Great question! This is not sex ed. We won’t be talking about the details of sex or how to prevent pregnancy. Before attending the course, your daughter should have already learned the general concept of sexual intercourse and human reproduction, hopefully from you, her parent. Be aware that Session 5 covers a very brief and basic understanding of STDs — not in relation to prevention, but rather in the context of both understanding consequences and making healthy choices that honor human dignity.

My friend, this is a revolutionary health program, and it will rock your daughter’s world! It’s the body knowledge we wish we’d been given way before puberty hit. teenFEMM is based on fertility awareness, with the goal to teach young women how to understand, maintain, and improve their health by monitoring their cycles and hormones. Sounds pretty great, right?! ICYMI, you can learn more about FEMM (Fertility Education and Medical Management) here.

Let me answer with this quote from Anna Migeon, co-founder of Natural Womanhood: “If we are teaching kids anything about sex, shouldn’t we start with real knowledge about their bodies? Not information about products they should buy to manage their bodies, but the real goods on their bodies: what ovulation is and when it happens, the process of conception, the role of the uterus and of the cervix, the cervical mucus itself (which girls regularly confuse with an infection), what periods are, etc.. Kids are a captive audience, with much of their time dedicated to nothing but learning. So why squander the time teaching them how not to have to think about their biology by becoming ignorant consumers of products?  More information is definitely better than less here.” (source)

Fertility awareness holds great value for girls! Read more here.

I’m so glad you asked! Informed choice is a central component of health care — and it’s becoming more and more vital in today’s cultural climate that we understand it and utilize it. Informed choice means making a health decision after learning about and considering all the available options. Women, and families with adolescent daughters, are often unable to make informed choices about their health because they lack information about the ways in which various approaches or treatments might affect them. In regards to reproductive health, this means that a young woman may choose hormonal birth control without being given full disclosure regarding side effects, or even knowing that she has other options (eg, fertility awareness) to both resolve adverse female health issues, and later, for family planning. teenFEMM helps adolescents understand the options relevant to their desired long-term health outcomes.

While I strongly believe in the importance of parental guidance and participation in the lives of our children (I’m a very involved mama of 5!), this 6-week course is offered for girls only. Because of the sensitive nature of the class material, the participants may not feel comfortable learning in an environment where they are surrounded by the mothers of their peers, or even their own moms! I do offer a brief introduction to teenFEMM for parents who have already registered their daughters for a group course. If you are interested in scheduling this 30-minute presentation/Q&A, please contact me prior to the first of the 6 sessions.