#women's health today

[corantus]

lesbian beauty & the beast 👑💔

[welcome-to-green-hills]

To all of the lovelies that are concerned about having access to contraceptives in the USA, please know that Plan B has a shelf life of a few years when stored properly (Plan B Fact Sheet, 2024). The same can be said for Julie Plan B.

These are not abortion pills. These morning-after pills delay the ovulation process, which means the menstrual cycle starts quicker and prevents the fertilization of the egg. Take when needed and store safely. All of these can be bought online and/or Target and CVS.

[eclipsewilliam]

Endometriosis is a chronic condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of it, causing symptoms like pelvic pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, pain during sex, and infertility. Treatment for endometriosis depends on the severity of the symptoms, your overall health, and whether you want to have children in the future. Here are the main approaches that can help manage endometriosis:

1. Pain Management

• NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs): Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or naproxen can help reduce pain and inflammation associated with endometriosis.

• Prescription Pain Medications: For more severe pain, doctors might prescribe stronger painkillers or opioids for short-term use.

• Heat Therapy: Applying a heating pad or warm compress to the abdomen can help relieve pain and muscle spasms.

• TENS Therapy: A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit, which delivers electrical impulses to the skin, can sometimes help with pain relief.

2. Hormonal Treatments

Hormonal therapies are often used to reduce or eliminate menstruation, as periods can worsen endometriosis symptoms.

• Birth Control Pills: Combined oral contraceptives (the pill) can help regulate periods and reduce pain by suppressing ovulation.

• Progestin-only Treatments: Progestin injections, implants, or intrauterine devices (IUDs) can help control the growth of endometrial tissue.

• GnRH Agonists: These drugs, such as Lupron or Zoladex, work by shutting down ovarian hormone production and inducing a temporary menopausal state, which can help shrink endometrial tissue and reduce pain. However, they often have significant side effects, including hot flashes and bone thinning.

• Danazol: This synthetic male hormone can reduce estrogen levels and shrink endometrial tissue, but it has side effects like acne and weight gain.

• Aromatase Inhibitors: These medications decrease estrogen production and can be used in combination with other treatments.

3. Surgical Treatment

Surgery can be considered for women with severe symptoms or if other treatments haven’t worked.

• Laparoscopy: This minimally invasive procedure allows the surgeon to remove or destroy endometrial tissue. It’s commonly used to treat endometriosis when other treatments aren’t effective.

• Hysterectomy: In cases where endometriosis is severe and other treatments have not worked, a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) may be considered, sometimes with removal of ovaries. However, this is typically only recommended for women who no longer wish to have children.

• Excision or Ablation: Surgeons may remove endometriotic lesions or use laser or heat to destroy the tissue.

4. Lifestyle and Complementary Therapies

• Diet: Some studies suggest that a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods (such as omega-3 fatty acids from fish or flaxseeds, and antioxidants from fruits and vegetables) may help alleviate some symptoms. Reducing intake of red meat, trans fats, and processed foods may also be beneficial.

• Exercise: Regular physical activity can improve overall well-being, reduce inflammation, and potentially help manage pain.

• Acupuncture: Some women report pain relief and improved symptoms with acupuncture, although more research is needed to fully support its effectiveness.

• Stress Reduction: Practices like yoga, mindfulness, or meditation can help manage stress and may contribute to pain relief.

• Supplements: Some people find that omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, curcumin (from turmeric), and magnesium help reduce pain and inflammation, though it’s important to talk to a healthcare provider before starting any supplements.

5. Fertility Treatments

If endometriosis is affecting fertility, treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) may be recommended. Fertility-preserving options like egg freezing may also be considered for women who want to preserve their fertility before pursuing aggressive treatments.

6. Alternative Therapies

• Herbal Remedies: Some women explore herbal treatments like chamomile, ginger, or vitex (chaste tree), which are believed to help with menstrual regulation and pain. However, their efficacy is not well-established, and some herbs can interact with other medications.

• CBD Oil: Some women report relief from pain with CBD oil, though more research is needed.

7. Support and Counseling

• Support Groups: Connecting with others who have endometriosis can provide emotional support and practical advice on managing symptoms.

• Counseling or Therapy: Chronic pain conditions like endometriosis can lead to mental health struggles, such as anxiety or depression. Therapy or counseling can help you cope with the emotional impact of the condition.

Managing Endometriosis in Daily Life

• Track Your Symptoms: Keeping a symptom diary can help you and your doctor understand your condition better and tailor treatments accordingly.

• Work-Life Balance: It can be challenging to manage work, school, or social activities when you’re in pain. Finding accommodations at work or school and giving yourself permission to rest is essential for managing the condition.

• Educate Yourself: Knowledge is empowering. Understanding your condition and the available treatment options can help you make informed decisions about your health.

Consultation with a Healthcare Provider

Since endometriosis varies widely in its severity and impact on different individuals, it’s important to work closely with a healthcare provider to find the most appropriate treatment for your specific case. In some instances, a specialist in gynecology or reproductive health may be necessary for optimal care.

[balkanradfem]

I experienced the biggest shift in my feminist consciousness when I stopped seeing women as the 'other' and start seeing us as 'we'. I realized it's not about how the world sees us or how my personality is different or whatever I couldn't relate to in other women; it's what's threatening and disadvantaging all of us. It's we, the women, who are fighting a common enemy and this threat surpasses any differences that we might have between us, it surpasses all my personal squabbles and disagreements, because this is bigger than that.

What happened to women historically are not distant and 'unfortunate' events that have nothing to do with me, they have everything to do with why my life is the way it is right now. M*n burned women, and because of this now we, the women, don't have reasonable or effective healthcare anymore. They didn't burn them in a craze or hysteria, they burned them for studying female illnesses and developing medicine, for keeping women healthy and sane, for benefiting us as a group. It's the reason why I suffer from menstrual pain today and the reason why there's not a ready cure, reason why me and others were not educated on our genitals or our sex-specific illnesses, it's why our health problems are not, and won't be taken seriously.

M*n also burned women for owning land, and during the history, did everything they possibly could to stop women from inheriting, owning and managing land. And it's the reason why I will not be considered to inherit my fathers land, why most of women will not gain land just by having family ties, while males absolutely will, they'll be the first choice to inherit both land and property. It's the reason I will have to fight for the most of my life to acquire a piece of land and not only it will be difficult, but most people will believe that I shouldn't own any. Because they've managed to create a standard where women historically rarely had land, and made this into our normal. They did it to give land to themselves.

The fact that women were barred from colleges and high education in the past is not unrelated to me and my situation today. It's the reason my female ancestors were subjected to poverty and servitude, with no way to free themselves – and by extension, the reason I am still in poverty today. If my female ancestors were from the start, well educated, owning both land and freely managing their health issues, I would inherit not only their knowledge, skills and property, but also the financial security that comes with it. My female ancestors would be able to invest in their children's future, to make sure their female descendants don't have to suffer and fight for food, or a piece of land to exist on. Instead, what they were forced to do was serve a m*n and hope that he would be kind to their children and maybe secure them some more financial safety than they had  - and he didn't. Because m*n save those things for their own class.

The fact that women were banned from their own last names and lineage cuts me off from my history and my heritage. I don't get to draw my female-centered family tree or know what my female ancestors lived through and how they got me here, and if they even did it purposely, or were forced into childbirth without ever having a choice. I don't get to be proud of their achievements, inherit their wisdom or read their life stories. Instead I had to hear about male war escapades and be disgusted that the male lineage was filled with violent offenders.

The fact that women were historically enslaved or trapped in various types of servitude, despite how it was being called, has huge impact on my life today. It's the reason why, from the very start of life, I've been taught that I would be better fit for a role of servitude. That my place is in the kitchen, keeping home, feeding others, cleaning and doing menial tasks that would never be rewarded or paid for. It's why even my reproductive rights have been represented to me as my 'duty to the humankind'. None of that would be happening if women throughout history weren't in a servant/slave class. But, this wasn't only ever true for women, was it?

M*n during history were enslaved too, and yet all m*n are not taught from birth that they would be much very well fitted for a servant role, and to act as a resource for others. They're not told that their only value is to keep house, serve in the kitchen and clean house for others. To sacrifice their reproductive rights for someone else's purposes. That's because our age of servitude never ended. They're still at it, teaching every woman what she is before she even knows there's possibly a choice of freedom. Where they can't enforce us legally, they do it by grooming, by tradition, by violence in our home. We have not been freed from servitude until no female child is ever told that she needs to be a resource, to pick up and clean and cook and please everyone around her. We are still being trapped into belief that we have no choice, that our servitude is normal, expected, and nothing to fight against because they made it a tradition. We still have our female children in servitude before they even understand that what is asked of them is a part of a historical oppression.

Whatever was done to women and girls throughout history affects every bit of my life right now, and what my life would be without it is almost unimaginable for a woman who never experienced living outside of an oppressed class. Our history is not only scarred but then cut away from us, we're being convinced that anything from the past is 'long forgotten' and 'no longer relevant since we can now vote', but it's only done to isolate us from the female class consciousness, to convince us that our life right now, is the best we could ever hope for, and there was never any way for it to be better, for us to have any more power than we do. While they give power to themselves.

We had the right to freedom, healthcare, knowledge, education, land and inheritance, for the entire history. All of it has been cut away and taken from all of us, resulting in us never being able to accumulate any security or safety for our own, not even enough to keep us out of life of poverty and servitude, not even enough to ensure that our children will be safe. And on top of that, we've been 'othered' and isolated from each other, so we cannot even work together on acknowledging what's been taken and how to reach safety. We're turned to self blame, and self loathing for our low status in the population, as if it's personally each of our faults that we couldn't overthrow the oppression or thrive in a hostile society.

Women are not the 'other'. M*n are. We the women are robbed of our property, inheritance, resources and right by m*n, systematically and consistently. It's affecting each and every one of our lives. It's why we can't care for our children, why we get turned away from our doctors, why each of us has to heal their own organs, why our mothers and grandmothers can only give us horror stories of survival and tell us we should make peace with a life of servitude, for they've never seen a woman survive any other way. It's why we had and still have to rely on m*n for housing and survival, even though there would be absolutely no need for this had they not robbed us of our half of the land. It's why developing class consciousness is necessary, we cannot recognize or fight this while we're othered from each other.

[lylahammar]

Tumblr is the last social media I’ve been holding on to and I might genuinely come on here much less after this election because this website is so sickeningly white and it SHOWS

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

questioning sexuality is so exhausting

[hiandwelcome]

Me :)

[sylvanas-girlkisser]

Anyone remember how in Mass Effect 2 it's revealed that Miranda hooks up with random men from dating apps, with the explicit purpose of getting pregnant and never seeing them again?

The Doylist explanation for this is obviously that this is Mass Effect and the writers either didn't know, or didn't think about artificial insermination. Like Miri babe, you can entirely skip paying for tinder gold and just use your exorbitant salary as an unethical scientist/assassin working for the proud boys, to have a licensed professional get you pregnant in the sort of strictly business relationship you're looking for.

However, for a Watsonian explanation, I think it's much more funny to imagine Miranda just has a huge breeding kink she refuses to acknowledge as such; and the reason you never see her drink is because she knows she will start rambling about how every woman secretly desires to spend her whole life pregnant and make everyone uncomfortable.

[tabney2023]

Self-Care Affirmations. Post it Forward. Thanks for Tipping!

[napping-sapphic]

I’m not cut out for even slightly more intense health issues than my usual stuff yall so here’s my will for when i die of feel too bad disorder: i’d like to dedicate my few life achievements to all the sapphics out there and also they can have all my stuff i guess

[thepro-lifemovement]

hi- the WallStreet Journal recently published an article about the approval of over-the-counter birth control pills, and the author made the following claim: "Nearly half of U.S. preg­nan­cies are un­in­tended, ac­cord­ing to the Guttmacher In­sti­tute, a group that sup­ports abor­tion rights and tracks re­lated sta­tistics. Women who have un­in­tended preg­nan­cies are more likely to lose their baby and de­lay needed care. Their ba­bies are also at higher risk for health prob­lems." (empahsis added). The article links to the claims in the first half, but has no support at all for the claims in the second half. I'm attempting to find studies to support or refute these claims, but not seeing much- have you seen anything on this topic?

Hello! Sorry for the delay on answering this ask. I haven't heard about that claim, but when I looked it up, it makes sense. I found the CDC talking about it, "Unintended pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of problems for the mom and baby. If the mom was not planning to get pregnant, she may have unhealthy behaviors or delay getting health care during the pregnancy, which could affect the health of the baby."

This report is outdated from 2006, but it discusses what the CDC is referencing.

In addition to having chronic diseases, a substantial proportion of women who become pregnant engage in high-risk behaviors and contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes. In 2003, a total of 11% of pregnant women smoked during pregnancy, a risk factor for low birthweight (10), and 10% of pregnant women and 55% of women at risk for getting pregnant (i.e., those not using contraception or using ineffective contraceptive methods or using effective contraceptive methods inconsistently) consumed alcohol, a risk for fetal alcohol syndrome (45). Certain women also continued to engage in high-risk sexual behavior, potentially exposing themselves to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV (46). Although a smaller proportion of women used illicit drugs, this high-risk behavior has been associated with adverse outcomes. These behaviors often co-occur, therefore, compounding the risk for adverse outcomes for certain groups.

They claim that women who plan their pregnancies have better preconception help than those who don't intend on getting pregnant. So that could be the reason why women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to lose their baby or their baby is more high risk for health problems.

More info I could find on this issue: http://www.nchealthystart.org/aboutus/incite/incite_may_09.htm

I also found a report from the US government discussing the health risks between intended pregnancies and unintended pregnancies:

A number of investigators have studied whether children born as a result of unintended pregnancies (both mistimed and unwanted) are at greater risk of various poor outcomes, such as low birthweight, than are children born as a result of intended pregnancies.

Women who have mistimed or unwanted conceptions tend to initiate prenatal care later in pregnancy and to receive less adequate care than women who have intended the pregnancy. When compared with women who planned to conceive, women with an unwanted  pregnancy are 1.8 to 2.9 times more likely to begin care after the first trimester.

There's a lot the report discusses, but just a warning: it's really outdated. It's from a book published in 1995. We are in need of current research being done on the topics of pregnancy and abortion. From what I have gathered from these studies is women capable of childbearing need to take their health seriously and take care of themselves. Don't do drugs and don't drink excessively. Preconception health care is important and we should be taking more folic acid.

I hope this answers your question. Sorry I am so late to respond. Life has been hectic for me. But let me know if you have any further questions!

-Sarah

[moneypuzzleexchanger]

Saw a trans woman today picking up ophthalmic antibiotics, her whole face was puffed up and she was delirious holding her head in her hands from pain, look at what they’re doing to our people, look at what bacteria is doing to our people

[tomorrowusa]

Are you in Ohio? Are you outside Ohio but know a voter there? Today is Election Day for Part One of a two stage process to determine whether Ohio will protect Reproductive Freedom.

tl;dr – Vote No on today's August ballot measure and vote yes on the November measure: August NO — November YES.

There is a lot of interest in this election. If Ohio voters reverse the gerrymandered GOP legislature's decision to ban almost all abortions, Ohio will become the largest state to do so since the regressive Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling by SCOTUS last year.

You can usually tell how much interest there is in an election by the amount of early voting. Early voting has been brisk in Ohio.

Almost 700,000 Ohioans cast ballots in the early voting period leading up to the Aug. 8 special election on the constitutional amendment to make it harder to pass future amendments. More than 118,000 Ohioans have voted early, either by mail or in person, during the last three days of early voting alone on Issue 1. Early absentee ballots began to be sent out on June 23, and the first ballots were returned five days later. Since then, 696,905 Ohioans have voted early by mail or in person at county early voting centers. That’s already more than the 638,708 Ohioans who voted in the legislative primary last August. And it's more than twice the around 289,000 Ohioans who voted early in the primaries in May 2022, in which seven Republicans and three Democrats were running for their parties' nominations for US Senate and both parties also had contested primaries for governor.

If you've received a mail-in ballot but neglected to mail it, you can still deliver it TODAY in person to your election board.

There are about 68,000 ballots that have been mailed to voters that haven't been returned. If they are, they'll be added into the early vote totals. Anyone who has voted their ballot and hasn't mailed it by now should hand deliver it to their local board of elections. They can be deposited into secure drop boxes at those locations. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7:30 p.m.

State elections, state legislatures, and state constitutions have been neglected far too long by liberals.

[worthyking]

accidentally read too far in my little women reread and now oh im miserable

[harrowscore]

i hate men

[womenfit2]

cool women body💥