Archive for June, 2012
I Want A Baby But I Obey Jewish Law!
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Rachel never had much of a problem conceiving children: one, two, three, four, five. But when it came to child No. 6, Rachel (who asked that we identify her by only a pseudonym) and her husband tried and tried. Five years passed, but no child came.
“You have a frum issue,” Dr. Richard Grazi told Rachel one day last November, using the Yiddish term for religiously observant, at Brooklyn’s Genesis Fertility & Reproductive Medicine center.
As an ultra-Orthodox woman, Rachel follows the Jewish laws of ritual purity, abstaining from sexual intercourse with her husband during her menstrual period and for seven days afterward. Though Rachel was able to conceive for the first 19 years of her marriage, her menstrual cycle had shifted recently. Her fertility now peaked at a time in the month when she was forbidden from touching her husband. In other words, by following Jewish law, Rachel had rendered herself infertile. (more…)
Dear Period!
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Dear Buddy, Old Pal, Old Friend of Mine:
Wow, what a roller coaster of a ride our relationship has been on.
Remember the first time we met? It was a spring afternoon, right before my 6th grade swim lessons. Because you wanted to hang out so unexpectedly, I had to lie and tell the gym teacher I forgot my suit.
And over the past 20 odd years, you’ve managed to spoil sleepovers, wreck short summer dresses, and even mess up the sheets with your untimely arrival.
You’ve left a trail of destruction on countless bath towels, and pretty much have destroyed my long-standing (more…)
60-70% Of All Women Suffer From Menstrual Migraines
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The headache occurring during periods maybe an incidental event or could be part of the menstrual cycle syndrome, also known as ‘menstrual migraine’. It has been estimated that 70% of migraine sufferers are female. Of these female migraine sufferers, 60-70% report a menstrual relationship to their migraine attacks. Menstrual migraine is thought to occur in about 14% of women.
It is unclear why some people are prone to migraines. But it does seem that menstrual migraines are related to fluctuating estrogen levels. Just before your period, estrogen levels drop. This affects the brain’s neurotransmitters and the sensitivity of the receptors that pick up their messages. Blood vessels dilate, nerves are sensitised and muscles go into spasm. (more…)
Menstrual Huts & Infidelity!
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Menstrual huts are certainly useful for keeping bleeding women out of sight when they’re “unclean,” if that’s your thing. And they’re a good way for women to communewith their fellow bleeders, but it turns out they also appear to be a sneaky way for men to keep tabs on their woman and make sure she doesn’t have babies with another man.
Beverly Strassmann, of the University of Michigan, has done extensive study on the Dogon people of Mali, where women who (more…)
Menstrual Story Monday!
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“I was in grade 7th, having my period…
I went into the bathroom to change pads. Back then, the pads came in a blue box with safety pins. I thought I had secured the pad with the pins. I finished dressing and walked out of the bathroom.
Much to my chagrin there was a line up of boys waiting for gym class.
Back then I was uncomfortable being around boys. Walking past them was no fun. But I had no choice so I started walking. (more…)
When Things Get Lost In The Vagina
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While the vagina is actually a structure with side and back walls, women can get panic stricken when an item seems to get lost or is not retrievable. We get requests on our Community Board for help in getting things back out of the vagina. Similarly, as a clinician I would sometimes find “lost” objects during a speculum exam.
Lost Condoms
According to some studies, 28-33% of condom users have reported breakage, slippage, or both. According to one study of 834 condom-protected sex acts, 7% involved slippage with sex and 8% had slippage during withdrawal. Either breakage or slippage could result in all or part of a condom being left inside the vagina. (more…)
Teen Pregnancy Update – Mississippi
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MARKS, Miss. – In the improvised river delta towns of Mississippi, the towns with the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state the state that leads the nation, a new approach in building towards changing patterns of communication about sex that have persisted for years.
With her hair in a ponytail and her smile quick and wide, it’s hard to tell that high school junior Donyell Hollins has been pulling all-nighters for most of the semester to take care of her infant daughter. Her situation isn’t unusual in the small Delta town of Marks, but unlike teen mothers in previous decades, 18-year-old Hollins is benefiting from a change in attitude that’s paving the way for frank discussions about parenting skills, career goals and contraception.
Instructors from the Delta Health Partners Healthy Start Initiative come to Hollins’ high school monthly to teach lessons that incorporate some of the newest theories on the relationship between poverty and teen motherhood. It’s a far cry from decades past, when women in Hollins’ situation were given little guidance and often left to drop out and languish.
Part of the goal is to change patterns of communication about sex that have persisted for years. (more…)
IUD Better Than ‘The Pill’?
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By JENNIFER CORBETT DOOREN
A new study confirms that long-acting forms of contraception such as intrauterine devices and implants are better than birth control pills and patches at preventing pregnancies, giving doctors new ammunition to recommend these methods.
The study involved about 7,500 women in a project promoting long-acting birth control to reduce unintended pregnancies. There are an estimated three million unplanned pregnancies a year in the U.S., often because of incorrect or inconsistent use of contraception, and about 1.2 million abortions, according to research cited with the study.
The Contraceptive Choice project is being run by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study was funded by the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, a charity of Warren Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (more…)
What Exactly Is A Healthy Vagina?
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By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) — Bacteria that live normally in the vagina differ from woman to woman and can even change dramatically in short periods of time in the same woman, a new analysis reveals.
The findings are likely to alter the one-size-fits-all diagnosis and treatment of vaginal infections that currently prevails among obstetricians and gynecologists.
“This certainly changes the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of vaginosis (bacterial infection in the vagina),” said Stephen Dewhurst, chairman of microbiology (more…)