Women Reproduction Health

Bishops Opposed IOM’s Free Birth Control Plan

tulank — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:34:11 +0000

Last week, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published a list of preventative health service for women, in which they included the recommendations of free of charge contraception for women requiring them.

The recommendations are supported by many organizations, such as Planned Parenthood as they consider it a step in the right direction towards minimizing the instance of unwanted pregnancies in the United States. However, people in the religious community disagree and are in fierce opposition to the idea.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops even spoke out their objection during the Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, from July 24 through July 30, by saying that the Catholic Church opposes all forms of birth control and favoring the Natural Family Planning. They even offered classes on Natural Family Planning to educate people how to carefully tracks a woman’s menstrual cycle in order to aid or prevent pregnancy.

As reported in ChristianPost.com, Cardinal Daniel DiNardio, the chairman of the Bishop’s Committee made a written statement on Pro-Life Activities, that pregnancy is not a disease, and fertility is not a pathological condition to be suppressed by any means technically possible.

Although the Church seems to be strongly opposed the idea of contraception, many Catholics including most evangelical women who are sexually active were known to use birth control at some point in time – this was reported by The Washington Post based on the conclusion made by a study conducted by Guttmacher Institute.

In spite of the use of contraception to prevent pregnancy, Pope Benedict XVI last year stated that the use of condoms possibly being a “lesser evil than the spread of AIDS.” Based on the comments, many Catholics had actually hoped that there would be a change in the Church’s ethos about the use of contraception, however it doesn’t seem like an approval statement that no major amendments have been made regarding the issue.

About the recommendations they made, the IOM actually has their own argument on why birth control should be available without co-pay under insurance plans. As estimated by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of U.S. pregnancies were unplanned. This could somehow lead to the health problem of the ‘unwanted’ child as it would increase the risk of morbidity in the mother and delaying prenatal care.

So with the hope to improve the health of women in the long run, and allowing them to more successfully space and plan their pregnancies, as well as decreasing the instances of unwanted pregnancies, IOM made the recommendations to allow free contraception for those who need them.

The Relation between Weigh, Hormones, and Breast Cancer Risk

tulank — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:12:29 +0000

Based on the latest research published in the British Journal of Cancer, other than alcohol and cigarettes, weight has the strongest effect on the sex hormones that can increase breast cancer risk in post menopausal women. The statement was made by Dr Gillian Reeves from the University of Oxford, UK along with her colleagues, and all members of the Endogenous Hormones and Breast Cancer Collaborative Group.

Reeves said that changes in hormone levels might explain the relation of established risk factors such as obesity with breast cancer risk.

In the study funded by Cancer Research UK, Reeves and her colleagues collected and analyzed data of nearly 6,300 post-menopausal women who took part in 13 different studies. The data were used to examine how levels of sex hormones like Oestradiol, Free oestradiol, Oestrone, Androstenedione, Testosterone, Free testosterone, are known to affect the risk of developing breast cancer among the women. Other than those hormones, the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were also examined.

Sex hormones are known to be made in the ovaries, the adrenal glands, and in fat tissue. As breast cancer become the most common cancer in the UK – with over 100 women are diagnosed with the disease every day, it was found that those with the highest levels of oestrogen and related hormones have more than double the average risk of the disease.

The factors which are analyzed as potential drivers of hormone levels were: age, the menopause condition (whether naturally or by ovaries-removal surgery), BMI (Body Mass Index), the habit of smoking and drinking alcohol, and reproductive factors such as the age when a women starts having her periods (menarche) and the age when she has first full term pregnancy.

Surprisingly, they found that BMI had the strongest influence on sex hormone level, especially on oestrogens. Researchers later said that perhaps this is the reason why post menopausal and obese women have the highest risk of developing breast cancer.

As for alcohol, they also found that those who drank 20g or more alcohol on a daily basis also had higher levels of all the hormones mentioned before. So, this also explains why regular drinkers have higher risk of breast cancer as well.

Activists Asks the Health Minister Stop Female Genital Circumcision

tulank — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:20:53 +0000

Female genital circumcision in some parts of the world, including Indonesia is still performed as part of several cultural or religious beliefs. But unlike the male circumcision, the procedure actually doesn’t have any health benefit to those who undergo it. That is why rather than calling it as circumcision, the act is also known as female genital mutilation.

Women rights activists from the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) urged the Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih to immediately revoke a ministerial regulation against female circumcision as it legitimizes violence against Indonesian women. It may also neglect the women’s abilities to fully exercise their fundamental rights on reproductive health and freedom considering the cruel circumcision techniques practiced in several regions in Indonesia.

The circumcision removes the clitoris totally and this condition will badly affect the women’s reproductive health and cause hurt to those who undergo the process. As according to the WHO, the procedure can cause severe bleeding and urinating problems, and may lead to complications during childbirth.

Among the regulations which allow the practice of female circumcision, it was told that it should be administered only by legal medical workers and should only incise the surface skin of the clitoris instead of removing the whole clitoris.

Still disagree with the existing regulation, Ratna Batara Munti, a women rights activist said that it is a setback to permit female genital circumcision while such inhumane practice have been prohibited previously. That is why the Komnas Perempuan demanded the ministry to prohibit the circumcision altogether.

According to study, about 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide suffer from reproductive problems caused by female genital circumcision. And Indonesia is one of the regions in the world with the highest number of female genital circumcision cases beside the countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Incoming Women Reproduction Search:

True Facts about Infertility

tulank — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:02:22 +0000

Regarding infertility, there are a couple facts you need to know before judging whether any of the spouses is responsible for not producing an offspring. There are actually two conditions must be fulfilled in order to have a successful conceiving, namely fertility and the right moment of having intercourse. So here are some facts regarding those conditions you ought to know.

Chances of infertility
Both men and women have the chances of infertility. According to report, about 20 percent of infertility cases are caused by men, 40 percent by women, and 10 percent by both men and women. As for the rest of it (30 percent), the reasons are unexplained.

The life term of sperms
In appropriate environment such as cervix, uterus and fallopian tube, sperms can survive up to 5 days. This explains why a woman can still ovulate after 5 days of intercourse. However, most sperm cells die within 1-2 days after ejaculation because they should not be exposed to the open air such as outside the human body.

Fertility rates decline with age
Regardless the health condition, our age mostly determine our fertility rates. For most women, their fertility rates decline in their mid-twenties. The top period of female’s fertility is at the age of 20 to 24, after those ages the chances of infertility will increase dramatically.

The chance of pregnancy is very low if the intercourse was done after ovulation period
The best period to enhance the chance of pregnancy is during your fertile period, that is within the fourth or fifth days prior to ovulation. When intercourse is performed during such period, you will get the higher chance to conceive.

Certain sex positions give higher chance of pregnancy
According to study, the missionary position gives the most optimum result for conception as it allows the sperm to pass through the cervix and enter the uterus easily.

Stress will likely cause infertility
Stress can hold up the ovulation as it could affect the production of hormones. Make sure you have a low level of stress, so it won’t affect your sex life as well as your fertility.

The TGA of Australia Issues Warning over Contraceptive Pill

tulank — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:47:51 +0000

The latest generation of oral contraceptive pill, which is marketed in Australia with the name of Yaz and Yasmin has recently being warned for its usage by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – the Australia’s regulatory agency for medical drugs and devices.

The warning followed the previously issued warning by the British Medical journal which states that women who consume the fourth generation pill are more likely to develop life-threatening blood clots.

According to studies, the pills which contain drospirenone (a synthetic progestin that is typically used in birth control) such as Yasmin and Yaz, when taken two to three times would more likely make the consumer suffer a blood clot compared to those who take other oral contraceptives.

The TGA stated that all contraceptives pose a small risk, however, making the warning doesn’t mean that the sale of Yasmin will be directly removed or restricted because they are still monitoring the effects through further studies and expecting for new information soon.

The warning seems to be triggered by some reports regarding the case of blood clotting after taking Yasmin. One of them is as reported on the ABC TV’s 7:30 last month where a Melbourne woman died from a suspected blood clot, while another news reported that a clot was found in the leg of a Brisbane woman.

A research was also made regarding the issue, one of them conducted by involving 100,000 British women who took Yasmin, which later resulted with a finding that about 23 of the women had developed a blood clot.

However, 23 out of 100,000 volunteers still seem very small to decide that consuming the pills is actually dangerous. Even researchers in the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as Bayer, the manufacturer of the drugs said that the research is flawed. Bayer even insisted that Yaz and Yasmin have the same risks as other oral contraceptives, as told to the 7:30.

Although the result of the latest study was still unconvincing, Dr Louise Farell of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists advised the women to be alert to the signs of blood clotting.

There are about 180,000 women in Australia who take Yasmin and Yas, the lower dose counterpart, while these pills are not included in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Bioidentical Hormone Therapy to Treat Hormone Imbalance

tulank — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:29:36 +0000

Hormone imbalance is a condition where all the hormones in our body don’t work together properly. Like an orchestra, if one part of the instruments is not functioning properly, it will be impossible to create a symphony, as the melody produced is out of tune.

This condition can happen as the result of the soft tissue glands’ malfunctioning as we forced them to produce hormone longer than ever in order to double our life expectancy. Beside of that, the declining levels of hormones in our bodies can also be caused by the increasing of stress, lack of proper fitness as well as bad nutritional intake.

The further result of hormonal imbalance can indicate to the condition of menopause, including perimenopause and postmenopause; surgical menopause, thyroid health and adrenal fatigue. But before it ends up that way, you should be aware to symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats, weight gain, insomnia, fatigue, low libido, vaginal dryness, PMS, mood swings, depression, endometriosis, fibrosis, and foggy memory.

The condition which shows that we are having balanced hormones is having an optimal health, which is free from the symptoms of premenopause and menopause. And to achieve such state, it is necessary to maintain proper nutrition and fitness, especially because they will improve our quality of life as we age.

To check whether you are experiencing the symptoms of hormonal imbalance you can have a test to discover the current levels of your hormones by consulting with your physician.

It is actually easy to correct the hormonal imbalances; your physician may recommend you to have a therapy which combines nutrition, fitness, and hormone supplementation to slow down the physical, mental, and sexual symptoms of aging. One of the most well-known therapies which adapt these features is the Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT).

The therapy uses natural/bioidentical hormones – the molecules which are exactly the same as the hormones that present in our body, such as estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, cortisol, dhea, estradiol and estriol. Along with the therapy, you’ll be also recommended to improve your nutritional intake, perform a better lifestyle and exercising. That way, you will soon improve more energy, vitality, and feel like your old self again.

Types of Vaginal Rejuvenation: A Lift for the Down-There Skin

tulank — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:47:36 +0000

Maintaining physical beauty is always desired by any women as we realize that the older we become, the more sagging our skin will be. The skin will sag nearly everywhere, including the vaginal area; especially if you have been pregnant. Therefore besides of face-lift, there is also a term called vaginal-lift or more popularly known as vaginal rejuvenation.

There are several methods of vaginal rejuvenation, they are:

Non-Surgical Vaginal Rejuvenation – This method uses facial fillers such as Sculptra which is injected to the mons pubis or the fat pad which surrounds the vagina that has lost volume. Sculptra promotes natural collagen growth over time and help to fill the volume loss. It can also be injected into the labia majora or minora to restore the sagging skin at the area.

Vaginal Fat Transfer – this method is also non-surgical. It uses the fat from another part of the body which is removed via liposuction and then transferred to restore the volume of the mons pubis or labia minora or majora.

Labiaplasty – this method uses laser surgery to remove excess skin on the labia minora and majora through excision. The surgery can also be performed to correct any asymmetry that exists around the area. Patients who opt for this method normally request to decrease the size of their labia majora or minora. Especially those who haven’t had children, they wish to trim, made smaller or made correction of the asymmetry of their labia minora.

Vaginal Rejuvenation – A Down There Lift
Similar to facelift which is aimed to rejuvenate the face, vaginal rejuvenation also serves the same treatment to the ‘down-there’ area. Most women want this kind of treatment due to the hormonal changes during pregnancy as well as the enlargement of the vaginal canal as the result of multiple pregnancies and vaginal delivers. What the doctors do in this treatment is tightening the vaginal canal and making the vaginal opening smaller by combining any of the previous treatment procedures to offer improvement both internally and aesthetically.

Incoming Women Reproduction Search:

Women are More Alerted to Gays when Ovulating

tulank — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 02:25:31 +0000

According to a new study led by researchers at the University of Toronto, ovulation significantly improves a woman’s ability to judge a man’s sexual orientation. As told by Nicholas Rule, an assistant professor of psychology at University of Toronto and the lead researcher on the study, when ovulating women would pay attention to cues relevant for mating. And as women have a higher chance of getting pregnant they seem to be more aware of the cues in the environment that would attend to the condition.

The strange ovulation phenomena of women have actually been uncovered in recent years as scientists track how the female cycle impacts mating practices. Other research has suggested that ovulating women emit a scent that is more attractive to men and unconsciously flirtier as an attempt to outdo their rivals.

As for the gaydar (gay-radar) study, scientists tracked the fertility cycles of 40 heterosexual female undergraduate students and asked them to judge 80 photos of men’s faces, in which half of them were self-identified as gay and the other half were straight. The men on those pictures were equally attractive and wore the same facial expression, that it shouldn’t be easy for women to determine whether they are gay or straight.

However, the ladies who are closest to peak ovulation were found to have the best gaydar as they successfully detected which of those men are gay by using their intuition only.

A little romance was actually added to the equation; researchers made up a story about a walk on a beach with an attractive male during a tropical island vacation, and had women read the story before they looked at the photos. And as a result, women who were primed to think about romance and mating were better at spotting straight men than those who were not.

When used to determine whether other women are gay or straight, the study however found that ovulation did not make women any better at judging those. And this condition, according to Rule, suggested that they are not hyper attentive to everything, just men and sex essentially.

IUDs and Skin Implants Contraceptives are the Safest and Most Effective Birth Control

tulank — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:19:44 +0000

According to American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist as reported on Reuters Health, the long term contraception called Intra-Uterine Device (IUD) and the contraceptive skin implants, are the safest and most effective birth control for women in productive age.

IUD is made of plastic tool which wraps a copper wire with a T-shape. The tool helps inhibiting pregnancy by preventing the convergence of sperm and egg cells by stopping the sperm’s journey to the fallopian tubes, or by changing the uterus route so that the mature egg cells cannot be fertilized.

Based on the types, IUD can be used effectively within a period of 5-10 years without replacement. Its shape is small enough that gynecologists can easily insert it to the uterus without any difficult procedure.

Different from IUDs, the small sized contraceptives implant which resembles a matchstick, will work as birth control through insertion under the skin of the arm. It will release a number of ovulation suppressing hormones called progestin for up to three years. As the patient decided to have a baby, the implant can be easily unplugged, so the patient can get pregnant.

Besides of the effectiveness, according to gynecologists the side effects of both IUD and implants are fairly small. The risk of pregnancy of those who use implants is only about 0.05 percent.

The statement released by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists regarding the effectiveness of IUD and implant, replaces the old guidance issued in January 2005, which stated that only women who had given birth and have the risk of STD are advised to use IUD. Nevertheless, many birth control patients that are not categorized in the criteria choose to use IUD and implants.

Each contraception method actually has side effects, including the IUD. Experts from the Mayo Clinic stated that it can cause headache, weight gain, mood swings, as well as pain and more blood during menstrual period. A long term bleeding can also be the cause of anemia in the future.

Other side effects regarding the IUD application are pain during sex intercourse and inflammation inside the vagina. However, such side effects will decrease and even disappear at certain length of time after the birth control is used.

Incoming Women Reproduction Search:

Serotonin and Estrogen Affect Women’s Mood

tulank — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:50:27 +0000

Some people might ask why women easily experience certain mood changing. Sometimes they easily get upset by anything that should not be a major problem at all. According to experts, this has something to do with serotonin.

Serotonin is the hormone which affects happiness, satisfaction, improves sleep quality and reduces one’s appetite. The low level of serotonin is normally associated with depression.

When a brain-scanning performed to both male and female participants of a study, it was found that women’s brain receptors are different from men’s. The receptor cells in men’s brain can respond to the flow of serotonin and nutrients more quickly than women’s brain receptor cells.

Another study conducted by scientists of University of Montreal also found that the numbers of serotonin in men’s brain are 52 percent more than in women’s. The reason to this condition is the differences of sex hormones found in men and women. Estrogen and testosterone have been long known to influence one’s behavior, according to a study reported by the Neuroendocrinology Community.

The level of estrogen is more fluctuating in women. According to Dr Andrei Novac, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University Of California Irvine School Of Medicine, estrogen stimulates receptors in the brain. So when the hormones fluctuate, the sensitivity of serotonin in the brain changes. Therefore, as reported by the Daily Mail, Dr Novac stated that when the estrogen level is low, women shall be unhappy.

Several factors that cause low estrogen are the pre-menstrual condition (PMS), postpartum syndrome, and menopause. Dr Novac also added that the condition is made worse by any events that create stress and trauma.

To tackle this condition, experts suggest consuming fortified cereals as breakfast as well as improving lower stress level and better mental health. According to a study from Cardiff University, cereals can reduce the amount of stress hormone in saliva since they are a rich source of vitamin B which is essential for the cells to release energy.