As a lifelong Tennessean, I know it’s not the most friendly state when it comes to reproductive rights. And if a ballot initiative to curb abortion access passes this fall, it will get even worse. On Nov. 4, voters will be asked to amend the state constitution by adding the following language: Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother. Tennessee’s Republicans have fought for this referendum, known as Amendment 1, since a 2000
Category: women’s health
Smart Sex/Great Sex Series: Sexual Consent
by deb kozak Sexual consent? Sure, we see people talking about sex on everything from movies, to reality tv shows like The Bachelorette or Jersey Shore. While it might seem like sex is everywhere, conversations about consent are not. In fact, we’re more likely to hear about consent in media and in our communities only after a sex act has occurred and there’s some doubt about whether everyone involved wanted it to happen. So what exactly is consent? Quite simply, it is the voluntary, sober, and mutual agreement we make with other people to be sexually active together. That means any time we’re being sexual active with other people – doing things like deep kissing, touching genitals, oral sex, anal sex, or intercourse – every one of
Enjoy Your Summer Without Worrying About Your Weight
by Lindsey Mazur, RD Around this time every year, we are bombarded with advertisements, television spots and magazine articles about the newest summer diet so we focus on our weight, working out, and attaining the ‘ultimate beach bod’. What if we realized that these ads exist to make us unhappy with our bodies, so advertisers can sell us diet products that keep us in a cycle of gaining and losing weight? But what if we were able to feel good about ourselves right now, be comfortable in our own skin, and take care of our bodies without dieting? Here are a few ways we can focus on enjoying our summer without worrying about our weight: 1. Don’t Diet! Did you know that 95{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of people who lose weight
Meditation and Pregnancy
This exercise will bring you and your baby together through the breath of life. ; In this exercise you will be bring guiding your breath through your lungs and circulatory system into that of your baby and then the baby will give you its waste and carbon dioxide to exhale. ; Remember, you are currently one unit functioning as two beings….Read Full Post
What to do when someone you love has an eating disorder
Are you worried that someone you love might be struggling with an eating disorder? Does it seem that they’re always on a diet, or that their commitment to fitness has gone overboard? Perhaps you’ve noticed that large amounts of food are disappearing from the kitchen, or the school has shared that your child isn’t eating his or her lunches anymore. The symptoms and statistics we hear about eating disorders can be scary for anyone to hear. And if you’re a parent or loved one of someone who has an eating disorder, those numbers can chill you to the core. But as frightening as the idea of an eating disorder can be, it’s essential to know that recovery is possible. It can, and does happen, and there are
What Happens When Fetal Rights Trump Women’s Human Rights
I’m breaking my hiatus to point out that this is exactly what it looks like when states value the fetus’s potential for life over the consent, expressed wishes, and bodily autonomy of women. In her husband’s words: Though Mr. Muñoz did not speak at the hearing, he said in court papers that it has been painful to watch his wife deteriorate from the woman he knew to what he described as a corpse being kept alive against his wishes. “Over these past two months, nothing about my wife indicates she is alive,” he said in an affidavit. “When I bend down to kiss her forehead, her usual scent is gone, replaced instead with what I can only describe as the smell of death.
Insomnia: How to Have a Good Night’s Sleep
Most people have hard time going to sleep and staying asleep at some point in their lives. While these periods of sleeplessness can come and go, here are some tips to help when sleep isn’t coming as easily as you’d like. During the Day: Don’t Nap. Try not to nap during the day. Napping may make you feel less tired before bed. Avoid Alcohol. Try to avoid alcohol even if you feel it helps you relax before bed. Alcohol can cause sleep disturbances that you may not be aware of or make you wake up during the night. Exercise Regularly. Regular exercise during the day can help you fall asleep and sleep more soundly. Try to stick to exercising in the morning or early
*waves*
Just poking my head up to say I’m still here, just swamped. Lots of personal things going on, busy at work (new area of responsibility, new title, and several systematic review projects while my usual partner in crime is on maternity leave), and responsibilities as a section program planner and official blogger for my annual professional conference in medical librarianship. Sometime soon I’ll be able to breathe, and will start writing here again. In the meantime, I still have regular posts for Our Bodies Ourselves every week.Filed under: Uncategorized
Just had a baby? You are not alone – here are some tips on how to cope with the change.
By Jennifer Sheridan Westdal Taking care of a baby is hard work, it is important to remember you are not alone. At the Coping with Change sessions currently running at the Birth Centre Monday evenings from 6:00 pm to 7:30pm, we talk about some of the changes that happen once a baby enters your life. These sessions are ongoing and you can start up at any time. In the N.U.R.S.E. session we talk about importance of self care. N.U.R.S.E. is broken down in the following points: N is for Nourishment – Eat regular meals. If you don’t feel hungry, set regular times for snacks and light meals. Make it healthy and easy. Stock up on nutritious, east to prepare foods
Exams Stressing You Out? Tips for Success – Not Stress!
By Aveeve Heyens While stress is a normal part of life, some things, like tests or exams, are more stressful than others! Here is what you can do to get through it! Study Tips Make a study schedule- figure out how much time you really have to study. Start small- if it is overwhelming tell yourself to only study for 10 min and see what happens. Most ppl will keep studying. Ask questions- if you don’t get something ask your teacher or a friend. Find a good study spot- with no distractions, shut off the tv and your phone Take breaks- get up every 50 mins and go for a walk, stretch or move your body. Healthy Tips Get enough sleep- most teens need 8+ hours every night. Watch
Interesting Things in MeSH 2014
This one is for the medlibs and me, some interesting changes in MeSH for 2014: The concept (and term for) TEN has been absorbed into Stevens-Johnson Syndrome – makes some sense given the “spectrum of disease” aspect. Drug Toxicity has been replaced by Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions, which is much more tedious to type from memory. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome has been replaced by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Arachnidism has been changed to the much easier to remember Spider Bites. Tick Bites is new, too. Hearing Impaired Persons has been changed to the more person-first Persons with Hearing Impairments. Delusional Parasitosis has been added, but it’s been kept separate from (though in the same section as) Morgellons Disease. Other selected new terms: