CONDOMS may take away the sweetness, but unprotected sex not only leads to unplanned pregnancies but also to contracting sexually transmitted infections. And Carnival time, it seems, is the breeding ground for both.

Sixteen-year-old Tia could tell you about the reality of this combination of Carnival and unprotected sex. ’You know some fellas does say if they use that they won’t feel the sweetness and sometimes I does just get caught up in the moment and don’t bother to get a condom,’ she told the Sunday Express.

Tia, is a single mother to a four-month-old baby and she already has a history of genital infections. The ’child father’, as she called him, was a case of her ’playing fast’ last Carnival. He’s not around to physically help her take care of the baby.

’But he does give me money and thing,’ she said.

’I know my child is a Carnival baby, but it does have plenty more people having babies nine months after Carnival,’ she also said.

The Ministry of Health does not acknowledge the label ’Carnival baby’ in its reporting and statistics but the statistics are showing that more and more young people are rapidly hopping onto the infectious unprotected sex bandwagon and contracting STDs or getting pregnant.

Newly-elected president of the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association (T&TMA), Dr George Chamely, said there is always an increase in the number of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS right after Carnival.

’The whole ethos of Carnival for our people is one of ’letting go’ of the stress and frustration of the entire year, and enjoying life. We are, as a nation, more healthy in the months leading up to Carnival than at any other time of the year, between the rise in gym attendances and the various group physical activities which invite us to ’get fit for Carnival,’ he said.

’This build-up culminates in the two days in which many are carefree on the streets and with an increase in alcohol consumption during this time, we let our guard down and have sex when we would ordinarily not do so,’ Chamely said in an interview with the Sunday Express.

Unfortunately, says Chamely, ’carefree tends to also be careless. The ’Carnival babies’ keep the labour wards in our hospitals busy. This phenomenon is not unique to Trinidad and Tobago but also occurs after Carnival in Brazil, the German ’Beer Festival’ and after College ’spring break’ vacations in the US.’

Between the period 1995 and 2005, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), in their Health Situation Analysis and Trend Summary, noted that in T&T, communicable diseases (including STIs) accounted for 14 per cent of deaths in the 15 to 19-year-old age group.

Women, aged 13 to 19, accounted for 15 per cent of live births in 2000. The HIV/AIDS Morbidity and Mortality Report (2000 to 2004) said the reported cases of HIV show the 25 to 34-year-old age group recording the highest numbers of new HIV infections per year followed by the 15 to 24-year-old age group during that period.

’Our advice from the Medical Association is simply that there is nothing wrong with having fun during Carnival, just do so safely and responsibly,’ said Chamely.

Gynaecologist Dr Sherene Kalloo said she has noted an increased incidence of STIs in young people during the Carnival period, especially in those between the ages of 16 and 30 .

’This is because more teenagers are engaging in unprotected sex,’ she said, adding that this actually increases by as much as 25 per cent during the period January to March.

’It starts as early as January when the fetes start because more people tend to have unprotected sex at this time’, she said.

While condoms protect against most forms of STIs, Kalloo said one could still contract herpes or even the Human Pamplona Virus (HPV) with the use of a condom.

’Lesions could be present on the groin and thighs and wining and grinding on persons could transmit these pathogens,’ she said, adding that ’just dancing with each other, skimpily attired can be dangerous, and that sharing of drinks can transmit the Herpes and Hepatitis virus. There are four new cases of HIV on average per day, mainly among young people, but It’s important that we give young people all the information so they can make an informed choice,’ she said.

’The most important thing to remember is that one should exercise extreme caution by using condoms consistently and correctly every time one engages in sex,’ she said. (Trinidad Express)