Archive for Womens Health News
From the draft Panel Statement:
We are concerned about the barriers that women face in accessing clinicians and facilities that are able and willing to offer TOL [trial of labor]. Given the level of evidence for the requirement for “immediately available” surgical and anesthesia personnel in current guidelines, we recommend that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society of Anesthesiologists reassess this requirement relative to other obstetrical complications of comparable risk, risk stratification, and in light of limited physician and nursing resources. Healthcare organizations, physicians, and other clinicians should consider making public their TOL policy and VBAC rates, as well as their plans for responding to obstetric emergencies. We recommend that hospitals, maternity care providers, healthcare and professional liability insurers, consumers, and policymakers collaborate on the development of integrated services that could mitigate or even eliminate current barriers to TOL.
I know, the language itself doesn’t sound that exciting, but there is a lot of hope that it will have an effect in encouraging hospitals and providers with official VBAC bans and unofficial anti-VBAC stances to reconsider.
If you’re like me and had other work and life things in the way of catching the whole conference, video from days 1 and 2 and other materials are available from http://consensus.nih.gov/2010/vbac.htm. You can also poke through eleventy-billion tweets on the topic by searching for the hashtag #nihvbac. I’ll try to include some good blog posts on the topic in next Sunday’s round-up, as well.
I’m reserving judgment on the “women don’t have a settled right to refuse surgery” business until I actually get a chance to hear what was said in the day 3 video (which is not yet available) and telebriefing for myself, but Courtroom Mama has written about it for The Unnecesaran. Suffice it to say that I believe a woman has an absolute right to refuse any surgery, any time, for any reason – pregnant or not.
Filed under: Access, Rights, & Choice, Birth, Ethics, Events & Observances, Government 
Posted on March 12, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
It’s 57 degrees in Nashville, and somehow I managed to sleep until noon. Hmph.
I’m playing around with Formspring, so, uh, ask me anything?
This freely available perspective piece from the New England Journal of Medicine ties in nicely to what Dr. Abraham Verghese said last week about engaging at the patient bedside – Ministry of Touch — Reflections on Disaster Work after the Haitian Earthquake. It includes this line about the approach to women in labor: “We develop a system whereby one of us sits behind the woman and holds her, another rubs her back, and I sit or kneel near her, touching her belly and legs, whispering words of encouragement. I pray, and I watch the woman’s face for clues as the labor progresses.”
There is some discussion here in TN about whether Memphis’s dismal infant mortality rate is being measured correctly or is “inflated.” One researcher says it’s inflated and probably no different from any other metro area because it includes too many extremely premature, nonviable births – maybe it’s a problem of extreme prematurity and low birth weight rather than 11-month old infants who don’t make it, but everybody I’ve heard speak on this topic has focused largely on prematurity and low birth weight as key, so it’s not like that’s new information. Dr. Theresa Chapple, fetal and infant mortality review director for the Health Department, says, “We’re counting our live births the same way as everyone in the country.” As I commented at B’s, I found the details and the math in the story lacking, so am not sure what to make of it. I think it’s important to correctly understand the situation, but I also wonder what the motivation is to seemingly try to dismiss Memphis as having a problem, especially when it’s Black women whose babies disproportionately make up the high infant mortality rate in that city.
I learned about this story, Myths That Make It Hard To Stop Campus Rape, from my colleague Kristi, and honestly had to stop reading halfway through the first time. Essentially, it challenges the notion that date/acquaintance rape primarily consists of lots of one-time “mistakes” that can be readily waved away with a boys-will-be-boys or single instance, bad choice explanation, and suggests that the real picture is far more predatory and less easily excused by those inclined to do so. B talks more about it here, and points to a great post by TigTog at Hoyden with practical tips on what to do it someone in your social circle is this type of predator.
Via a listserv I’m on, I learned of the upcoming Disability and Ethics through the Life Cycle: Cases, Controversies and Finding Common Ground conference to be held Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22 at Union College in Schenectady, NY. Conference planners are still accepting submissions for presentations:
We are still soliciting contributed papers or panels for highly interactive sessions. Those interested should submit a 250-word abstract describing original work. Topics of interest include but are not limited to specific cases where disability generates ethical issues during infancy, childhood, the reproductive years, middle age, and old age, or research on people with disabilities. Because of the conference’s life-cycle focus, no papers on prenatal issues or assisted suicide will be considered.
[I've omitted submission instructions here for length - see the contact info]
For additional information, please contact blooma@union.edu or noltea@uniongraduatecollege.edu
Bitch Magazine has The Biotic Woman: The Dirty Politics of Coal which includes criticism of the idea of “clean coal” and mention of the TN ash spill. Relatedly, here are some satellite images from NASA showing the scar of mountain top removal on one portion of the West Virginia landscape. [hat tip to the Scene]
The Unnecesarean and Dou-la-la are talking about the recent televised birth of Kourtney Kardashian’s child, a vaginal birth which included Kardashian reaching down to help her own baby out into the world. I also recently saw The Office birth episode – any thoughts on that?
Kevin, MD has a contributed piece up on the challenges faced by transgender individuals who are incarcerated; it’s a short piece intended to introduce medical providers in prisons to the concept.
American Medical News includes a piece on patient language, noting that “More than 20 million patients speak limited English,” but that “Forty percent of practices provide patient-education materials in languages other than English, and four in 10 doctors have received cultural competency training aimed at helping them better serve minority populations. Less than a quarter of physicians receive reports about the demographic characteristics of their patients, and 7% routinely access electronic information about their patients’ preferred language.”
The New York Times has a piece, Lessons at Indian Hospital About Births, on birth and VBAC, with an example of the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation, a Navajo Nation hospital:
“In Tuba City last year, 32 percent of women with prior Caesareans had vaginal births. Its overall Caesarean rate has been low — 13.5 percent, less than half the national rate of 31.8 percent in 2007 (the latest year with figures available). This is despite the fact that more women here have diabetes and high blood pressure, which usually result in higher Caesarean rates.”
The CDC released a new report, Trends and Characteristics of Home and Other Out-of-Hospital Births in the United States, 1990-2006 [PDF].
Lauredhel has a piece at FWD/Forward, Defiant Birth: Impolite Women Who Didn’t Make History, about a book telling the stories of women who chose to continue pregnancies against medical advice, especially when that advice had eugenic characteristics or motivations.
Jill at Feministe writes about Race, those billboards and abortion as genocide and Renee at Womanist Musings writes that Shaming Black Women Will Not Reduce Abortion.
Health and Human Services has a site for healthcare providers to learn about culturally competent health care. [hat tip to Siobhan]
One paper writes about some men’s lack of knowledge about how contraception works, like one who was totally weirded out by encountering a contraceptive ring. “I feel like girls should tell people.” LOL.
Filed under: Abortion, Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Access, Rights, & Choice, Birth, Contraception, Ethics, News Round-Ups, Pregnancy, Sex & Sex Education 
Posted on March 7, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
Via Speak to Power, I learned that a domestic violence shelter in Jackson, TN operated by the Wom/Men’s Resource and Rape Assistance Program had an electrical fire and a new location will be needed (thankfully no one was hurt).
It’s estimated that the agency might need $50,000 to $100,000 to cover what insurance will not. I know people are being asked to give to a lot of worthy causes and might be tapped out, but if you can and want to, you can donate to WRAP via their website.
Filed under: Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Help Somebody 
Posted on March 5, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
This is going to be one of those “musing out loud, wall of text” posts, so sit tight, or go look around the archives for shorter fare. Now then. There’s a bill proposed in my home state of Tennessee that would require abortion providers to put up signs effectively saying that it’s illegal for anyone to force a woman to have an abortion.
Okay, then.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing to try to tease out whether a woman is being coerced into having an abortion and to make sure she is choosing abortion of her own free will. In fact, I think that is a pretty standard part of pre-abortion counseling. Still, I don’t see what harm putting up signs in waiting areas and patient areas does. Reinforcing a woman’s personal bodily autonomy is never a bad thing.
I worry that perhaps the language in the bill about having the signs in “appropriate” languages is some kind of “gotcha” because the standards are vague and someone may make a case that some language is missing to generate a punitive action against providers. But again, reminding women of their own bodily autonomy is never a bad thing in my book. Communicating with women in their own preferred language is not a bad thing. When a bill doing so is being pushed primarily by anti-abortion folks, I start to worry that I missed something, though. We do get so used to fighting about these things.
In a thread over at Post Politics on the bill, there are a number of comments about how “most” or “all” women are being forced into abortions – abortions they presumably would not choose on their own. I can’t help wondering, then, if this is yet another example of framing women who choose abortion as victims and/or uninformed. Not unlike mandatory waiting periods or forced viewing of ultrasounds, it seems to suggest that women seeking abortion just haven’t thought it through, that they just don’t know what’s going on. It’s also not entirely dissimilar from the arguments of those who insist they would punish providers but not women if abortion were criminalized. In other words, the majority of women having abortions couldn’t possibly be choosing them for their own reasons, with full knowledge of their choice and responsibility for the consequences, it must be because someone is forcing them to do so, because they’re uninformed or otherwise not really the ones responsible for the choice to have abortions.
This is operating simultaneously with a “don’t women have a right to know?” spin that tries to make a women’s rights or freedom of choice type argument. Of course women have a right to not have forced abortions, and to know of that right.
Now, we do know that some abusive partners do try to control the reproduction of their women partners. If someone goes for an abortion because she is being abused or threatened, that’s a problem, and one for which she will need support. When women choose abortion, it should be their own free choice. However, I haven’t seen any good evidence to support the notion that “most” or “all” women are only getting abortions because they’re being forced to do so. A Guttmacher (yes, a pro-choice source) survey reported that 14% of women listed “husband or partner wants me to have an abortion” as at least one factor in their decision, and 6% reported “parents want me to have an abortion” as at least one factor in their decision. So, yes, at least some women are feeling external pressures that factor into their decision-making. And so the signs are probably not a bad reminder, on top of the counseling process already in place. But somehow I still don’t think we’re actually talking about concern for women’s autonomy and free choice here. Somehow it seems like this is more of the same, of framing abortion in a way that both takes presumed agency away from women and also attempts to put a “women’s rights” or protection of women spin on things that is totally insincere.
That thread also degenerated into people making statements about all of the supposed horrible long term effects of abortion being stated as absolute facts. Many of which have been roundly debunked and the existing evidence does not support any kind of statistical or causal link – specifically for mental health outcomes and breast cancer. It’s difficult to let those stand without wading into a long argument and recitation of citations and methods and confidence intervals, but Post Politics isn’t exactly the kind of place where that sort of effort is rewarded. When you provide one possible answer to a question about rates of women feeling pressured or being forced to have abortions and get a direct response asking if/implying you don’t support a woman’s right to know she doesn’t have to have a coerced abortion, it’s time to walk away, because productive discussion is not about to happen.
Aside from which, we all make our choices given our individual tolerance for various risks and rewards. Even if abortion was found to actively cause depression in many women, that’s still that woman’s decision to make and outcome to weigh and tolerate. Carrying a pregnancy to term is dangerous for women, too, and much more so statistically than legal abortion. I won’t hold my breath waiting for a companion bill to put up signs about the risks of continuing a pregnancy and birth. I think it’s appropriate to inform women of the evidence-based outcomes and risks they may experience during any procedure, and good and ethical providers should and do every day conduct such discussions of risks to inform health care decisions – whether or not the state has a specific script for it, which they don’t for numerous other procedures carrying some and even significant risk. I just don’t think it’s appropriate to decide for all women that they may not take on those risks of their own free will.
Filed under: Abortion, Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Access, Rights, & Choice, Laws, Legislation, & Courts, Women’s Health 
Posted on March 4, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
On Friday, I had the privilege of attending a talk by Abraham Verghese hosted by the larger workplace for its Abraham Flexner lecture. Verghese is the author of “My Own Country,” a book chronicling his work as a physician tending to AIDS patients in the early days in East Tennessee. I just read “My Own Country” recently, and was particularly intrigued by it because I was a kid growing up in a town mentioned in the book at the time Dr. Verghese was practicing there. I remember the kinds of misconceptions many still had about AIDS a decade after the period he covers, and I can imagine what the environment must have been like for his work and his patients.
Friday’s talk was titled, “Touching Where it Hurts: The Role of Bedside Examination in a Technological Age.” Dr. Verghese spoke about the history of bedside diagnosis, including devices used by physicians in the physical exam and the origins of percussion as a diagnostic tool. He also spoke briefly on the shift toward technology and away from the bedside, mentioning that he had gotten in a bit of trouble for referring to the patient in the bed as almost an icon for the real patient in the computer.
The central point of Verghese’s talk, then, was the importance of touch and attention and interaction in the approach to the patient. He began with a story about a woman diagnosed with breast cancer who received some of the best available care in one of the best available environments (a prominent cancer center), but who returned to her private oncologist because of a perception that the bi cancer center never actually or adequately examined her breasts. Dr. Verghese noted that there was almost no diagnostic need to examine the woman’s breasts,g iven the samples and scans available to the team, but that the physical examination played an important role for the woman in her satisfaction with the care she was receiving.
I was particularly interested when Dr. Verghese spoke about the importance of rituals, including the ritual of one individual (the patient) seeking another (the provider), telling a story, disrobing, and allowing touch. He called it a ritual of tremendous significance, and urged providers to make sure that their skills at examination were equal to that ritual. He also spoke of a difference between curing and healing, noting that physicians can help to heal the sense of violation of an injury or illness by engaging at the patient bedside.
This short recap can’t really do the talk justice – several other interesting comments were made and stories told in the lecture. Dr. Verghese also read a very amusing passage about performing vasectomies from his most recent book, Cutting for Stone. His books are (in reverse chronological order with links to find them in libraries): Cutting for Stone, The Tennis Partner: A Doctor’s Story of Friendship and Loss, and My Own Country.
Filed under: Events & Observances, Health 
Posted on March 3, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
At Our Bodies Our Blog, I posted about a couple of calls for support of midwifery-related legislation – in Mississippi and at the Federal level, and on ACNM’s new statement in support of making nitrous oxide available for pain relief in labor, while C has an update on healthcare reform.
Other items of interest:
At the workplace, a new OB emergency team is being launched, and it includes an attending CNM.
At RHRC, Robin Marty talks about Angie Jackson’s tweetin of her abortion. Angie herself writes more about her experience at Angie the Anti-Theist. My response is basically to adapt what I said about Trunk tweeting her miscarriage:
But you know what? Her tweet, and her motives for publishing it, are not the issue – the responses she reports receiving are. The comments telling Trunk Angie how she *should* feel about a miscarriage her abortion are a problem. The idea that miscarriage abortion is something personal that *should* be kept secret whether a woman wants to keep it secret or not, when so so many women have them, is a problem. The idea that people’s bodies should effectively be hidden from the work environment where we spend so much of our time world is problematic in its own ways…The idea that women should always be overjoyed and grateful to be pregnant is a problem – as any woman who has ever prayed to get her period will tell you. Yes, many women lose wanted pregnancies and are upset, even devastated. But people have a whole range of reactions to events in their lives, and that is okay.
Also at RHRC, Miriam Pérez writes about attempts to target women of color rearding abortion. She writes:
At first glance, it’s nice to see the anti-choice community pretending to care about communities of color. But within a few minutes, the skepticism sets in. What’s really behind these tactics, coming from a group that is majority white, middle-class and Christian? In the end, we know this isn’t actually about women of color and their well-being. It’s a sensationalist attempt to pit women of color against the reproductive rights movement. Classic divide and conquer.
Jill at The Unnecesarean is also talking about Race and the Rights of Childbearing Women, as isCara at the Curvature.
One more from RHRC (they’re on a roll this week): on a Utah bill that apparently could criminalize miscarriage? I need to read more about this.
Feministing has a profile of Heather Corinna, who I think is pretty awesome.
The Washington Post has a profile of Carol Ball, who travels 200 miles from Minnesota to South Dakota to provide abortions.
The New York Times has a piece on antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals.
Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Infectious Diseases, Midwifery, News Round-Ups, Sex & Sex Education 
Posted on February 28, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
MedlinePlus, the extensive consumer health site from the National Library of Medicine, has announced a new email alert service to allow users to sign up for updates on what is new in specific topic areas.
For example, I just signed up for alerts on women’s health topics – you can choose to be updated on that broad category, or on more specific concerns such as birth control, breast cancer, pregnancy, pelvic pain, and others. I don’t yet have a sense of whether this will come in single emails compiling what’s new from all topics, or a bunch of individual alerts – I hope it’s the former.
After selecting topics of interest, the site also makes suggestions from various federal health agencies, such as the CDC and FDA.
Your user profile can be modified at any time to add or remove subscriptions.
Update: Yipes. Signing up for the “women’s health” set is causing individual emails for each subtopic. I’ve sent a suggestion to allow bundled delivery, because as interested as I am, that’s more inbox clutter than I can take.
Filed under: Government, Health, Libraryland, Web Resources 
Posted on February 27, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
Last week, I posted at Our Bodies Our Blog about a new study of American women’s knowledge of heart disease and prevention published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation. There, I noted my surprise how many women in the sample still did not identify heart disease as the leading cause of death for women, who would not call 911 right away, and who still believed hormone replacement was an effective preventive measure (rather than a risk increaser).
The study survey was not given to a huge sample of women – ~1100 to ~2200 depending on the survey method – but one other item caught my eye that I didn’t get into at the OBOS blog – where the women reported getting their information about heart disease.
The reported sources of information about heart disease were as follows:
-Television: 45%
-Magazines: 32%
-Newspaper: 18%
-The Internet: 14%
Their Doctor: 48%
Really, only 14% for the internet? More women reported getting heart disease info from the newspaper than the internet? In 2009? I find this extremely surprising. I know that not everybody has internet access, but according to Pew, 74% use the internet and 60% have broadband at home; newspaper subscriptions continue to decline. Maybe people are counting online magazines and newspapers as “magazines” and “newspapers” but not including them as part of “the Internet?”
I don’t have a well-developed theory of explanation, I just found it odd. Maybe it was a weird sample. Maybe the question was asked in a less than ideal way. Maybe sources of info on heart disease weren’t specific enough to women to trigger recall in the respondents. The relevant survey question asked respondents where in the last 12 months they had seen, heard, or read about women and heart disease, and provided for multiple choices including: magazine; radio; book; tv; brochure; healthcare professional; newspaper; “Internet or World Wide Web;” friend or relative; library; nothing; don’t know; refused.
Unfortunately, the “library” results are not provided, although I’m not sure how respondents and analysts could reliably sort that out the from books, magazines, newspapers, and web access provided by libraries.
For those who are seeking information on heart disease and women online, here are some good starting points:
MedlinePlus: Heart Disease in Women
National Women’s Health Information Center: Heart Disease
American Heart Association: Women, Heart Disease, and Stroke
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women [PDF]
Filed under: Heart Health, Libraryland 
Posted on February 23, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
There are lots of great links up in the Ninth Carnival of Feminist Parenting, including links on sex ed, pregnancy, disability, violence against women, body image and more. Also, 14th Carnival of Feminists is up and focused on social justice organizing.
Robin Marty has a round-up of some abortion-related laws proposed in the states this legislative session.
A conference I didn’t know about and now really want to attend: From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom (April 9-11 in Amherst, MA). Applications for travel/housing stipends are due on the 24th of this month. [hat tip to Feministing]
Also, fellow Southerners may be interested in the 2010 Southern Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute in Durham on March 19-21.
40 Days for Life has started again – if you want to support your local clinic being targeted by anti-choice activists, the list is here [note that link is to the 40 days for life site itself].
Lots of interesting stuff in Renee’s most recent round-up.
County health rankings provide snapshot of health in each U.S. county.
An anesthesiologist whose work is described as “pioneering” is accused of being a fraud:
Over the past 12 years, anesthesiologist Scott Reuben revolutionized the way physicians provide pain relief to patients undergoing orthopedic surgery for everything from torn ligaments to worn-out hips. Now, the profession is in shambles after an investigation revealed that at least 21 of Reuben’s papers were pure fiction, and that the pain drugs he touted in them may have slowed postoperative healing.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is coming up on March 10. A list of events is provided here.
NY Times has a piece on a lactation consultant.
Random cute: serval kittens. And a cat in a cactus.
Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Breastfeeding, Drugs, Ethics, Events & Observances, HIV/AIDS, News Round-Ups 
Posted on February 21, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
At Our Bodies Our Blog, I have a post on results of a survey assessing knowledge about heart disease and prevention among American women. I was a little surprised that just over half of the sample correctly identified heart disease as the leading cause of death for women, more surprised that almost 1 in 5 respondents still thought hormone therapy was an effective preventive measure, and shocked that only 53% of women said they’d call 911 if they experienced symptoms of a heart attack.
I also posted this week on two opportunities for birth-related participation: an online discussion with the author of “Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explores the Science, the History and the Wonder of Childbirth” and a call for submissions of c-section-related art.
Christine posted a news release from SisterSong [see their PDF] opposing House Bill 1155 in Georgia – the Sex and Race Selection Bill, which “reflects the false assumption that abortion providers throughout the state ’solicit’ women of color.” SisterSong had a press conference on Tuesday to oppose the bill. The release also has something to say about the billboard campaign we discussed earlier in the week:
This bill comes on the heels of a controversial billboard campaign that targets Black women in Georgia. The blatantly sexist and racist billboards declare Black children as an endangered species and prey on the conscience of Black women. The mere association between the born and unborn with endangered animals provides a disempowering and dehumanizing message to the Black community, which is completely unacceptable.
C also links to Spark Reproductive Justice NOW for their take on the billboard campaign.
Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Birth, Government, Heart Health, Women’s Health 
Posted on February 18, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
IMAGE week Survivor Panel – 2/18
Always a highlight of IMAGE week, Thursday will be the Survivor Panel. Panel members include; a student survivor, an adult survivor, Vida Sobie from the Psychological and Counseling Center, and this year new to the panel, the husband of our adult survivor. While Vida shares professional opinions, our survivors will share their amazing stories of overcoming the most deadly mental disorder. In addition, our spouse will be able to field questions about his experience in marriage with an eating disorder survivor from having a child to the worry for a loved one. Promising to be an emotional and intimate night, the survivor panel allows a glimpse into the chaotic world of being an eating disordered individual.
7:00-8:30 p.m. Buttrick 309
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Production of “The Vagina Monologues” – 2/19
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” will take place on Friday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. in Langford Auditorium, and will feature faculty, staff, and students.
Admission is by a $5 suggested donation or free with the purchase of a $10 event T-shirt. Proceeds will benefit the Sexual Assault Center of Nashville.
“The Vagina Monologues” is produced as a part of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Eve Ensler’s award-winning play. To date, this movement has raised more than $70 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it. Each year, V-Day focuses on a specific group of women in the world who are resisting violence with courage and vision. This year’s spotlight campaign will highlight the women of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For more information about the national organization, please visit http://www.vday.org.
For more information about the production, please contact Jacqueline Clauss at jacqueline.a.clauss@vanderbilt.edu or Megan Culler at megan.r.culler@vanderbilt.edu.
Vandy Moms: Photoshopping & Women’s Self-Esteem – 2/25
As a color and correction artist in the Division of Public Affairs, Julie Turner Schellhardt makes sure the images showcased in campus publications are always presented in their best light. She will discuss photoshopping and the importance of having self-esteem and inner beauty. Bring a brown bag lunch and your questions!
For more info, please contact misa.culley@vanderbilt.edu
When: Thu Feb 25 11:30am – 12:30pm Central Time
Where: Baker Bldg, Suite 850
There are actually several recent events I wish I’d known about in time to attend, including another V-Day event, something on feminism and Afghan women, and IMAGE week events on myths surrounding anorexia and bulimia and body image and the media. Can’t someone over there just read my mind and alert me to these things? 
Filed under: Body Image & Eating Disorders, Events & Observances, Vaginas & Vulvas 
Posted on February 17, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
Renee wrote a post asking why the feminist blogosphere reacted so strongly to the Tebow ad, but has not been so vocal about an anti-abortion campaign in Atlanta that is “targeting Black women by putting up billboards stating that Black children are an endangered species.” I linked to it in a weekly round-up post, and started drafting something on the topic, wanting to take the time to get it right. A reader also emailed me about why I specifically haven’t written about it, so here goes.
This is not a new argument; I’ve seen plenty of “Black genocide” pieces attached to an anti-abortion agenda. It’s usually proffered by white/conservative/anti-abortion folks who aren’t really making an argument that Black women and babies need help so much as they are looking for new and catchy ways to convince people that Abortion is a Very Bad Thing We Must Restrict.
But isn’t something wrong if black women are having, proportionally, more abortions than white women? I tend to think that however many abortions Black women, or any women, have is exactly the right number of abortions for them at the time (given that I’m pro-choice and don’t think a “zero abortions” goal is at all realistic). I don’t doubt that there are systemic reasons why Black women might be more likely to choose abortion than other women – but those systemic inequalities are the problem in my mind, not the individual choices Black women make in their own individual situations. And those inequalities are a problem in their own right, not because of whatever influence they might have on the abortion debate.
In the meantime, though, it’s not my job or anybody else’s job to tell individual or all Black women whether they can have a safe, legal abortion. Saying otherwise would be no different, I think, from other tactics I oppose – forced ultrasound or incorrect forced “informed consent” scripts that just assume women haven’t thought through what they’re doing or aren’t smart enough to understand. It would get into saying that abortions need to be restricted for some women because they’re having “too many,” and suggest that Black women themselves are not the best judge of whether they’re actually contributing to some form of “genocide” of their own babies. Because, really? – Black children are an “endangered species” (assuming you buy that premise, and ignore the highly problematic “species” language) and Black women choosing abortion don’t know or care? How obnoxious and insulting.
There is also the argument out there that Planned Parenthood is located in “Black” neighborhoods, so they must be deliberately targeting Black babies for abortion. I have never been in on the meetings in which Planned Parenthood decides where to put a new clinic, but I’m guessing that they target lower income neighborhoods, which anti-abortion folks are translating to “Black neighborhoods.” Again, we return to the problem of systemic issues rather than individual issues, but I suppose it’s easier to accuse a provider of low cost health services of attempting genocide and to accuse Black women of individually having too many abortions than it is to look at reasons why Black and low income might overlap in this country and work to resolve those inequalities.
The same people will throw out the “but Margaret Sanger was a eugenicist” argument, which I think a commenter on Renee’s post responded to aptly: “Thomas Jefferson and many of the other signers of the U.S. Constitution owned slaves and didn’t believe that Black people were intelligent beings — should we Americans scrap the current Constitution and jot up another one, then?”
And that is not to ignore the long history of reproductive and other bodily abuse visited upon Black women in America. One reason it took me so long to write this post was just the thinking over of “wait, is there something abortion providers are doing to specifically target Black women and limit their reproductive freedom that I might be missing somehow?” I think, though, that Maame-Mensima Horne got this bit just right in her recent essay:
Black anti-abortionists are not concerned about women having autonomy over their bodies or mobilizing against reproductive oppressions. Instead, they continue paternalistic beliefs that place woman’s role as “mother” higher than anything else. “Mother” is one of many roles that women may choose, but it is not our defining role. We, the women, should decide how, when, and if we mother.
And you know what? I have to admit to being part of the “lack of response” problem. If some anti-abortion group put up billboards in Nashville, TN saying “1/4 Korean White women are destroying their people,” would it have taken me more than week to write a post about it? Hell no. I was hesitant to wade in because I wanted to make sure to “get it right,” to say why I think those “Black genocide” arguments are illogical garbage while making sure I wouldn’t mess it up in some unexpected way that would make me seem racist. But standing up for all women’s reproductive rights without worrying about how *I* might look in the process is the right thing to do, and something I should be quicker about.
Added: Pam Merritt at RHRC on Women of Color and the Anti-Choice Focus on Eugenics
Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice 
Posted on February 14, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
How’s that for an intro this week? I’ve mentioned my cold sore affliction here previously; I swear I either get them more often and worse than most people, or everybody else is just staying home for a week at a time. I’ll be spending the next week feeling self-conscious due to a huge cold sore front and center on my top lip. Here’s some info on the little buggers:
Related to the previous post, Pam Merritt writes at RHRC on Women of Color and the Anti-Choice Focus on Eugenics. The whole post is well worth a read.
Hilary at Mom’s Tinfoil Hat is talking about reproductive coercion (something we’ve also covered a bit recently at the OBOS blog). My experience of having been told I had to have an exam in order to get my contraceptive refilled is mentioned in the comments.
Random gripe: I find it really annoying that – on the CDC FastStats page for “reproductive health” – the word “abortion” doesn’t appear once. Teen sex, infertility, contraception, pelvic inflammatory disease – yes; abortion – no. FastStats A-Z – also no mention.
Abby Jean writes about poverty and health at FWD/Forward.
Renee at Womanist Musings writes about A Facial For Your Vagina: Exactly What You Never Knew Your Lady Bits Needed. I’m cracking up at her sarcastic “Golly gee whiz beav.” Ha.
Blue Milk writes about The very gendered baby (found via Hoyden).
Academic Ob/yn has a post on a new emergency contraception drug and expands on some of the limitations of the study I briefly mentioned in an OBOS post on the paper.
Raising Women’s Voices points to a PBS piece on Democrats and abortion.
Finally, and not really health-related, Aunt B posts my favorite version of “Single Ladies” thus far, this time transformed into a song praising academic achievement – “Scholar Ladies.”
Filed under: Abortion, Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Access, Rights, & Choice, Infectious Diseases, News Round-Ups 
Posted on February 14, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
At Our Bodies Our Blog, I have a post on an emergency contraception drug working its way through the approval process in the U.S. and info on an upcoming panel discussion in Wellesley, MA on new mammography and breast self-examination recommendations featuring speakers from the National Women’s Health Network and Black Women’s Health Imperative.
I’m also really thrilled to see more Spanish-language posts going up – here’s the Spanish version of a recent one of mine on the reversal of the HPV vaccine requirement for U.S. immigrant women. Thanks to our volunteer translator!
Filed under: Boobs, Cancer, Events & Observances, Government, HPV, Women’s Health 
Posted on February 11, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
I want to say that I’m sorry some horrible people vandalized the Al-Farooq Mosque in South Nashville.
I don’t know whether the people who spray painted “Muslims go home” on the building were incited by local news station Channel 5’s report asking “Is a [different] Local Muslim Community Tied to Terrorism?” That piece has been described as a “sensationalized two-night report about a crackpot organization’s unfounded accusations of terrorist ties against a Middle Tennessee Muslim community.” Aunt B called it when she pointed out that it was irresponsible to stir fear for ratings in a sensationalist way that might encourage anti-Muslim violence, noting “Mosques in this state get burnt down for less and Channel 5 is hyping that these folks might be terrorists?”
It’s not exactly health-related, but it is easy walking distance from my house.
Filed under: Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Miscellaneous 
Posted on February 11, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
A new edition of the Carnival of Feminists is up at Zero at the Bone – thanks to the host for including a couple of OBOS posts!
Last week, NPR ran a piece on new book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” which I heard and posted about. I really should have one ahead and put a hold on it at my public library at the time; I waited until yesterday to do it and am now #39 in line for the book.
Renee at Womanist Musings asks “Do Black Women’s Reproductive Rights Even Matter?” with regard to the lack of feminist response to racially targeted anti-abortion campaigns such as one in Atlanta that calls black children an “endangered species.” Renee explains that “As proof of this claim they offer the fact that Blacks account for 30% of the general population and 56% of the abortions,” and she asks why “there has been little to no commentary from White feminists.”
The Unnecesarean has a transcript of that live cesarean that aired on The Today Show along with commentary on the segment.
Inspired by FWD/Forward, I sent a message to Planned Parenthood Action to say that I liked their Tebow-response video, but could they please consider providing transcripts and/or captions for this and future videos to increase their accessibility.
The Department of Defense announced it will begin making emergency contraception available to members of the military overseas (I wrote last month at OBOS about a bill designed to achieve this).
I’m bummed that Sarah Haskins will no longer be doing Target Women.
Siobhan points out that today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Journal Retracts Study Backing Vaccine-Autism Link – the main study proposing an MMR/autism link has been retracted “after the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council’s ruling last week that the researchers acted dishonestly and unethically, including carrying out unnecessary invasive tests on children and being paid by lawyers of parents who thought their children had been harmed by the vaccine.”
Don’t Panic! Women Can Conceive Over 30 – commentary on fertility fear mongering in recent news coverage.
We Can’t Overlook Reproductive Health Needs in Haiti – at RHRC.
Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Advertising/Marketing, Ethics, Events & Observances, Global Issues, Government, Help Somebody, HIV/AIDS, Miscellaneous, News Round-Ups, Pregnancy, Women’s Health 
Posted on February 8, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
At Our Bodies Our Blog, I have a bit about the Tebow Super Bowl ad (with links to more commentary and the Planned Parenthood response video), and some info on response efforts related to the potential closing of a New York hospital and birth center.
On the Tebow post, I’ve got a commenter making the “what if Obama had been aborted?” argument, so go on over and comment if you want to have that debate.
Christine has an update and more information on the call for participants to inform the 2011 edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves.
Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Women’s Health 
Posted on February 5, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
The National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine division in Bethesda, MD will run an exhibit through June of this year on the history of African American “granny” midwives. Details below:
Nothing To Work With But Cleanliness: African American “Grannies”, Midwives & Health Reform
For over three centuries, African American midwives delivered babies and practiced folk medicine in rural counties throughout the South. Midwifery came under public scrutiny in the 1910s when progressive reformers blamed the “unsanitary practices” of midwives for the higher rate of maternal and infant deaths. During the next two decades reformers campaigned unsuccessfully to eliminate the practice of midwifery. There simply were not enough skilled physicians or hospital facilities in southern rural communities. Poverty and pervasive racial discrimination also made home births more desirable than hospital deliveries to many of the African American families living in rural counties.
Training midwives was deemed the only viable solution in the South where African Americans midwives were predominate. Midwives received instruction from public health nurses during annual state-sponsored institutes and monthly local midwives clubs. Classes, which emphasized sanitary delivery practices, were taught by demonstration, songs and role playing. From the 1920s through the 1960s this next generation of midwives continued in the tradition of their “granny” predecessors with the added benefit of scientific knowledge.
Through photographs and artifacts, the exhibit tells the story of “granny” midwives and the state and local training programs that educated them and succeeding generations of midwives.
The exhibition, inside and outside the NLM History of Medicine Division Reading Room, Building 38, first floor, runs from February 2010 to June 2010. All are welcome to visit, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays, except federal holidays.
Directions, security, parking, etc.: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/about/visitus.html
For more information: Sheena Morrison, sheena dot morrison at nih dot gov 301.402.8847
[hat tip to a LinkedIn post by Jeffrey Reznick, Deputy Chief, History of Medicine Division, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health]
Filed under: Events & Observances, Libraryland, Midwifery 
Posted on February 5, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
I’m not usually a big fan of Fresh Air, but tonight’s episode caught my ear – the host spoke with Rebecca Skloot, author of new book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” The book focuses on the cells taken from cervical cancer patient Henrietta Lacks, and how those cells (called “HeLa” cells) became the focus of a tremendous amount of research, and the lack of information provided to Lacks or her family about how science benefited from her life and cells.
In brief, from the story page:
In 1951, an African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer. She was treated at Johns Hopkins University, where a doctor named George Gey snipped cells from her cervix without telling her. Gey discovered that Lacks’ cells could not only be kept alive, but would also grow indefinitely.
For the past 60 years Lacks’ cells have been cultured and used in experiments ranging from determining the long-term effects of radiation to testing the live polio vaccine. Her cells were commercialized and have generated millions of dollars in profit for the medical researchers who patented her tissue.
Tragically, Lacks’s family seems to have experienced more of people wanting to get more from them instead of acknowledgment for Henrietta’s contribution or information about what happened to her or to her cells.
A transcript is available.
Filed under: Cancer 
Posted on February 3, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
Nashville got a few inches of snow on Friday, and I’m still not sure about getting down the hill for work tomorrow. Snow day!
Local and law student Goldni has two good posts this week, one on Roeder’s trial, and one on the parents who tried to get the dictionary removed from school because it contains *gasp* adult words. She writes:
…the fact that it took a whole committee to decide that it would do more good than harm to let the kids use the dictionary, and the fact that there are still some parents who may think that the dictionary may be just too scandalous for their kids, is profoundly disturbing.
As a librarian, I couldn’t agree more.
Christine also posted on the Roeder verdict at Our Bodies Our Blog. I actually got a copy of the partner abuse/birth control sabotage story and posted some of the details from that. Also, a former OBOS board member is translating some posts into Spanish for us.
Feministing points to a statement urging against an adoptive “orphan” rush in Haiti.
Thanks to Feminists with Female Sexual Dysfunction (where I noticed the Feministing link above) and FWD/Forward and Womanist Musings for spreading the word about OBOS’s call for input for the 2011 edition.
I’m not a fan of the whole Tebow ad thing because of the premise – because this individual woman did not choose abortion, and her individual son turned out to be good at something a lot of people value – because she made the “right” choice – then other women should not have that choice. It just doesn’t make the kind of sense it’s supposed to. I think it’s also an issue if CBS is going to refuse advocacy money from pro-choice or other efforts. Meanwhile, others have pointed out that Mom Tebow’s choice may not have been as free as it is made to appear (if you want to be lauded for your “choice,” you need to have some actual agency to decide – which is part of the premise problem). I think it has also highlighted the kind of economic freedom/power some women continue to have even when abortion is illegal – if she could have had an abortion, she had a kind of power to choose not afforded to most women in that situation. RHRC is also talking about the story.
Cheers to Wisconsin for progress on a bill requiring medically accurate instruction about contraception in their sex ed instruction.
JCAHO (sorry, Joint Commission!) issued a sentinel event alert on maternal health.
Trusted consumer health information MedlinePlus now comes in a mobile version.
I haven’t heard it yet, but there’s a Cochrane podcast on Restricting oral fluid and food intake during labour.
RHRC on the needs of pregnant women in Haiti. Time covers current problems of donating breastmilk.
At The Unnecesarean, Yes, It’s True: Med Students Perform Pelvic Exams on Anesthetized Women. This is something that I always assume has stopped, everywhere.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has developed a sex education curriculum for adults with developmental disabilities. I haven’t reviewed it yet but thought it might be of interest. [found via Siobhan]
Filed under: Abortion, Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Access, Rights, & Choice, Adolescent Health, Birth, Breastfeeding, Contraception, Global Issues, Libraryland, Miscellaneous, News Round-Ups, Pregnancy, Sex & Sex Education 
Posted on February 1, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
Posted on January 30, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
First, yes! there’s a new edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves coming out next year.
Now, for the looking-for-your-input part:
Our Bodies Ourselves is seeking up to two dozen women to participate in an online discussion on sexual relationships…We are seeking the experience and wisdom of heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual, queer and trans women. Perspectives from single women are encouraged, and you may define relationship as it applies to you, from monogamy to multiple partners. We are committed to including women of color, women with disabilities, and women of many ages and backgrounds.
See Christine’s post for details and sample questions of interest if you’re interested in contributing.
Posted in Women’s Health 
Posted on January 27, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
The Tennessee legislature is back in session. So, no surprise that somebody filed an abortion-related bill.
SB 2687 / HB 2680 – from Diane Black and Matthew Hill, both Republican
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 56, is amended by adding the following language as a new, appropriately designated section:
No qualified health plan established in this state through an American Health Benefit Exchange or Small Business Health Options Program (known as a SHOP Exchange) pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act shall offer coverage for abortion services. For purposes of this section, “abortion” has the same meaning as defined in § 39-15-201.
So, on the off chance that federal health reform legislation doesn’t include a bunch of on-top-of-Hyde restrictions on abortion coverage, or if the option is left to the states, Tennessee wants to make sure it’s excluded. Just in case.
Meanwhile, go see Aunt B’s post on how the Tennessee Democratic Party is wasting time and money making up songs about Sarah Palin, and alienating people with mental health disabilities in the process – “it’s deeply problematic and deeply disappointing to see the Tennessee Democratic Party raising money by mocking politicians for being crazy.”
Sigh.
Added: I poked around in the newly introduced bills a bit more, and found one other bill of interest:
SB 2732 from Andy Berke, Democrat [this is a good one]:
SECTION 1. The commissioner of health is directed to develop a plan to ensure that ninety percent (90%) of pregnant women in this state will have access to appropriate prenatal care during the first trimester of the pregnancy as soon as is reasonably possible. The commissioner shall develop this plan and present it and any related legislative and budgetary recommendations to the house health and human resources committee and the senate general welfare, health and human resources committee on or before February 1, 2011. In developing this plan the commissioner shall examine the availability of federal resources for attaining the goal of the plan and shall also consult with the bureau of the TennCare and the department of commerce and insurance.
Of course, if you’re really bored, check out the “Ice Cream Truck Worker Registration Act,” which kind of seems like a good idea based only on my general sense that ice cream trucks are creepy. 
Posted in Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Laws, Legislation, & Courts, Mental Health 
Posted on January 27, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
A few posts I enjoyed for various reasons, from bloggers both familiar and completely new to me.
“Choice” as a Feminist Idol – Sungold at Kittwampus, who reminds us that “choice” is pretty empty if it doesn’t include access, justice, rights, autonomy, and self-determination. Likewise, Radical Doula argues that it should be “Blog for Justice Day.”
Britni at Oh My God, That Britni’s Shameless shares a video, of a performance by Sonia Renee on “What We Deserve,” that gave me goosebumps (transcript provided).
I Trust Me, But Can I Trust You? – Heidi of A Black Girl Named Heidi, on her own evolving understanding of what “trust” means
Trust Women, by bergsie at Kittens Farting Rainbows. Included for the awesome blog title and spunky post.
CBS to Air First Super Bowl Abortion Ad, by Elizabeth Gettelman at Mother Jones, who critiques the premise of the upcoming ad featuring Tim Tebow. [Added: I take issue with this line, however: "and the idea of having an abortion is a horrifying prospect to me, as it is to most pro-choicers, for the record." Nobody gets to decide or speak for how an individual woman feels or should feel about abortion other than that woman. This is really no better than anti-choicers insisting that all or most women getting abortions are psychologically traumatized, which is not supported by the evidence.]
On the same theme, Trusting Women to Disregard this Ad, by Monica Potts at American Prospect, who notes the false choice the ad will present and concludes, “I’m going to trust women to weigh the undeniably heartwarming tale from a football star against the death, every eight minutes, of a woman in a developing country who tries to exercise choice, too.”
Blogging for Choice: On Trusting (and Not Trusting) Women, by Jill at Feministe reminds us that “Trust Women” doesn’t have to mean you trust every woman to make a great, smart choice, or do what we ourselves would do, or to be more trustworthy than men, it just means that: “So, no, I don’t trust women to always make the right choice or the best choice. And one consequence of that is that I sure as hell don’t trust any other woman (or man) to make the best decision for me about my body.”
Trusting Women, Working for Access, by Jos as Feministing, describing her experience working a hotline for women seeking abortion information and noting that “By saying it out loud, over and over, Dr. Tiller made clear the blatant sexism, the sense of moral superiority inherent in anti-choice organizing and policy.”
Blog for Choice – Not a plea or a request, but a demand… by Shark Fu at Angry Black Birth, who writes that “Trust Women is not a plea or a request, but a demand. A bitch ain’t begging or asking for what is mine by law.”
Blog for Choice: Trust No One, Especially Not Women – Leigh at Bitch, Please has a nice rant (that’s a compliment) and puts it starkly, “George Tiller had the right idea, and he was gunned down by a domestic terrorist for these two little words: Trust women.”
amandaw at FWD/Feminists asks “Do You REALLY Trust Women?” with regards to disability and childbearing.
Scarleteen is highlighting “some of the many articles, blog entries and advice answers we have at Scarleteen on abortion, other reproductive choices and reproductive justice.”
RH Reality Check also has a ton of posts on the topic, and Blog of Choice (BFCD organizer) highlighted lots of posts.
From the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (and also among those appearing at RHRC) is Silvia Henriquez’s Securing Real Choices Means Going Beyond “Choice,” which argues, “it is time to collectively expand our messaging and embrace a holistic vision for reproductive freedom.”
Physicans for Reproductive Choice and Health has two videos of Dr. Tiller explaining why he became an abortion provider and why he remained in the field. [no apparent transcript; found via Unrepentant Old Hippie]
Coble at Mycropht is a libertarian Christian and not as pro-choice as I would have her (*grin*), but she’s local and I like her and I respect her opinion, especially because they’re usually so considered and so different from the stereotype I often have in mind when I think of religious people talking about abortion. She and I can have a conversation, no Super Bowl ads needed.
Blog for Choice: The Radical Act of Trusting Others by Annajcook at Future Feminist Librarian-Activist, included because it’s a nice post but also because I can’t believe I only just came across this blog from a fellow librarian. I like what she writes here (and if you compare, it’s not so different from what Coble is saying): “Choosing to ‘trust women,’ then, is choosing to ‘trust others’: letting go of the burden of decisions that are not ours to make, and allowing those whose lives they directly affect (and who are best positioned to understand the ramifications of a given choice) to bear that responsibility. Because that’s what being human requires: rights and responsibilities.”
Posted in Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, News Round-Ups, Women’s Health 
Posted on January 24, 2010 | Filed under Womens Health News | Permalink
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