How to Discuss HPV Vaccine With Daughters

FDA approval of Gardasil, the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, gave parents the first opportunity of its kind to protect kids from cancer. Since cervical cancer is a sexually transmitted disease caused by HPV, the Human Papillomavirus, it also raised concerns about what to say to teen and preteen daughters about the vaccine. These important conversations can become a part of regular communication about the dangers of unprotected sex.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• A good relationship with your daughter
• Preliminary conversations with your doctor
• Basic knowledge of Gardisil and its side effects

1. Discuss with your doctor ahead of time when he or she plans to make the vaccine available to your daughter. Don't let your doctor surprise you or your child.
2. Allow your doctor to introduce the concept of the vaccine if he or she has a good relationship with your daughter. This vaccine is given as a series of three injections, so working with your doctor is really important.
3. Have conversations about the new vaccine in age appropriate ways. If you haven't had the basic birds and bees talk, don't jump to STD's first.
4. Begin at the beginning. Talk about your daughter's changing body and how these changes start her on the path to becoming a woman.
5. Use good resources to start your conversations. American Girl's, "The Care and Keeping of You," is a great beginner's guide for young girls entering puberty.
6. Remind her that puberty is more about how she is growing and changing and less about having sex. Gardasil is a way to protect her body from a terrible disease, just like she has been protected from measles and chicken pox.
7. Use the discussion about the vaccine to convey your values about sex and what lessons you want her to learn if the time is right. This is especially good with older teens and girls going off to college.

Tips & Warnings

• Start your conversations early about sex and puberty in age appropriate ways. Don't wait until the issue of the vaccine, usually given around age 12, to begin giving your daughter important information.
• Most early teen girls will have a similar reaction to getting this series of shots as they would any vaccine. They won't want it because it stings, not because of its relationship to STD's. Try to help her understand what it's for, but don't obsess about it any more than you would other vaccines.
• Gardasil does not protect against all sexually transmitted diseases. It also does not prevent pregnancy. Proper protection and or abstinence are the only ways to prevent all other STD's.