Martha Kempner is a writer, consultant, and sexual health expert. She has authored numerous publications for young people, parents, educators, and policymakers. She is also frequently called upon by print, radio, and television media to comment on sexuality issues in popular culture, politics, and research. Martha was previously the Vice President for Information and Communications at SIECUS. Ms. Kempner graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a bachelors degree in political science and received her masters degree in human sexuality from New York University.
A new book examines parents attitudes about their own teens sexual behavior; the New York Times looks at the life of Mary Fisher, an HIV-positive mother of two who spoke passionately at the RNC convention in 1992; and scientists look at a new immune deficiency syndrome that is not contagious.
Two separate research efforts—one looking to prevent STD transmission and the other looking to treat cancer—may ultimately lead to new options in contraception including a pill for men and a vaginal ring that prevents both STDs and pregnancy. But the journey from lab to pharmacy is long and we shouldn’t forget the good methods we already have.
This week’s sexual health roundup is all about pornography: city officials in Los Angeles try to figure out how to regulate condom use on porn sets just as filming shuts down because of a syphilis outbreak and business and marketers in many segments jump on Fifty Shades bandwagon.
This week, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy released With One Voice 2012, America’s Adults and Teens Sound Off About Teen Pregnancy. This survey tells us quite a bit about the roles parents play in the sexual decision-making of young people, how young people and adults feel about sexuality education, what they think about contraception, and the power of the media.
As European nations debate banning male circumcision entirely and states continue to cut Medicaid coverage for the procedure, the American Academy of Pediatrics releases a new opinion which says the health benefits outweigh the risks. Still, the organization stopped short of recommending routine circumcision for newborn males.
In this week’s sexual health roundup: the Learning Channel takes on teen pregnancy in two new shows—My Teen is Pregnant and So Am I and High School Moms; a Pennsylvania school that previously denied admission to an HIV-positive student has changed its mind after hearing from the Justice Department; and as the Olympics draws to a close, it’s good to know that sex the night before sports is just fine.
In this week’s sexual health roundup: one study shows us that a significant proportion of women experience post-traumatic stress disorder in women (especially those who don’t use pain medications) while another one suggests that childbirth may improve memory function. A study in men suggests that obesity is linked to erectile dysfunction.
This week all eyes turned to the Delhi Charter School, which rescinded a policy that grossly discriminated against female students. This situation underscores how ineffective we are at supporting pregnant and parenting teens.
The are over 700,000 cases of gonorrhea in the United States each year, and the bacteria itself has been changing and developing resistance to all but one class of antibiotics. With the likelihood that an antibiotic-resistant strain will be seen here soon, the CDC has released new treatment guidelines and a response a plan.
In this week’s sexual health roundup: researchers at the University of Michigan looked at the sexting behavior and psychological health of over 3,000 college students and determined that sexting did not, in fact, lead to heartache; another study of college students found that mixing alcohol and caffeinated energy drinks may increase risky behaviors such as drunk sex and casual sex; and a survey of Google searches since 2006 confirms what birth records have suggested for years — Americans do actually think about sex more in the summer.
