Beforeplay.org is the hub for a Colorado statewide effort to reduce unintended pregnancy and help “normalize” conversation around sexual health and well being. About 50% of Colorado pregnancies are unintended, and the rate is even higher among young adults in their twenties. Poor knowledge about effective contraception or how to use it, jobs without health insurance, and ambivalence toward starting a family—If it happens, it happens—all contribute to this situation.
Beforeplay.org is part of the public/private partnership between the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancy (CI). Launched in 2008, the CI is an informal coalition of entities providing low-cost family planning services, educational efforts and advocacy.
Beforeplay.org is proud to be playing a key role in these goals by creating awareness and providing a professional, trusted resource.
To learn more about the Beforeplay.org website and campaign, please send us an email.
BEHIND BEFOREPLAY
Beforeplay.org is here to help people think, discuss and take responsible action on some of life’s biggest decisions—ones that often don’t get enough attention. We help raise the tough questions and ask young people to consider what really makes sense for them. Together, we can help Coloradans lead healthier lives and raise healthier families.
CAMPAIGN Q&A
What’s the point?
How about improving a young person’s chance of completing their education, getting a job and raising a healthy child? We can help young adults avoid a difficult step that will impact their future by preventing an unintended pregnancy.
Unintended pregnancy rates are simply too high, and conversations about birth control, STDs and pregnancy aren’t really at the top of every young person’s list. But that’s just the thing; we believe they should be. Women with unintended pregnancies are less likely to obtain early prenatal care and their babies are at increased risks of both low birth weight and preterm birth, which can cause health and development issues all through their lives. An unintended pregnancy can also limit the education and employment opportunities of both parents often leading to significant financial challenges.
Beforeplay.org is here to fill the gap. Even with sexuality being expressed all around us—music, TV, internet and advertising—there aren’t a lot of resources that get to the roots of family planning and sexual health and wellbeing. We want to spur conversation and action through reliable information, conversation starters, health center finder and more.
Who are we talking to?
We noticed that there wasn’t currently an online, all-in-one-place resource devoted to sexual health and family planning in the state of Colorado. So as they say, we got busy. Beforeplay.org is here to talk to anyone and everyone looking for helpful info about birth control, pregnancy planning, STDs, health center locations, conversation starters, and pretty much anything else you could want to know about sexual health.
How will we know we’ve succeeded?
Our goal is to get people talking, thinking and planning. There’s not an easy or comprehensive way that we’ll be able to measure how many people we reach, but it is our hope that the unintended pregnancy rate begins to go down. This type of measurement will take time for many reasons, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on the numbers and will report back what we learn. So stay tuned.
Additionally, while we’ll be tracking our efforts as best we can, we’d love to know if and how Beforeplay.org has helped you personally. So if you’d like, please tell us your story in an email so we can continue helping even more Coloradoans live healthier, happier lives.