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What are the causes? **We didn‘t use anything (any birth control) at first. I didn‘t know anything about it. None of my sisters â€" they‘re older â€" were on the pill or anything," said Donna. ‘*My parents never talked to me. I guess they thought maybe I‘d never do it." Donna‘s boyfriend left her when she was six months pregnant. She moved back home. After discussions with her mother and after reading books on the subâ€" ject, she decided she was neither old enough nor reâ€" sponsible enough to keep the baby. Another man had been dating Donna throughout her gnancy. After giving birth, Donna began taking the s:.h control pill so she wouldn‘t get pregnant again. Her doctor did not tell Donna to expect lighter periods. ‘*He just told me how to take them and didn‘t explain my periods would get lighter.‘ said Donna. ‘*When the time came for my third period, I didn‘t get it and thought I was pregnant. I stopped (taking the pill) for a few days." _ Her doctor figures she became pregnant during those few days. Donna says her boyfriend wanted her to have an abortion and she agreed because "I don‘t know if I could go through with it again. l don‘t want to give it up again." By Joanne Fairhart Donna will be 17 next month. This week she is going to have an abortion. Her first baby was given up for doption and she doesn‘t want to go through that iShe was living with her boyfriend when the first baby was conceived. Donna‘s story isn‘t unfamiliar these days. It‘s fast becoming a story retold hundreds of times with minor variations. With the 40.000 Canadian téenagers who had babies in 1976 (13.000 of those in Ontario». it‘s a problem reaching almost epidemic proportions. as PPWR is concerned. stressed Marg van Vliet, exâ€" ecutive coâ€"ordinator of planned parenthood. ‘‘*We try to be as nonâ€"judgemental as possible."" she said. "It‘s hard to do. Your heart bleeds and you want to say ‘It‘s not a good decision," but you can‘t. ‘‘But babies having babies is not a good thing.~ It‘s obvious, continued van Vliet. more sex educaâ€" tion is needed. But more than the facts must be taught â€" planned parenthood believes responsibilities and values are just as important. PPWR would like to see parents begin this teaching ben children are young. To do this, parents must be mfortable about their own bodies. ‘‘There are books that can help and we‘re available on request to any group that needs help." said van Vhet. The schools, believe PPWR, should add to what has been taught at home. But even with most schools havâ€" BOB CHALMERS...Waterloo county board of education representative ‘We didn‘t use anything‘ § sA ing some sort of sex education program. there are **Some teachers are very good, but some teachers are really uptight," said van Vliet. "Teachers need more preparation. They should have more informaâ€" tion and sort things out for themselves." problems. Courses in human sexuality offered at St. Jerome‘s, University of Waterloo, are really helipful, stated van Vliet, who has taken one herself. There is still such a myth, she said. ~It‘s a ‘Not in Kâ€"W type of thing. Maybe in Toronto or Montreal but we could never have teenagers here having abortions or babies.‘" ~ ‘As a parent I want my kid exposed to a teacher who is comfortable (with their body). A lot of his time is spent in the classroom."~ â€" â€" | What‘s the solution to the problem? PPWR wants a more open attitude about sex throughout society. all the way from doctors to parents to schools. Parents should take the main responsibility of teaching facts and values, and should receive aid from the schools. Also, an attitudinal change among peers is needed., so. as van Vliet said, ‘"you‘ll be ‘in‘ to use birth control." Van Vliet laughed when asked if there is still a myth that ‘nice girls‘‘ don‘t get pregnant. . _ i Peer counselling could be successful if implementâ€" ed properly, and certain myths must be destroyed. again through education. Some teenagers believe This forty week program is designed to train students to diagnose, locate, and repair electrical and mechanical faults in major domestic appliances. This thirtyâ€"six week program is designed to provide graduates with basic electronic skills for employment. The graduate will also be prepared for onâ€"theâ€"job training in the employer‘s area of electronic specialization. Electronicsâ€"Basic Skills Teachers need preparation Appliance Servicing using certain positions during intercourse or using withdrawal is a reliable method of contraception. _ Van Vliet said the average client at planned parenthood is an 18â€"yearâ€"oldâ€"female living in Kitchener who comes in for birth control information. In reality, their statistics show the girl is seared she is pregnant and wants a test. ig ' K U G Amwé;rg--a;ewt;ldâ€" about birth control when they come in.) © . : For the first six months of 1979, PPWR saw 157 clients, and 70 of these were pregnant teenage girds. Most of these were not using any birth control. Bob Chalmers is a health education consultant for the Waterloo Region Board of Education. He studies and revises the family life course used in public schools from kindergarten to Grade 13. The course stresses such things as body awareness and family life in the lower grades, studies menstruation in Grade5, the reproductive system in Grade 7. and birth control in Grade 9 Chalmers said the program was laid out in the early 1970s after the Waterloo Region Board of Education came into being. It brought together all the different courses used in the region at the time. Parents. teachers. and the Ministry of Education worked toâ€" gether to make up the program. (There are ministry guidelines to stay within.) ‘‘One thing is we try as best we can to keep parents informed." said Chalmers. It‘s easier at the elemenâ€" tary level than the secondary. for the rest of your life? CalcusC. . 88550300 We can help you What‘s the solution? _ ___â€" Burilding skills today for the needs of tomorrow. (Continued on page 11)