Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Family planning Battling the baby boom 24 FAMILY PLANNING Many students took advantage of family planning and birth control facilities available on campus. Couples who sought counsel for both premarital decision making and postmarital concerns, such as communication, a need for privacy and children, received help from Dave Sundberg and Rick Long, guidance counselors. Most married couples who wanted counseling came in the summer, according to Sundberg. Most of them tried to finish undergraduate studies and work as well, said Sundberg. Classes often took away from the time the couple spent together. This caused tension, because they needed their nights out and time together. According to Sundberg, children created more responsibility and, therefore, more tension. Think about how difficult it must be to be going to classes and working, and at the same time caring for children, he said. For this reason, many couples wished to delay starting a family and considered birth control measures. Students who wanted contracep- tives went through the special gynecology clinic. According to Dr. Desmion Dizney, physician at the University Health Center, several changes were made. First, the clinic was expanded to three days a week rather than one. We no longer needed to wait for a social worker to come in, said Dizney. Our staff handled the counseling. Another major change was the handling of each patient indivi- dually from start to finish. This took a lot of time, said Dizney, but I thought it was important. Each girl received as much or as little counseling as she needed. Most of the clinic procedures were handled by the nurses. According to Dizney, the lengthy procedure began with an extensive interview between an R.N. and each individual patient. Questions asked concerned back- ground, family, medical history and any previous gynecological prob- lems. The R.N. explained various birth control methods and discussed a possible choice with the patient. She also explained pelvic examina- tion procedure if the patient had never had one before. When I first came in, I didn ' t know much about birth control. I found out that a lot of the things that I believed were wrong, said one student. The nurse administered blood and urine tests and checked weight and blood pressure. Dizney then studied the charts and did the examination. Only then was the decision made about whether the type of birth control method chosen by the patient was a suitable one for her, said Dizney. Costs for the contraceptives and the pap smear were kept within accessability of the students, ac- cording to Dizney. t

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i k 1 1 I I Copy I ditors ' indy SedlerandBobPowri take a break during the McCra k.n Hall Christmas Party LEFT. Checking ovei the Homecoming copy are Ken Wilkie, Laura Widmer, editor, and u ih Power Wilkie and Power were two of the four copy writers during second semesta BOTTOM LEFT: After attending the national collegiate journalism ention in Houston, Tex., Laura Widmer and Sports Editor Dave Cieseke play frisboe at the beach in Galveston, Tex Fiv • suit! members attended the convention and enjoyed a Sunday picnic by the surf TOWER 23

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«. FAR I i I I Dave Sundberg counsels Mari lo Waters at the l Iniversit ( entei A numbei ol i Iniversit students were ooun seled by Sundberg in tin • an family planning I III T Dr i ' • n i i ' i iii ' v shows mar ried student Beth Ceperley diagrams of the female anatomy was In charge of medical examinations and issued forms of birth control BOTTOM: Diane Alford advises a studen t about birth control Each student that came to the clinic was dealt with on an individual basis. Voggesser FAMILY PLANNING 25