I am doing an essay on women’s health issues and have chosen to go with body image as an issue. Just want to get some ideas/broading my thoughts on what i should discuss so i am asking for your opinion. Why is body image an issue for women? Im enclined to discuss nutrional issues, fertility issues and social/relationship issues. What do you think?
Thanks for your imput 
Isn’t it obvious? We are under a LOT of pressure to look good in our culture. Gotta look good to attract a man/mate. And the media is constantly inundating us with images of perfect (who decides?) bodies, not normal folks. And the cosmetics industry spends BILLIONS convincing us we don’t look feminine enough or young enough.
Men love it because we cater to them. Just look at ads on TV, magazines, billboards, heck anywhere, that show scantily clad women. Where are the pics of scantily clad men? It’s no surprise that many men think that the only thing women are good for is sex.
I am doing an essay on women’s health issues and have chosen to go with body image as an issue. Just want to get some ideas/broading my thoughts on what i should discuss so i am asking for your opinion. Why is body image an issue for women? Im enclined to discuss nutrional issues, fertility issues and social/relationship issues. What do you think?
Thanks for your imput
Image is an issue becuse of the image portrayed as example:IE magazine and movie stars. The women that are held up as the "best looking" are often wafer thin models. They cover magazines and advertisements and this is what man women look at and strive to be like. This then leads to nutritional issues for women because they are then willing ot starve themselves to look like these models.
When you are faced with infertility you’ll try just about anything to get pregnant. I have just started researching clomid, even though I am usually very against drugs and unnessisary interventions. I found a few artciles that explained that infertility has to do with a hormone imbalance and clomid doesn’t treat the root of the problem and even may cause cancers later in life.
"Allopathic (conventional) medical thinking fails to look for or treat the root causes of women’s hormonal imbalances. For example, more young women today are experiencing infertility because they are not ovulating, yet they are being given fertility drugs like Clomid without comprehensive hormonal evaluations. Though these women often succeed in conceiving, they generally end up paying a price for short-sighted symptom management. The future health consequence is that other symptoms will appear and hormonal imbalance will progress"
that is a quote from one such article……my question is, is clomid really worth it if its not treating the root cause of the problem?
What do ya’ll think?
Article:
http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/11/12/womens-hormones.aspx
I forgot to add….does anyone know if clomid is suggested for those who already ovulate on their own?
Clomid makes me feel horrible… but if thats what it takes for me to have a baby then its worth it.
The girls who have survived the knife while in their adolescent stages are being forcefully circumcised upon marriage.
Female circumcision is a custom among the Sabiny in Eastern Uganda.
The practice involves the removal of the woman’s pleasure producing parts. The surgeons are basically traditional women who believe that it is a spiritual cultural call for them to perform this operation.
The 2002 enumeration results of FGC in Kapchorwa district conducted by the Family Planning Association of Uganda (FPAU) show that in-laws and husbands are playing a significant role in the decision to have married women circumcised.
In the past, girls between the age of 13 to 20 were the main participants. Today the age bracket has widened to 48 years of age.
"This is partly because women who were not circumcised in their adolescent stages are going in for the knife upon marriage," says Patrick Kitiyo, a youth counsellor with FPAU-Kapchorwa, and one of the people who took part in the enumeration exercise.
Kitiyo says harassment, intimidation, peer pressure and cultural beliefs are some of the reasons married women are going in for the knife.
"These conditions apply more to women living deep in the villages. Here it is a taboo for uncircumcised women to climb into their own granaries, preside over cultural ceremonies and to collect cow dug from one’s kraal," he said.
Kitiyo says it is also considered a taboo for uncircumcised woman to fetch water ahead of the circumcised women.
"They are referred to as ‘girls’ and elders look at them as people who have nothing developmental to contribute to any debate and because society has also deemed it a taboo for them to climb into granaries or even collect cow dug, these women have been forced to undertake
circumcision to avoid harassment," he explains.
As a result, the range of married women undergoing FGC is widening. Out of the 647 women who were circumcised last year, 436 (67.4%) were married.
The sub-counties of Benet, Bukwo, Swum, Kwanyi and Kaprorom registered the highest number of married females who under went circumcision.
Enumeration results also show that 344 of the FGC cases were from Kongasis County while Kween and Tingey registered 244 and 68 cases respectively.
Besides pressure from the husbands and in-laws, inadequate anti-FGC campaigns and low school enrolment for girls are other reasons responsible for the high cases of FGC.
However, Beatrice Chelangat, the Programme Manager for the Reproductive, Educative And Community Health (REACH) programme based in Kapchorwa says even with the new developments, circumcision will be no more by 2006 and history in Uganda by 2015. REACH is an advocacy programme geared towards the total elimination of FGC among the Sabiny.
"But while we are doing our best in eliminating the practice, girls we have saved from the knife in their adolescent stages are now falling victims upon marriage," she adds.
"However, we have laid a new plan and starting next year we will be targeting newly married couples. We want them to denounce FGC in the same way they did while in their adolescent stages," she says.
Women undergoing circumcision also vary according to fertility experience. While some are circumcised before giving birth, others are circumcised after.
FGC is associated with a lot of festivities. These involve feasting, family reunion and merry making by the community.
"After circumcision, the candidates are bestowed upon the status of womanhood. This is one of the factors that make the practice cherished," says Kitiyo.
Besides being a harmful practice, one associated with shock, painful scares labial adherences, clitoral cysts and chronic urinary infection, the Sabiny — especially the elders — still regard FGC as a sacred ritual that is sanctioned by their ancestors.
Their cultural belief is that a woman cannot be considered to be an adult until she has undergone this procedure.
The Sabiny elders believe that female circumcision is as old as the Sabiny people. The real history surrounding FGC remains a mystery. Two beliefs however try to explain the origin of FGC in Kapchorwa.
One such belief is of a young girl who fell sick for a long time. When the elders decided to consult the ancestors, the ancestors demanded that some blood from the girl’s private parts must be shed for her to cure.
"To drop this blood, the girl was circumcised and eventually the practice was picked on by the other women," says Kitiyo.
The second belief is based on the Sabiny pastoral life style. Being herdsmen, the Sabiny men are said to have been so mobile. They were often away either busy looking after their cattle or hunting. But on their return home, the men would find their wives pregnant. The alternative was to circumcise them. Although FGC is deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the communities that practice it, there are clear indications that once the appropriate strategies and approaches to the practice are designed, FGC is likely to be abandoned like it has been with other cultural
practices: knocking out teeth and tattooing inclusive.
I live in the west, I think it is totally barbaric. I’ve never been to the places where this is practiced, impossible or hard to comments on their customs and traditions. But if its for me, I’d totall eradicate this mutilation.
I have a friend (I’ll call her Samantha) who recently found out that she is 7-8 wks pregnant with her 3rd child at the age of 40. Sam is in great health, is married, financially stable and loves children. Her other 2 children are 3 and 1 1/2 half years old. She also has two step-children ages 8 and 13. Sam says that she’s depressed because she doesn’t have the energy like she did in her 20s, is tired "all the time", not sleeping well, has "to do everything" herself and is married to an (emotionally) unsupportive husband. Both adoption and abortion are out of the question for her. She calls this an "oops" baby.
The last two times Sam got pregnant and including this time, she told her husband the news and he was upset. Her husband has now fathered 7 children (2 others were before the 2 stepkids). Her husband refuses to get a vasectomy because he says it’s all the women’s doing in all of them whom he inpregnated.
Sam’s sister Alisha accused Sam of being "stupid and irresponsible" for getting pregnant again. Alisha has only one daughter and has struggled with fertility issues. In other words, her own sister did not offer supportive words — only scolded her.
My friend Sam is upset that she is bringing another child into the family and feels that she’s the only one who truly loves her children. Sam says that her husband is sometimes loving to the children but is not a supporting husband, especially during her last two pregnancies. Sam says she wants to get on an antidepressant and very depressed with the thought of going another pregnancy and birth.
I encouraged my friend to talk about the possibility of getting on a very low dose SSRI antidepressant. She doesn’t feel like hurting herself or anyone else; she merely feels sad, sleepless and like there is endless family-mom slavery ahead for her. Sam always wanted a big family, but not now in her 40s.
Personally, I think she’ll be happy about the baby when it’s born. WHAT can I do or say to help my friend through this situation? Mind you, she lives in another state so I can’t see her often. I also realize this in not my problem to solve, but I still want to be a source of support for her.
Thanks for any helpful ideas to this situational question.
I would say it’s important for you to remember that even though you have an idea of what the smart thing to do would be (perhaps leaving him), what Sam really needs right now is someone to stand by her, no matter what she choose, no matter what the consequences.
She’s NOT getting that from her sister, and I would suspect that her own family is not that supportive in general. But we’ve lived with our families of origin so long, we have no idea that they aren’t supportive when they act like her sister. All we know is that it hurts. The result is that we can’t form a rational plan like, "Don’t take this stuff to my family of origin." In addition to the current stress, it probably triggered a bunch of old wounds with the sister/family as well.
Since I know you, KK, I know that one of your greatest skills is that you are a good listener. I don’t just mean that you will be quiet while someone else talks. I mean that you have the ability to discern Sam’s "chief complaint" in the moment and to reassure her that her feelings are appropriate.
A lot of people try to make friends’ hurt feelings (sadness, anger, blame) go away. Maybe because they don’t like to see their friend suffer. Maybe because that suffering hits too close to home and make the helper uncomfortable.
But I’ve come to believe that what we really need is to know that we’re doing okay—and feeling sad or angry or frustrated or tired is the PROPER response in this situation.
None of that will make Sam less tired or solve the problems in her relationship. But it might be just enough fuel to keep her going a little longer. If the stars align just right, she may find some radical solutions herself. If not, well, that’s when life pushes us to the edge and we find the radical solutions because we have no choice.
Well, that’s kind of a rambling answer. I have more coherent thoughts on the subject, but it’s late, and my Tylenol PM is kicking in. I’ll share more later.
Good luck!
So there are new methods of birth control that will be available soon for men to use. One is a male version of ‘The Pill’ and another is essentially a shot comparable to Depro Provera (the BC shot for women). Both work to stop the production of semen from a combination of hormones.
"Traditionally, contraception has been considered a woman’s responsibility. Women have undergone the most invasive testing and methods to control their fertility. Examples of contraceptive methods that women have used are the pill, IUDs, the sponge, female condom, birth control shots or patches, cervical cap, and implants. Except the female condom, all of these forms of contraception have potential side effects.
The male birth control shot is the first contraception available for men that that requires a medical procedure.
" - Sava Tang, eHow. com
Male birth control, from the pill or shot, has NO side effects and make it possible for a male in a relationship to contribute to the sexual health of both himself and his partner, since the side effects of birth control (yes, even condoms) for women can have serious side effects ranging from allergic reactions to blood clots to heart attacks. Now, a condom isn’t going to give you a heart attack, but it can cause allergic reactions for women who are allergic to latex or the lubricant from the condom package.
Women have been in charge of birth control for. …. Ever. And now with this new technology soon the be unleashed on the masses, the polls are saying that most men wouldn’t go near it! Not only is it unfair, but it’s negligent and ignorant. One excuse was, " I wouldn’t use it; if it’s still being tested and it isn’t out yet then how can I be sure it’s really going to work?" Which is a ridiculous argument. They’ve only realized in recent years that menstrual cramps may be painful and that scientists can toy with hormones to control periods and fertility in women. Men are notorious for not being willing to participate in studies or trails concerning their manhood and what comes out of it, so the openness and new found sexuality of this day and age are allowing scientists more freedom and better access to men’s sexual health studies and participants in trials.
My point is; Male Birth Control. Men, would you use it? Women, what do you think of this new development? I would really like some good, thoughtful feedback on the subject.
I would not mind taking MBC, but i am not at an age where it doesn’t matter anymore
Menopause is not a medical illness. And it does not signal the end of life. Menopause is simply the stage in a woman’s life when menstruation ends. It is a normal and natural biological process - the aging of your reproductive system - brought on by the gradual loss of estrogen and progesterone , the sex hormones that are secreted by the ovaries.
Women reach menopause at different times in their lives. Most commonly, it occurs on average at age 51, but ages at which menopause begins can vary widely. For some women, this change starts in their early 30s or 40s, while others will not reach menopause until their early 60s.
All women experience menopause differently. For some, menopause poses relatively few problems. Others may be affected by a number of physical and emotional changes, some of which can cause disruption in a woman’s life. These include:
Irregular menstruation
Vaginal and urinary tract changes
Decreased fertility
Hot flashes
Night sweats
Sleep disturbances
Emotional fragility
Changes in physical appearance
Increased risk for osteoporosis and coronary heart disease
While menopause itself does not require treatment, the host of symptoms and conditions that can accompany this significant change in your biochemistry can affect your physical and emotional health and lifestyle. Your physician can help you explore a range of options for treating your symptoms and improving your quality of life during this important transition. Among them are:
Hormone Therapy (HT)
Complementary and alternative medicine
Healthy diet and regular exercise
Medications
Yeah! Go to it!
One small revision:
"Most commonly, it occurs on average at age 51…" This is using two adverbs describing time: most commonly, on average. Revise to say:
Most commonly, it occurs around age 51…
I trust you will discuss the side effects of hormone therapy, and possible alternatives to it.
Write a good one!
My husband and I have been trying for about 2 years to conceive we just went along not really plotting ovulation , just putting it in the hands of the lord, but still nothing, So we started trying to track it down with a ovulation calender, and still no luck, so we went to the local health food store and we where weren’t alone and it happens allot to people we just need to change some things , like diet, don’t smoke or drink. They recommend that I drink a few cups of raspberry tea daily and they game me a bottle of Women’s Formula Complete Balance that it was suppose to help with balancing my hormones, making my periods regular and helping with fertility , has anyone else had this trouble and turned to herbs and teas and had them work?? any advice would be helpful please
yes, my sister in law did. she used FertilityBlend and her cycles were corrected and she has conceived 2 healthy babies since.
do try to limit the tea as caffeine should be limited while TTC. men can have caffeine but women should limit it.
Also, men can take FertilityBlend,they have a men’s formula and zinc helps with the sperm count.
They are not miracles-it’s man-made.
Babies are always wonderful, obviously. But what the press doesn’t talk about is that these babies can have serious health problems when they are born, usually prematurely, and serious problems down the road. And often, as in the case of the Minnesota Sextuplets, they die. This isn’t natural. Women’s bodies weren’t designed to give birth to litters.
Instead of making these couples into celebrities, giving them donations and putting them on talk shows and on the cover of people magazine, shouldn’t we talk about the serious risk that they are taking with their health?
**
Yes, I do realize that sometimes multiple births happen naturally. But those are relatively rare, and not the ones that I’m talking about.
Yes its a miracle that the doctors or what ever they call themselves didn’t kill the mother and I think people do this to get donations and become celebrities, why else would people go to these extremes. There are others that have an interest in this and these people want to make money, because that’s all we really have.
I am still undecided as to whether to have children. I am healthy enough to wait a few more years after having tests done on all related women’s health issues.I just really do not know if children are something I really want. I feel ‘not ready’ but my GP is pushing me by telling me stories of falling fertility and other such things. I have just got a great job offer which involves two more years of University and so many bills to pay that I do not think now is a good time. I also cringe at the thought of giving up my lifestyle of sleeping in late on day of etc.
When you got to 30 +,did you feel the urge to have a child when not ready just so that you ‘did it’ in the suitable age group? Is it relatively acceptable/ easy to have children in ones mid to late thirties ?
Linz = white trash momma
I am 35 years old and pregnant with my first child. I will be 36 when she is born. I never planned on having any children at all. All though she was a surprise to say the least, I am very happy. Women these days are having children well into their 40’s. Healthy, bright children. My unborn is just as healthy as she can be. I could never have imagined having a child any earlier in life; so my situation fits me perfectly. Besides, I am more patient and level headed now than what I was. And I still have plenty of energy! I think you should do what you WANT to do, and don’t do what you think you HAVE to do. Becoming a parent has its ups and downs, as does everything in life.
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