written by Rita-Marie Goudreau,CNM

Sex Talk for Teens and Parents

This handout was developed for both parents and teens to review together. We realize that talking to your teen about sex is not easy and that is why we want to help lay down the foundation you need as a parent to educate and communicate with your teen regarding sex. We want your teenager to hear the facts from us regarding their developing body parts, sexuality and the emotional changes they are going through. The goal of this handout is to help open the doors of communication between you and your preteen/teen regarding sex and all decision making that surrounds it.

Communication: What teenagers want and need from their parents.

1st – “Make Sure Your Door is Always Open.” Encourage your preteen/teen to talk to you often about any questions they may have about sex. Remember that you are their person of choice when it comes to valuable life information. Your preteen/teen does realize that they are facing choices and they will come to you with questions. Let them know that you will be there for them. Remember to bring up the fact that open communication with you about sex does not in any way imply that you condone sexual behavior at their age or maturity. Saying this will clear any confusion your preteen may have and calm some of your own concerns.

A lot of women blame themselves for their poor sex drive – this couldn’t be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that having a low “sex drive” or low sexual enjoyment is mostly due to a lack of education, poor communication with a partner or an imbalance of hormones. The purpose of this seminar is to educate you about the role hormones play in affecting sexual desire throughout your lifespan. If you would like to have information surrounding the causes, treatment and prevention of a low libido then this seminar was developed just for you. Please feel free to bring your husband, partner or friends with you to the seminar.

Rita-Marie Goudreau, CNM, will be our speaker. The seminar will be held on Wednesday, October 19 in our Stafford Office from 6:30pm-7:30pm.

When I first moved to Stafford, I was 8 weeks pregnant and had come from Virginia Beach, VA. My sister-in-law recommended the Adler Center to me as a great OB practice. She is a patient and they delivered my niece. When I first got to the center, I was very impressed by the way that the staff interacted with me. I felt totally comfortable right away, and knew I had made the right choice when it came to the care of my baby and me. They took good care of me throughout my pregnancy, encouraging me through gestational diabetes and the other trials of pregnancy.

I went into labor on my due date (after hoping for a week before that to go into labor), June 1st, 2005. Because I had gestational Diabetes, I had been at the hospital for a non stress test, and there were no signs of labor at that time. Non stress tests are external monitors placed on the abdomen and they monitor the babies’ heartbeat and ensure the pattern is healthy. This test is done once or twice a week with high-risk pregnancies. Well, at 9:54 pm, I had my first contraction, and boy did they come on with a vengeance after that! I continued having strong contractions every five minutes for an hour, and I called Sharon, who was on call, and she told me to come on in, that this was probably it. It took me a while to get out of the house; with my husband running around crazy trying to make sure we had everything, and me having to stop every few minutes to breathe out a contraction. I knew early on that we were in for a long night. I was having major back labor and it was excruciating.

I joined the Adler Center in April 2004 as a Patient Account Representative in the billing department. My job keeps me very busy entering delivery and surgery charges, posting insurance and patient payments, filing claims, and following up with insurance companies to ensure each claim is paid in a timely manner. Having worked with physicians for most of my career, it is a joy to work with such an exceptional group of deeply caring professionals at the Adler Center.

Gary, a Captain with the Virginia State Police, and I have been married for 17 years and have two children. Jo Ann is a senior at Longwood University. Michael graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a trooper with the Virginia State Police. We enjoy boating and swimming at Lake Anna and taking walks with our two pugs Dewey and Daisy.

What is a baby story? Well, it's a story that is written by a new mom which tells about her experience with delivering her baby through the Adler Center. By sharing these stories, new patients can see what delivering with the Adler Center is like, family and friends can read about your birth and see pictures on our website, you can brag about your experience through labor and help other mothers prepare by allowing them to read about your experience.

We encourage moms that have delivered not only recently, but even if they delivered with us several years ago to share their story(s). It's always interesting to see what other people go through during their pregnancy and delivery. Click here to read some of the baby stories already published in our E-Newsletters and on our website.

So far, our subscribers have loved reading our baby stories each month. Many people have told us that they can't wait until the next E-Newsletter to read another! If your baby was delivered by The Adler Center, and you would like to share your experience on our E-Newsletter and website, we urge you to write an article and email it to us. Don't forget to send a picture to go along with the article!

What topics would you like to learn about? We select topics for this E-Newsletter based on concerns we hear about in the office and the latest medical news. If you have a health issue you'd like to read about, a seminar topic you'd like to hear about, or any suggestions about how to better our practice - please let us know. We welcome your suggestions and comments!