care, including family planning, to low-income, mostly Latina, women in this city a 45-minute drive south of booming Austin.
The women who come here, many of whom had their first child when they were still teenagers, live in Texas, which has been on the front line of the abortion wars since September when the Republican-controlled legislature passed a novel piece of legislation banning all abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy.
This clinic, which is federally funded, does not perform abortions. It does dispense birth control pills, IUDs, implants, rings and other contraceptives to women who don’t want a child, or don’t want another child right now.
But the fate of this clinic is in doubt, just as contraception becomes even more critical. With a wave of strict statewide abortion bans just waiting for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade to take effect, advocates and policymakers face more pressure than ever to help prevent unwanted pregnancies. Yet the future of broad access to contraception itself remains uncertain.
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Now is The Time To Talk to Your Teens About Birth Control. Here's How.
The Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is likely to affect abortion access in roughly half the states, most of which either don’t mandate sex education or offer sex education that emphasizes abstinence, an approach that,
research shows, does not encourage adolescents to delay intercourse or reduce the risks that accompany it.
But parents can and should fill the sex education gap, says Laura Widman, an associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State University. “The Supreme Court ruling makes it more important than ever that we equip teens with all the tools they need to prevent unintended pregnancies,” said Widman, who researches adolescent sexual health. “In all states, and especially in states that are not providing comprehensive sex education in schools, parents have a critical role to play in discussing pregnancy prevention with their kids.”
Start early and talk often
Toss out any presuppositions of having “the talk” with your children. Building a relationship of openness and support about all aspects of sexuality means having many age-appropriate discussions with your kids, experts said. “I think it’s never too early to for a parent to start talking with their kids in developmentally appropriate ways about sexual health and safety,” said Annie Hoopes, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine physician-researcher specializing in sexual and reproductive health care.
Parents also often have the misconception that some forms of birth control are restricted by age, but Hoopes said that as long as an adolescent has had their period and is otherwise healthy, “all methods are available except sterilization, which is getting your tubes tied.”
Many teens, however, are not using the most effective methods of birth control. According to the CDC, data collected from 2015 to 2017 about birth control methods used by sexually active females ages 15 to 19 found that 97 percent had used condoms, 65 percent had used withdrawal and 53 percent had used pills. Nineteen percent had used emergency contraception.
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A little bit of natural history...
Although the birth control pill and other hormonal contraceptive devices are modern inventions, birth control has been around for thousands of years. The earliest known recordings of birth control methods date back to ancient Mesopotamia, around 1850 BC. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all had various forms of birth control, as well as those around the world, including North America.
Take a look below at the history of plant based contraceptives that people have used throughout the centuries.
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Native Americans Use of Plants as Birth Control |
Oral birth control was introduced to the United States in the 1960’s as a means of preventing pregnancy. But something with a similar purpose existed in indigenous cultures long before!
Plant-based practices such as ingesting herbs dogbane and stoneseed were used for a least two centuries earlier than western pharmaceuticals to prevent unwanted pregnancy. And while there are not as effective as current oral contraception, there are studies suggesting stoneseed in particular has contraceptive properties.
Read more about Native American Inventions That Revolutionized Medicine and Public Health
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Check out the Native American Ethnobotany DB as well to learn about more Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of the Native American People derived from plants! |
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Other Plants Used Around The World! |
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Transgender Awareness Week
****Nov 13-19****
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Transgender Awareness Week is a week when transgender people and their allies take action to bring attention to the community by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community. |
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Patient Centered Care For Transgendered People-CDC |
Many transgender people experience stigma and discrimination in their day-to-day lives that can affect access to health care.
Transgender people may also have unique needs and concerns when interacting with the health care system. Transgender patients’ concerns often arise at the front desk and in waiting areas because those are the first points of contact for most patients. For instance, front desk staff may not know how to handle a situation in which patients’ legal names and genders differ from their preferred names and gender identities and/or expressions. This puts patients in the uncomfortable position of having to explain their transgender status to the front desk within hearing distance of other patients. Other issues, such as providers’ assumptions about sexual orientation and gender conformity, may arise during the clinical encounter. However, these issues are almost always unintentional and can be prevented by training all staff in basic principles and strategies. All members of the health care team, from front desk staff to clinicians, can play a role in creating an environment that respects and responds to the needs of transgender people. Providers can use the material here as a starting point for understanding how to provide affirming services for transgender patients.
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Voices of Transgender Adolescents in Healthcare |
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What Gender-Affirming Care Actually Means
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), gender-affirming care is a model in which “pediatric providers offer developmentally appropriate care that is oriented toward understanding and appreciating the youth’s gender experience.” This model aims to create a safe space for young people to explore their identity, while sending the message that “variations in gender identity and expression are normal aspects of human diversity.” Bills seeking to ban this kind of care focus on specific medical interventions that might arise during gender-affirming care, like puberty blockers, hormone treatment, or gender affirmation surgeries. But, these treatments aren’t necessarily the sole focus of gender-affirming care.
“The number one form of gender-affirming healthcare is calling people by affirmed names and using affirmed pronouns,” Andrew Cronyn, MD, the doctor who treated Daniel, tells Teen Vogue. Dr. Cronyn treated Daniel in a different state, but he’s now a provider at Transhealth Northampton, a clinic in Massachusetts that focuses on the care of transgender patients by largely nonbinary, transgender, and queer medical providers.
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What to Know About Birth Control if You Are Transmasculine
In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, access to contraception will become even more important for anyone who is concerned about their reproductive health, including trans men, transmasculine people, and nonbinary people. Of course, there are tons of birth control options out there—but not all transmasculine folks want to deal with daily reminders to take the pill or weekly swaps to re-up their birth control patch. On top of that, frequent visits to your ob-gyn’s office or the pharmacy present their own challenges, especially when it comes to facing possible stigma from health care providers and grappling with the effects of gender dysphoria.
I’m a trans guy on testosterone. Can I still get pregnant?
Despite popular misconceptions, taking testosterone is not a reliable form of pregnancy prevention. Even if your period has stopped or you have been on testosterone for a while, you may still ovulate, which means you can still potentially get pregnant. If you want to avoid getting pregnant, you should consider birth control.
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Sexual Health For Transgender Women: A Guide
Maintaining good sexual health and using protection can help people stay healthy and enjoy their sex lives while protecting themselves and others from risks.
Sexual health and using protection during sexual activity apply to people of all gender identities and can help protect against infections and unplanned pregnancies.
This article looks at sexual health for transgender women, transfeminine people, or non-binary people assigned male at birth (AMAB).
Transfeminine is a term that refers to those who were AMAB but identify with femininity or feminine identity.
This article goes over protection during sexual activity, lubrication, surgery and sex and contraception among other subjects.
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Resources For Allies and Providers |
An introductory educational resource that covers topics and best practices on how to support transgender and nonbinary young people. The Trevor Project.
A national organization committed to the health and well-being of gender-diverse children and teens through education and support for families, and training and guidance for educators, medial and mental health providers and other professionals.
Helps you understand gender so that you can help your organization, community or family thrive by offering content, workshops, tools and trainings.
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No—Shave November is a month-long journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness.
The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free.
Donate the money you typically spend on shaving and grooming to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.
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Hey Parents and Teens!
Join the Wyoming Health Council for
Your Body, Your Life
a reproductive and sexual health series!
Register below to join our zoom series, or watch the recordings on YouTube, and find great Parent, Teen and LGBTQIA+ resources on our website!
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WYOMING HEALTH COUNCIL
111 S. Durbin, Suite 200
Casper, WY 82601
Call Us: (307) 439-2033
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