All children and adolescents have a right to confidential, clinically accurate, developmentally appropriate reproductive health literacy. Parents and healthcare providers are important health education resources and should be encouraged to provide confidential, inclusive, and scientific information on sexual development and reproductive health. 

Child and adolescent psychiatrists are important sources of reproductive health education and information for children and teenagers and can facilitate patient and caregiver access to high quality, safe, and inclusive reproductive health services.  Child and adolescent psychiatrists should routinely inquire about sexual identity, sexual development, and reproductive health literacy as part of a comprehensive initial evaluation and ongoing mental health assessments in a developmentally appropriate manner.

To support children and adolescents’ access to reproductive health education, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry:

• Recommends that all children and adolescents have access to scientific, evidence-based, confidential, inclusive, culturally sensitive, and developmentally appropriate reproductive health education,
• Supports the physician-patient-family relationship, 
• Opposes state and/or federal efforts to interfere with physician-patient communications in clinical care delivery, 
• Opposes government or third-party interference in medical decision-making, and 
• Supports litigation to block the implementation of laws restricting the privacy of physician-patient-family relationships.

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The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry promotes the healthy development of children, adolescents, and families through advocacy, education, and research. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are the leading physician authority on children’s mental health.

Approved by Council October 22, 2022