Her Daily News

Is “I do” always followed by “happily ever after”? Not necessarily, and a new study has found that women in unhappy marriages are at an elevated risk for an assortment of health problems, including high blood pressure and high blood sugar. In CNN’s report on the University of Utah study, it is reported that while men and women in unhappy marriages were found to exhibit signs of depression, only women showed these physical side effects.

The study subjects were 276 couples, ranging in age from 32 to 76. Researchers determined the level of happiness in each marriage by examining levels of conflict and hostility, and each person’s self-report on marital satisfaction (more women reported being unsatisfied than men). This variable was then set against the health of the subjects - indicators of physical and mental health were recorded. According to Nacy Henry of the University of Utah, men were affected mentally by marital strife - she tells CNN, “For husbands, we didn’t see, on its own, that negative marital stuff was related at all to metabolic syndrome. The only thing it was related to was their depressive symptoms.” However, women experienced these symptoms and more - they were more likely to experience metabolic issues and cardiovascular problems in correlation with levels of conflict. It is suggested that women take marital issues to heart, quite literally, because more of their self-image is wrapped up in their relationship, increasing stress levels.

However, the study does not suggest that divorce would reverse these symptoms. Divorce comes with its own set of stressors, and other lifestyle factors need to be taken into account. This study simply brings attention to the role that social factors play in a patient’s physical health - doctors need to treat the whole person, head included.

Safety in our institutions of higher learning has become a hot-button topic lately - too often, the academia is disrupted by tragedy, as the headlines have reflected. This week, according to Mercury News, women at UC Berkeley stood up against a spree of sexual violence on their campus - and the “blame the victim” attitude that many have taken in light of it.

Since October, a sexual predator has attacked 19 women near the UC Berkeley campus, and it appears that women in skirts have been most heavily targeted. For that reason, an email has circulated among students telling women not to wear skirts so as to avoid becoming a target. However, many women on campus have taken offense, stating that attire is no excuse for sexual assault. For that reason, protesters wore skirts as they stood in solidarity to increase awareness about the recent attacks and to call for action to prevent future ones.

During the rally on the university’s Sproul Plaza, speakers argued against the perception that the victims are to blame for their attacks. Dennie Bates, an organizer of the rally, told the crowd, “My skirt is not a legal reason for raping me.” Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that this man has not been caught yet - and many worry that the violence could get worse. The victim of one attack was present at the rally, and she expressed her wish for justice, telling others in attendance, “I hope this man gets caught and this doesn’t happen anymore.” Details on the perpetrator can be found in the original article.

For the past month, it seems like everyone has been talking about Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to octuplets. She has been the subject of many discussions, ranging from medical ethics to political policy, and her physical resemblance to Angelina Jolie has been fodder for many a wiseacre. So perhaps it was inevitable that eventually Dr. Phil, that noted dispenser of wisdom, would eventually weigh in. And did he ever!

According to a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Phil McGraw spoke with Ms. Suleman, who disclosed her fears for the future of her family. It is well-known that Ms. Suleman, a single mom, relies on government assistance, including food stamps and disability payments, and she revealed that hospital officials expressed concerns about her ability to care for the octuplets, along with her six other children. She now fears that her babies will not be released to her once they are developmentally ready - indeed, Child Protective Services has the authority to place a protective hold on the children if they believe Ms. Suleman to be unfit. They could even be placed in temporary foster care.

So what does Dr. Phil have to say? While he echoes the hospital’s concerns, citing her lack of money, space, and resources, he does not believe that putting the children in foster care is an attractive alternative, as it disrupts the family unit. He told the Times, “You can’t turn your back on the mother without turning your back on 14 innocent children. They didn’t ask for this.”

Pregnancy is a wonderful time in a woman’s life, but it can also be one of the most complicated, health-wise - during pregnancy, women are at risk for conditions such as hypertension and gestational diabetes. It has been well-documented that obesity during pregnancy increases a woman’s risk for those conditions, and recent findings indicate that it is a risk factor for the fetus as well. According to a British study reported in the Los Angeles Times, the children of obese mothers are at an elevated risk of birth defects.

3% of all infants have birth defects, but the study, conducted at Newcastle University, reveals that the rate is 4% among the children of obese mothers. These birth defects include, but are not limited to, heart defects, cleft palate, limb reduction defects, anorectal atresia, and spina bifida. Many of these birth defects are potentially fatal - one-fifth of infant deaths are the result of birth defects. In the infants who survive these defects, quality of life is often compromised, as birth defects can result in disability and a lifelong need for medical intervention. The cause of the increased risk was not determined, but it is speculated that nutritional factors play a part. Nutrition during pregnancy is critical for proper fetal development, according to the Mayo Clinic’s article on prenatal nutrition. In particular, folic acid is noted for its properties in reducing the likelihood of certain birth defects in the spine and brain. A woman who monitors her weight during pregnancy may be more likely to give special attention to proper nutrition as well.

This morning brings tragic news: Mariana Bridi da Costa, a Brazilian model who had been fighting a severe infection, has died at the tender age of 20, according to CNN.

Ms. Da Costa, who had been a finalist on the Miss World pageant circuit, was a healthy, active young woman just one month ago - she showed no sign of illness until December 30, when upon her arrival at the hospital, she was diagnosed with a kidney stone and sent home.

Her boyfriend Thiago Simoes tells Britain’s Daily Mail that her condition worsened two days later - she returned to the hospital, where it was determined that she had a severe infection. As the antibiotic-resistant bacterial strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa spread through her system, her blood flow was severely compromised, and doctors eventually amputated her hands and feet in an effort to stop the infection’s spread. She also underwent surgery to remove her kidneys and part of her stomach, and eventually went into organ failure as a result of her illness. She passed away at 3 a.m. today.

Da Costa’s loved ones have told the media that she was a rising star with a warm heart. Simoes told CNN that she expressed hope, even in the throes of her illness: “She told me she was praying to stay alive, that she still had a lot to do on this earth, that she wanted to go on with her plans.” He says that she had been well on her way to becoming a star, having signed with renowned modeling agent Dilson Stein. On his blog, da Costa’s friend Renato Lindgren expressed gratitude for the solidarity shown by supporters all over the world: “On behalf of all the family, we are grateful for the support and the affection that the entire world has sent to us.”

Considered to be a silent killer among cancers, ovarian cancer is one of the hardest cancers to diagnose. The symptoms are vague - things like abdominal pain and fatigue can be attributed to any number of less severe conditions, so ovarian cancer is often not caught until it is very advanced. With knowledge of risk factors, however, women and their doctors can be more vigilant in early detection, and with that, new findings have brought to light one risk factor in particular.

A new study at the U.S. National Cancer Institute has found that there is a relationship between obesity and ovarian cancer risk, according to a story on Yahoo! News. While obesity was previously thought to be an insignificant risk factor, new findings do find a correlation between weight and ovarian cancer occurrence. Researchers followed women between the ages of 50 and 71 over a period of 7 years and found that those who were obese were more likely to develop ovarian cancer. These results, however, were mitigated by the presence of another risk factor - hormone replacement therapy. Those who took hormone replacement therapy for menopause were not found to have a significant difference in occurrence based on weight. However, it was not just weight at the time of occurrence that was shown to have an effect - women who had been obese at the age of 18 were also shown to have an elevated risk, regardless of any changes in weight later in life.

While the reasons for this finding were not determined, it is speculated that the effects of weight on a woman’s estrogen levels play a part, although further research would be necessary to determine whether this is, in fact, the case.

On my summer vacation, I . . . went under the knife? Believe it or not, it’s happening. Elective plastic surgery has long been considered the domain of adults with considerable discretionary income, but today, the New York Times reports that an increasing number of teens have opted for cosmetic procedures, often with financial support from their parents. Despite the recent economic downturn, adolescents are going under the knife at a record rate, citing self-esteem and “fitting in” as factors. However, are these young patients getting the desired result - and is it healthy?

Traditionally, the youngest plastic surgery patients tended to be those undergoing reconstructive procedures - for a long time, plastic surgery in children and adolescents was a corrective measure for those suffering from trauma or congenital deformity. However, the recent trend indicates an ever-escalating pursuit of perfection, as teens undergo procedures such as rhinoplasty and liposuction with the intention of looking “normal” - or rather, a heightened version of normal.

The very idea that fitting in as a teen includes the pursuit of a specific physical ideal doesn’t sit well with me. Teenagers are still growing and changing, and while most surgeons take this into account when evaluating a prospective patient, many of these teens seek instant gratification when often, all they need to do is wait for that bigger bustline to develop. Above all, though, I do wonder about the actual social aftereffects of the procedures that the patients have undergone simply to fit in. Is it the perceived flaw that gets the child teased, or is it teen social structure at work? Will conforming to the perceived expectation actually change the patient’s social reality?

My own experience inclines me to believe that simply changing the feature in question is not enough to create instant social acceptance - and if it was, I would question the quality of the social connections forged based on that. However, with proper support and follow-up, a long-term effect of surgery may be an increase in self-esteem. It is important for us to realize that the scalpel is not a magic wand - while plastic surgery can be a catalyst for increased confidence, the most important work takes place within.

Birth control becomes a campaign issue - an article by Cristina Page

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the original intent was to “connect battered women’s advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children.” It was first observed in 1987, also that year, the first nation toll-free hotline was instated. Legislation was passed in 1989.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence was created in 1978 when over one hundred advocates for women came together in Washington, DC to attend the Commission on Civil Rights’ hearing on battered women. The NCADV is celebrating 30-years of existence. This is a great accomplishment for women the world over. In 1970 there were no shelters for abused women. Today more than 2,000 shelters exist as part of a national movement to give women and their children a safe environment free from the threat of violence.

If you are interested in organizing for community awareness about Domestic Violence, visit this site here.

If you are in need of help from Domestic Violence, call this number NOW . The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

We credit the information age with allowing us faster communication, rather, instant communication. Email, text messages, twitter, blogs, Blackberries and cellphones with cameras, video baby-monitors and TiVo; we can see our sleeping children in the other room while pausing live television so that we can send a message via Twitter that we have updated our blog with a photo taken with the camera on a cellphone. There is nothing that cannot be communicated around the world in a matter of minutes, er, seconds.

But what if that email contained some information that you would rather hear in person and possibly over muffin laced with a serious apology. inSpot.org, launched in 2004 is a website that allows users to notify partners anonymously that they need to be tested for the STD HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphilis.

I think it is great that there exists a way to notify past partners that they could have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease, however, this is a little, oh, odd? The benefits of someone getting tested and therefore early treatment outweigh the inhumane and potentially insensitivity of this notification method.

The site reported to CNN that over 50,000 cards have been sent since their launch and while the potential of misuse was a concern they have actually had very few complaints, specifically less than 10 cards that were received in error. Started in San Francisco this site has spread to New York, Chicago, Canada and Romania.

The website inSpot also provides information about where to go for testing and treatment. It also provides great and accurate information about treatable and curable STDs.

inSpot’s RESOURCE link is also quite well stocked.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer is the most common cancer affecting women today in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 182,460 women in the United States will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2008. About 40,480 women will die from the disease this year. In the United States alone there are two and a half million survivors.

The best methods of breast cancer detection and ergo, eradication is a trifecta of behavioral practices: mammograms, an x-ray of the breast, for screening, clinical exams performed by your health care provider and monthly breast self-examination, BSE. Women over the age of 40 should have yearly mammograms. Women in their 20s and 30s should have regular yearly exams with a physician and it is advised that BSE begin in the 20s. Early detection is the key to survival. It saves lives. Breast cancer survival rates are the highest when detection occurs before symptoms begin.

The American Cancer Society also lists the follow as symptoms. If you experience any of these, see your health care provider immediately.

• swelling of all or part of the breast
• skin irritation or dimpling
• breast pain
• nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
• redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
• a nipple discharge other than breast milk
• a lump in the underarm area

Survivors improve physically with exercise
On a more positive note, breast cancer survivors often are left with a limited range of motion in their arms and upper body after surgeries and treatments. CNN recently reported that paddling these ancient Chinese boats is great therapy and exercise for breast cancer survivors. It increases the range of motion, improves strength and minimizes swelling in the upper body.

SOURCE: CNN

Postpartum Support International, (PSI) was founded in 1987 to “eliminate denial and ignorance of emotional health related to childbirth.  I’ve written about this topic before but after reading about another mom and blogger who is a little bit overwhelmed right now I feel this is a good opportunity to once again talk about this unfortunately taboo-topic.

Childbirth can be physically stressful.  It IS emotionally stressful, in most cases it is a good stress, a new and positive life change, but it can take time to adjust to a good change.  I really like the mission of PSI: “eliminate the ignorance” of postpartum depression.  Too often women are struggling, silently and even those closest to them do not know or don’t recognize the behaviors and symptoms.

I don’t like the name POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION. The implications are incorrect.  Sometimes the manifestation is in the form of anxiety.  Depression doesn’t always mean you mope around in dark cloud of sadness.  Some women do.  Many other sufferers are actually well functioning mothers and wives.  They wake up each day and smile at their baby, clean the house, shop for groceries, make dinner for their husband and even find some time to post to their blogs.  However, in silence, in their minds they are often riddled with anxiety, worry, and self-criticism, irritability and inadequacy haunt their minds.  Most women don’t even get close to hurting their children.

PSI has a great website for any new mother or mother-to-be.  The resources are up to date and easy to read.  If you suspect you or someone close to you is affected, please reach out and talk to them, show them this posting or this or this.

Canadian blogger and mother, Catherine Connors of Her Bad Mother, was asked to cover-up recently on a WestJet flight from Vancouver to Toronto as she breastfed her four month old son. Connors, not one to take things lying down and also outraged at the treatment of a nursing mother, blogged about it here, and then talked about it here on the CBC news. (skip to minute 16)

We need more women championing for those of us who nurse our children. While I’m not personally a fan of letting my tube-sock boobs flap freely in the breeze, nor would I encourage anyone to do that, the point I make is that it is natural and NORMAL to breastfeed a baby. Most women at least attempt to cover up and are vaguely discreet while simultaneously wrangling a loose boob and a baby.

Sorry guys, but the actual purpose of these boulders is for nursing, not your own entertainment. We’ve gotten far too lackadaisical by giving babies bottles, so much so that we balk and gasp at a nursing mother in public as if that is wrong. What if we chastised women for giving bottles of formula?? I don’t think that will ever happen. If the mother of a three month old wants to go a park or the mall or fly on an airplane she shouldn’t feel any more ashamed to open her blouse than another mom feels to shake-up a bottle of formula.

There are other breastfeeding bloggers out there who keep up posted about their situations and encounters with un-breast-friendly folks. And another one can be found here.

For a complete list of breastfeeding laws in your state, click here.

It doesn’t hurt to know this either. Child’s Right to Nurse Act.

The reason I don’t particularly like politics, (same goes for religion) is that it has a tendency to be rather DIVISIVE.

There is a blog I have read on and off for years and just today she wrote about Joy Bahar’s comments last night on Larry King Live. I was excited to read her comments but my excitment was short-lived when I saw that she had the exact opposite reaction that I did. I was all, “Oh! So you LIKE her!” and then I closed the window and wondered how I would ever relate to her again. I don’t need to have all like-minded friends, quite the opposite, I just want people to wise-up and realize that I am right. that not everyone is as they seem and perhaps they should inform themselves as voters, not just vote by party or by appearance.

Joy mentioned in a rather off-color way that perhaps Sarah Palin brought a certain sex-appeal to the Presidential election. Okay. Let’s take a step back and look at that. Sex-appeal + Presidential Election? Hum.

Marketing and media attention have taken a very unfortunate front seat in recent elections and it diverts out attention from the actual issues and actual debates of whether or not a candidate is qualified to really deliver and lead in office.

Back to my original point of Palin’s sex-appeal: Of course there’s sex appeal! Look back a mere two decades, Ronald Reagan? George Bush? Bill Clinton? George Bush again? Al Gore? None of those men are any more attractive than the other. Going bald. Going Grey. Physicalities just are not an issue for those men. But BAM! Throw a woman into the mix and suddenly appearance matters or at least, it get noticed. I think as a nation, as a species, we perceive men and women differently and we are much more apt to judge a woman and make comments about her appearance than we are a man. Right or wrong that is human nature.

But! We must move on. FAST. It doesn’t matter what side you are on or how you have voted in the past. While we are busy talking about Palin’s sexy-librarian-style we aren’t discussing how to end the war in Iraq and bring a lot of young men home. While we are discussing her decision to birth a baby with Down’s Syndrome we aren’t talking about how to provide affordable health care for Americans, equal and high quality education for children born in inner-cities, revamping the Social Security system so that it will be there for our children.

We are a nation saturated with media-sensations. It’s time to grow up and stop looking at the book’s cover and actually read the book.

More from Larry King last night:

For more reader opinions about Joy Bahar visit Watching The View.

The Center for Women’s Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital has a fabulous website. I have been a fan of it for years checking every few months or so for new links and information. I perused the site daily for a few weeks earlier this year just after my son was born when I was really having trouble shaking the depression and anxiety I was experiencing. I am familiar with depression and it shouldn’t have taken me so long to identify that I was experiencing PPD, Postpartum Depression. However, PPD is tricky like that, it masquerades as tiredness, irritability, hating your husband, hating the lady who comes to clean your house, hating your saggy still fat body, hating everything and yelling often, saying bad things about yourself, the signs and symptoms are as different as each person who experiences this. For the record I never had any negative feelings toward the baby at all, although many women think that PPD means you are mad at your baby. I was just really unhappy with myself. Also for the record, since I seem to be “recording” things here, I did not seek medical help, I did not take any psychiatric medication (although I should have) , and once I was able to join a local gym and get out of the house, alone, and get some exercise, along with other things, mentally at least things started to fall into a much better place for me. **It isn’t this simple for many others, however.

I’m sure a lot of women go straight to the doctor and ask for a prescription of an SSRI and they get better. There are also a lot of women who seek out a good therapist and the talking helps them get to a better place.

I was not either of those women.

I was and still am nursing my son who is eight months old at the time of this article. I recall being told by one nurse in one doctor’s office that if I were to experience PPD they would “stop my breastfeeding to allow my hormones to re-regulate and then evaluate the situation” and because of this I was absolutely scared out of my DD-nursing bra that if I even hinted to anyone that I was feeling a bit, oh, irritable? that I would be forced to give up my nursing. I love nursing. It works well for me with this baby and I enjoy it. I didn’t want to give it up, not at any cost. So I didn’t tell anyone.

Turns out that was bad information. And it did me a disservice. There are many options for women experiencing anything from mild to severe PPD. There are many medication options and many non-medication options. I didn’t feel like I had anyone to talk to about it and I fear that many many many other mothers feel the same way. Being a new mom is hard. Excruciatingly difficult, terrifyingly isolating, you feel like your body is permanently destroyed, you don’t have time to finish a sentence with your spouse and you feel like the world is going on and you are chained to a chair feeding and rocking a delicate ever-needy baby.

This article about breastfeeding and psychiatric medication gives a good overview of the basis for most medical decisions regarding PPD and nursing moms.

I feel strongly about helping other women get the information they need to have an easier postpartum experience. I will write more on this topic again soon and often.

Another great postpartum website is Postpartum.net

** I fear I am oversimplifing my situation and I don’t mean to do that. I will address this topic again soon with more honesty , clarity and useful information.