10 Benefits Of Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization that nationally and globally provides health care, specializing in reproductive care. Planned Parenthood provides several services, including some you may not be aware of. In the past 95 years, they’ve provided 4,665,000 people of all genders, ages, and backgrounds sexual and reproductive healthcare. Visiting your local Planned Parenthood can benefit anyone, even if you don’t have insurance. Here are 10 benefits of Planned Parenthood that are sure to help you or someone you know!
Birth Control
Birth control can be confusing and tricky when looking at the plethora of options. Staff at Planned Parenthood provide information about all the birth control methods, including the implant, patch, pill, shot, sponge, vaginal ring, cervical cap, diaphragm, condom, female condom, IUD, spermicide, vasectomy and sterilization. You won’t only be informed about the different types of birth control, but the staff will help you find the birth control that works best for you and will even provide the service or prescribe the medication.
Emergency Contraception
Birth control isn’t infallible. Whether you use a method incorrectly, the method fails, or you got carried away in the heat of the moment and failed to use any method, emergency contraception is a godsend. Plan B, the copper IUD and the ella morning-after pill are all types of emergency contraception provided at Planned Parenthood. While Plan B is accessible to everyone at nearly every drug store, you need to see a doctor or get a prescription in order to get a copper IUD or ella morning-after pill.
General Health Care
Planned Parenthood does more than just provide reproductive services, as they provide a long list of general health services. The Planned Parenthood staff assists patients by providing information about your health, helping you prevent illness and providing treatment for current conditions/sicknesses. The services provided include; anemia testing, checkups for sexual health problems, cholesterol screening, colon cancer screening, diabetes screening, employment and sports physicals, flu vaccination, high blood pressure screening, rape crisis counseling referrals, routine physical exams, smoking cessation, tetanus vaccination, thyroid screening and UTI testing and treatment. There’s almost nothing Planned Parenthood won’t help you with!
HIV Services
HIV left untreated can become incredibly harmful, having the potential to progress into AIDS. Planned Parenthood provides not only just HIV test education, but also HIV testing, HIV referrals, HIV case management and HIV prevention. They also provide support for individuals with HIV and their partners/family members.
LGBT Services
Planned Parenthood strives to be an inclusive and safe environment for everyone, no matter an individual’s gender identity or sexual orientation. At Planned Parenthood, in addition to all of their services, they also provide services for the LGBT community, including; a drop-in center, education, resources, service referrals, support groups and hormone therapy for Transgender patients.
Men’s Health Services
Society seems to brand Planned Parenthood as a place just for women, which couldn’t be more wrong. In addition to Planned Parenthood providing routine exams for men, they also provide; erectile dysfunction (education, referrals, exams, treatment), jock itch exam/treatment, male infertility screening/referral, premature ejaculation (education, referrals, exams, treatment), testicular and prostate cancer screening and sterilization.
Patient Education
Though public schools are supposed to educate teenagers on their physical, emotional, and sexual health, health class tends to fall short. One of the great things about Planned Parenthood is they provide education that is free of judgement, current, and medically accurate. Topics they provide education on include cancer screening education, safer sex education, pregnancy options education and many more. Planned Parenthood is making education available, an idea that should apply everywhere.
Pregnancy Testing & Services
The Planned Parenthood staff assists in making a situation as overwhelming (whether in a good or bad way) as pregnancy a bit easier to grasp. The staff will discuss all of your concerns and options, helping you to decide what your plan is and how to go through with it. Planned Parenthood provides pregnancy testing, adoption services, adoption referrals, fertility awareness education, pregnancy planning services, prenatal services, childbirth classes, postpartum exams, discussions about your options and discussions about having a miscarriage.
STD Testing, Treatment & Vaccines
No one wants an STD. Unfortunately, almost all individuals who are sexually active will get one. Planned Parenthood provides information and resources on how to prevent STDs in the future, but they also provide treatment for STDs such as chlamydia, herpes, syphilis, etc., and provide education about safe sex. A complete list of STD services can be found here.
Women’s Services
Planned Parenthood is essentially a one stop shop for women’s health. In addition to providing the above services, they also provide services including; routine exams, breast exams, cervical cancer screenings, infertility, pap tests and sexual response education. A complete list of women’s services can be found here.
In addition to all of those services, plannedparenthood.org also provides an incredible amount of information on categories including; abortion, birth control, cancer, emergency contraception, health and wellness, pregnancy, sex and relationships, sexual orientation and gender, and STDs. There are also several online quizzes to help you make the best decisions for yourself. You can also use their website for their glossary of sexual health terms, chat online with a staff member, enrolling in health insurance, or scheduling an appointment.
Even if you don’t think you could benefit from Planned Parenthood, someone you know will. If you’re struggling with something, or even just want to learn, never hesitate to reach out to Planned Parenthood for help. They will help you regardless of your gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, economic background, etc. Continue to support this remarkable non-profit organization and spread the word that Planned Parenthood provides several services that have the potential to improve an individual’s quality of life.
If you’re interested in fighting for accessible birth control visit www.plannedparenthoodaction.org for more information and sign this petition to enact change!
