UK Needs a Little Help with the Birds and the Bees

A new survey by the Family Planning Association (FPA) in the UK shows that Briton's have a large gap in their knowledge of all things sexual, from contraception to conception.

The survey results, which are launching the FPA's Contraceptive Awareness Week and are available on the FPA web site, show "widespread confusion and misunderstanding about some of the basic facts."

Almost 1/3 of Briton's surveyed believe that a woman can stop herself from becoming pregnant if she jumps or dances around, douches or urinates immediately after sex.

Half of the respondents had no idea as to when a woman is fertile each month (the time in her menstrual cycle when she is able to become pregnant).

When asked if pre-ejaculate (the fluid a man produces before he ejaculates) contains sperm, 24% incorrectly responded "no."

A large majority (89%) of the participants had no idea that a man's sperm can live inside a woman's body for up to seven days.

The final portion of the survey addressed the sex education received in the school system. Only 4% could say the education they received was excellent. Quite a few more found it "adequate" (25%). However, the disturbing find was that 39% rated their sex education in school as poor or extremely poor, and 18% claim to have not received any sex education at all.

As a result FPA is calling for sex and relationships education to become a statutory subject in the national curriculum.

Anne Weyman, FPA's Chief Executive said, "None of us are born with the facts about sex and reproduction we are taught them" she continued. "If this doesn't happen, myths start getting into circulation and people end up not being able to tell fact from fiction. If contraception isn't used or if it fails, instead of seeking professional help and advice people may take action that is completely ineffective in preventing a pregnancy."

Weyman pointed out that one in five pregnancies ends in abortion, "so the effects of this reaches far into people's lives," she said. "It is now time to make sex and relationships education a statutory subject in schools and invest properly in contraception services."

FPA'sContraceptive Awareness Weekto raise awareness of the different methods of contraception and issues affecting contraceptive choice. FPA is the only registered charity working to improve the sexual health and reproductive rights of all people throughout the UK. is February 12-18. It began in 1997.

www.fpa.org.uk