Jennifer Ashton M.D. - The Body Scoop for Girls: A Straight-Talk Guide to a Healthy, Beautiful You

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Table of Contents

SECTION ONE

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOURE ADOLESCENT

CHAPTER 1

NOT YOUR MOTHERS GYNECOLOGIST

Youre a New Kind of GirlYou Deserve a New Kind of Medicine

Casey, fifteen, a slender redhead with a sprinkle of freckles on her nose, was sitting next to my desk, twisting a strand of long, straight hair when I walked into my office. I could tell she was nervous.

Hi, Im Dr. Ashton, I said, sitting down at my desk. Since this was Caseys first visit, we were meeting in my cheerful office, not in an exam room. (After all, do you want to meet your doctor for the very first time in an exam room with your clothes off? I wouldnt either. So my patients meet me in their clothes, at my desk.)

Casey looked startled when I introduced myself. Really? No way, she burst out. Then she blushed. Sorry, its just... you dont look like a doctor.

I laughed. I hear this all the time. Is it my blond hair? My leopard-print skirt and Tory Burch boots? Lucky for me, I didnt have to check my fashion sense at the door when they were handing out degrees at Columbia Med School. Or my sense of humor, either.

And its a good thing, too. Without a sincere appreciation for a witty comment or the latest color in Uggs, my job wouldnt be nearly so much fun. I love the humor, the sass, the street sense, and the totally exhilarating energy of my teenage patients. Although I do treat adult women, too (often the mothers of my teen patients), I spend most of my time every day talking with, laughing with, and treating girls from their early teens to early twenties.

Thats what Casey and I didtalk and laugh. After a good chuckle over her confusion, we found ourselves talking about pretty much everythingwhy shed come (bad cramps), her overall health (pretty good), and her life in general (crazy busy, with dance team practice, SAT prep courses, college visits, and a long-time boyfriend). The more we talked about her incredibly full life, the more Casey reminded me of somethingthe single most important thing Ive learned from my patients. Its this:

It is much,muchharder to be a teenage girl now than ever before.

Yeah, I know, the lonely-zitty-anxious-harassed teen years have never exactly been an all-expense-paid vacation to Hawaii. But its tougher today than ever. Even tougher than when I was a teen (and that wasnt so long agoreally!). And also tougher, at least in some ways, than when your parents were teens. Sure, youve got your iPod, your cell phone, your computer. You can text your best friend about tomorrows math test and check your new crushs Facebook page at the same time with one hand tied behind your back. Youre smarter, more sophisticated, and way more connected than your parents were (or are). But youre also under phenomenal pressureacademic, social, physical, and sexual.

Youre supposed to get perfect grades, but even straight As arent enough to get you into a good college, Casey told me. Youre supposed to volunteer, play sports, and be a genius at something, like violin or math. Dont forget being pretty, popular, and fun. And talk about social pressurewho knows what your so-called friends might be texting about you at any given moment? Sure, social pressures been around forever. But today its nonstop, always-on, 24-7.

I asked Casey if she was sexually active. No, she said. But at school theres definitely pressure to dress sexy and act like youre having sex.

Where does all this extra sexual pressure come from? Everywhere. One study showed that teens today may be exposed to twice as much sexual content on TV as they were even ten years ago. Another shows that the more sexy shows a teen watches, the more likely she is at risk of getting pregnant. Then theres music, movies, videos, and social networking sitesnot to mention the fact that it just takes one click of the mouse for someone to e-mail a naked picture of you to a thousand of your closest friends.

On top of all that social pressure, theres this physical fact of life. Not only are girls dressing older and acting older but their bodies actually are older, in some ways, than they used to be. Just a decade or so ago doctors wouldnt have expected your breasts to start developing until age ten. Now we know that your breasts might start budding as early as age seven or eight. Meanwhile, if youre white, youre likely to get your first period about three months earlier than girls did forty years ago, and if youre black, it will come a good five to six months earlier than it did in the late 1960s. And two centuries ago girls hit puberty a good four or more years later than they do now.

We dont really understand all the reasons for the shift, but we do know that better nutrition and general health play a big role.

So with all this added pressure on you, are you getting lots of new information and new resources to help you deal with it all? Or a new level of respect for handling stress that previous generations just didnt face? Yeah, right. In your dreams.

Thats why I wrote the book. A new kind of teenthats youneeds a new kind of doctor. Thats me.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The way health, sex, and physical information is handled by schools, teachers, doctors, and even some parents, youd think todays girls were living in a time warp. Sex ed is still taught exactly the way it was thirty years ago (often its all-abstinence-all-the-time). Most parents still have a tough time talking with their daughters about their bodies: Many parents dont even know the right words for the female anatomy. (Not that I blame themtheir parents never talked to them about their bodies.) Even doctors dont seem to want to talk straight with girls. Old-school doctors always seem to fall into two groups: the Just-Say-No group (as in Can we talk about safe sex? No.) and the Free Love group (Whatever you do is beautiful. Just use condoms.).

Come on, people! This is the information age!

If you ask me, both these approaches are disrespectful to girls. I believe in giving you all the information you need, at the right age, so you can make smart choices for your body and your emotional health. That doesnt mean Id tell you its OK to have sex at a young age: In fact, Ill tell you all the medical reasons why thats not a good idea. But Ill also expect you to use your own best judgment and Ill treat you accordingly, with respect for the choices you make.

To make those choices, you need the very latest research and information presented in a straight-up way. Thats why I wrote this book. Im not going to take sides or preach one school of thought over another. Youre smart. You know how to get information and you know how to think. Im going to give you the right information at the right time and let you make the choices that are right for you.

LESSONS FROM THE RUNWAY

If theres one thing Project Runway has taught us, its that one size or style does not fit all. I trust you. And I know you can make the decisions that fit youyour physical and emotional development.

To help you do that, Im giving you all the facts, in a straight-as-an-arrow way, about pretty much everything your body will encounter through your teens and early twenties. In Section One youll read about what to expect from your body in pubertyhow to deal with period problems, infections, injuries, and hormonal issues. Youll also learn how to care for your breasts and bones for the rest of your life. In Section Two Ill give you the latest research and thinking on sexwhat it means medically for your body, brain, and emotional health when you decide to hook up or have sex at early and later ages. Ill also explain the very strong medical evidence suggesting you should wait until at least eighteen for sex. Meanwhile, Ill tell you exactly how to protect and take care of yourself whenever you do make your decision about becoming sexually active. Finally, in Section Three, Ill tell you how to build a body that will last for the rest of your lifethrough healthy eating, risk control, exercise, and learning to handle mood problems.

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