If You Like This Blog...

you'll probably like this one, too:
http://lifeafterbirthcontrol.blogspot.com/

Life After Birth Control chronicles the fascinating journey of Katie and Matt as Katie goes off the Pill, tries FA, becomes pregnant (fairly intentionally, though she misinterpreted her chart), struggles with a very difficult pregnancy, and as they now parent their daughter Eden. It's a very thoughtful blog, and full of detailed information on topics such as symphysis pubis pain (pelvic pain) and Hyperemesis gravidarum (extreme nausea during pregnancy). Katie and Matt are determined to live life as naturally as possible, so you'll also find entries on such things as Elimination Communication and cloth pads. The whole thing has the feel of positivity and practicality, without being sickeningly sweet.

Glutton Baby

The name is definitely problematic - Bebe Gloton translates to "Glutton Baby." But name aside, what do you think of this new nursing doll? The child straps on a pink flowered halter top with flowers where the nipples should be, and when the doll, which has an electronic sensor in its mouth, is connected to a flower, it makes suckling motions and sounds. It's raising quite a ruckus, as you'll see if you do a google search or look on You Tube. There was an interesting essay about it on the Times Motherlode blog. As is often the case with the New York Times, the comments were at least as thought provoking, if not more so, than the original essay. A common thought, with which I agree 100%, is why on earth do we need this? Children (both boys and girls) naturally imitate their mothers by bringing their dolls and stuffed animals to their chests and pretending to nurse them. Imagination good; earth-polluting technological crap bad. But as one reader pointed out, only children who are breastfed and/or who have younger siblings will engage in this type of imitative play as children who are bottle fed won't have the nursing model to imitate. So I can see there being some utility in that instance. But would children who are bottle fed have parents who would buy them a nursing doll? Of course, most of prurient America is just caught up in the scandal of encouraging a child to pretend to use the breasts she will one day have (and I can guess what they think of a boy playing with this toy). These are the same Americans who would not be happy checking their cervical fluid, or hearing you talk about yours. Heck these are the same Americans who are upset when they see a woman nursing in public. Le scandal!

Warning: the sound track on this video may make your cat completely flip out. At least that's the effect it had on mine.

Why Even Doulas Need Doulas

I have a friend and former student who moved to Israel right around the end of her first trimester. She has a blog where she recently posted her birth story.  The title of this post is "Why Even Doulas Need Doulas." Aside from being a gripping story, there are valuable lessons here, as well as questions that no one can answer. Food for thought for anyone pregnant or hoping to be pregnant. (I can't believe she wrote all this, and so cogently, so soon after her birth!)

Male Contraceptive Shot Has Successful First Trial

Efforts to develop a long-term, reversible contraceptive for men have thus far been unsuccessful, but a recently completed study showed sufficiently promising results that further trials will no doubt soon be underway. The trial lasted 2.5 years and involved 1045 men in China. The mechanism by which this  contraceptive works is the same by which hormonal contraception for women works: if you interfere with the feedback loop that regulates the production of gametes (eggs and sperm), you can turn it off. In other words, you supply a form of the hormone that the body normally makes itself, and the body stops making it, and reproductive function stops. In this case, the men were given monthly administrations of a form of testosterone, which suppressed sperm production. Side effects were minimal, and sperm production returned to normal within 6 months of stopping the drug in all but 2 cases. But don't look for this to appear at your doctor's office any time soon. I found a nearly identical study conducted in 1996 that was also very successful.

Funny, one article describing the recent study said this:
"Previous attempts to develop an effective and convenient male contraceptive have encountered problems over reliability and side effects, such as mood swings and a lowered sex drive. "
Um, I'm sorry, but haven't women using hormonal contraception been putting up with those side effects, not to mention at least 2 dozen others, for, like, 40 years?

Couple of Questions about Cycle Health

I answered a couple of questions from a student today, and it occurred to me that the answers might be of interest to other people, so I decided to post them. Note: I don't take random questions! I would love to work with you if you want to learn more about your cycles, but you do need to make an appointment with me. For more info on private consults & classroom instruction, please visit my website. 

On to the questions:

(Q1) The first day of my period is always REALLY painful. I always get it around dawn, and the cramps and nausea force me to stay in bed until at least noon. Should I see someone about this? 

(A1)  It doesn't sound as though you have anything seriously wrong. One day of bad cramps is not at all unusual, and I don't think you *need* to see anyone unless you want some treatment. If so, as always, you have two options: the Western approach, and the non-Western approach. The Western approach would basically be drugs (over the counter pain-killers etc). And I'm not against them. Especially for women who don't have insurance, and/or who can't afford non-Western care (which is usually not covered), painkillers can be a cheap and effective solution. You have to make sure you don't take them on an empty stomach and follow label directions carefully. Some need to be taken with food and/or water, some require you to not lie down for 30 minutes afterwards, never exceed the maximum dosage, etc. Heat is also very helpful, applied directly to your belly in the form of a heating pad or hot water bottle. Now in terms of non-Western treatments, there are many options. Acupuncture and/or herbs would be a good place to start. You might also look at the nutritional recommendations in Marilyn Shannon's book, Fertility Cycles and Nutrition. The nausea might be from the pain or it might be from something else. Ginger can be helpful with nausea, and can relieve cramps, too. You can brew up strong ginger "tea" from fresh ginger (or Alvita teabags) when you know your period is coming, and keep it in the fridge so you don't have to make it that morning. Lastly, while I think it's important to try to relieve pain and discomfort, Katie Singer emphasizes that we don't give ourselves a lot of room to have our periods these days. If you're feeling guilty or dysfunctional because you're staying in bed with cramps, try to let go of that. Use the time to read a lightweight book, focus on your breathing, and in general give yourself permission to have a little downtime. Stress makes cramps worse. 

(Q2) Between milk and soymilk, which one is better for your cycle?

(A2) I'm not a big fan of either cow or soymilk, for environmental, nutritional, and animal-rights reasons. If you're going to drink cow milk, make sure it's grass fed, organic milk from pastured cows. Don't drink commercial cow milk. If you're going to drink soymilk, I wouldn't drink a lot of it, as there is some evidence that large quantities of processed soy products might impact human fertility. (On the other hand, there is also evidence that soy foods are good for the heart, protect against cancer, etc.) But soy is kind of an environmental disaster, and I don't think the types & amounts of soy we eat are natural or good for us. There are lots of other milks available now. You can find milk made from almonds, hazelnuts, oats, and hemp. Read the labels and beware of sugar - some of them are loaded with it. Personally I'm a huge fan of Blue Diamond plain, unsweetened Almond Breeze. 

Why Doesn't My Doctor Know Anything About Fertility Awareness?

Hmmm. Could it be because medical schools are absolutely riddled with influence (and money) from pharmaceutical companies? It's not exactly news, but the scope of it is really depressing. This extends way beyond what contraceptive choices your doctor makes available to you.

Harvard Medical School considers influence of drug companies

Eggs Are Precious, Sperm Are Cheap

That wonderful line is from Isabella Rossellin's fantabulous video series, Green Porno . Ok, it's only peripherally related to human Fertility Awareness, but it's sufficiently awesome that I had to post it. It's a series (actually 2 series) of very short, beautifully costumed & wittily scripted videos, each of which describes the reproductive process of a different living being. There is a mind-boggling array of reproductive processes out there - stuff you couldn't  have made up if you tried. Season 1 looks at the mating habits of small critters such as snails, worms, spiders, and bees, while season 2 elucidates the sex lives of marine animals. Appropriate for kids & adults alike, they're even suitable for watching at work! (Though you may want to skip "Why Vagina" until you get home.) Take one minute and learn how limpets do it.