Therapist Unlimited Blog

A recent medical study has shown that those women who are positive about their genitals find it easier to orgasm and are more likely to engage in sexual health promoting behaviours, such as having regular gynecological exams or performing vulvar self-examinations.
Debby Herbenick, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation explained their findings is a positive news to women around the world.
Herbenick said our culture often portrays women’s genitals as dirty and in need of cleaning and grooming.
She added some women may have had greater exposure to such negative messages or may be more susceptible to their impact.
Herbenick’s study created a scale for measuring men’s and women’s attitudes toward women’s genitals. Such a scale, she wrote in the study, could be useful in sex therapy, in medical settings to help better understand decision-making that goes into gynecological care and treatment, and in health education settings involving women and their sexual health. The study also found that men had more positive attitudes about women’s genitals than women.
"Women are often more critical about their own bodies and other women’s bodies than men are," Herbenick said. "What we found in this study is that men generally feel positive about a variety of aspects of women’s genitals including how they look, smell, taste and feel."

To achieve orgasm and better sexual health women should feel confident about their sexuality.

Herbenick, also a sexual health educator for The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, offers the following suggestions regarding the findings:
Body image. Parents might consider how they can help their daughters to feel more positively about their bodies, such as by teaching them accurate names for their body parts, including their genitals (e.g., "vulva" rather than "down there") and responding in supportive ways to their self-exploration. "Rather than saying, ‘don’t touch down there it’s dirty,’ parents might let their children know that it’s OK for them to touch their genitals, but in private spaces such as their own bedroom or the bathroom," Herbenick said.
Advertisements and marketing. Health educators might consider ways that they can teach women and men about their bodies in positive, sex-positive ways by openly discussing how some products or marketing campaigns make people feel about their bodies.
The survey component of the study involved 362 women and 241 men, most of whom were white/Caucasian and between the ages of 18 and 23.
"Our study builds on previous research that demonstrates that the mind and body are highly connected in regard to sex," said Herbenick."When women feel more positively about female genitals, they likely feel more relaxed in their own skin, more able to let go and thus more likely to experience pleasure and orgasm."
 

A recent medical research has shown that those children who are popular and exert power among their school classmates enjoy better health as adults.
To get the data, researchers studied more than 14,000 children who were born in Sweden in 1953 and who were part of the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study.
The team then monitors the long term health of children born between 1953 and 2003.
When the children reached sixth grade in 1966 and were 12 to 13 years old, the degree of popularity, power, and status enjoyed by each child was evaluated.
It was assessed by asking them who they most preferred to work with at school.
Using national hospital discharge records, this information was then matched to data on subsequent hospital admissions for the period between 1973 and 2003.
Investigation revealed that children who were the least popular at school had the highest overall risk of serious health illness as an adult. The pattern
was obvious for both men and women. But there were differences in the types of health illness they developed.

Children who shows leadership skills have better chances of having a healthy life when they reach adulthood.

Children who were the least accepted and dominant at school were more than four times as likely to require hospital treatment for hormonal
(including diabetes), nutritional, and metabolic diseases as their most popular and powerful classmates.
In addition, they were more than twice as likely to develop mental illness and behavioural problems, including suicide attempts and self harm.
They were more than five times as likely to be admitted for unintentional poisoning, while those classified as "peripheral" were more than seven times as
likely to require hospital care for this same event.
They were also considerably more likely to develop drug and alcohol addiction problems and nine times more likely to develop ischaemic heart disease.
Childhood social class was not considered in the account of the findings.
Moreover, the researchers suggest that "peer status in childhood is linked to adult health through behavioural and psychological factors that influence the development of disorders and diseases in which these factors feature."

Medical experts has advised pregnant women to avoid taking antidepressants during their pregnancy since doing so could put their babies at risk for having heart defects.
According to the latest medical study, it was discovered that depression affects up to 20% of pregnant women and the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during
pregnancy is common and increasing.
However, experts explained medical treatment must balance the health of the mother with potential adverse effects to the developing baby.
Until 2005, most studies of SSRIs found no link with major malformations, but recent studies have indicated an increased prevalence of congenital heart defects. This led to a warning by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2005 about the use of the drug paroxetine during pregnancy.
So a team of researchers investigated the association between SSRIs taken in the first trimester of pregnancy and major malformations in over 400,000 children born in Denmark between 1996 and 2003.
Potential confounding factors, including maternal age and smoking, were taken into account.
However, an increased risk of septal heart malformations was found for children of women who used the drugs sertraline and citalopram, but not fluoxetine.

Taking antidepressants during pregnancy is deadly for babies.

Exposure to more than one type of SSRI was associated with a four-fold increase in septal heart defects, suggesting that simultaneous use of different SSRIs or a change in type of SSRI during early pregnancy may be problematic, say the authors.
Putting these figures into context, the authors show that the absolute differences in heart defects were low. For example, septal heart defects occurred in 2,315 (0.5%) of unexposed children, 12 (0.9%) of SSRI exposed children, and 4 (2.1%) of children exposed to more than one type of SSRI.
The number needed to harm was 246 for women using one type of SSRI in early pregnancy. In other words, one child for every 246 children exposed was likely to suffer a septal heart defect. The corresponding number needed to harm for children of women using more than one type of SSRI was 62.
Future studies, with much larger sample sizes, are needed to further investigate potential associations with more severe malformations, conclude the authors.
These results suggest that the absolute risk for individual pregnant women is very low, says Professor Christina Chambers from the University of California San Diego, USA, in an accompanying editorial. She urges both doctors and patients to carefully weigh-up the small risks associated with SSRIs against those linked with undertreatment or no treatment.
 

Groups around the world are joining hands to urge pregnant women to avoid drinking liquor during their pregnancy to keep their babies healthy and safe from any form of disease.
According to a recent study, learning disabilities, mental health issues and behaviour problems are just some of the issues that afflict babies exposed to alcohol in the womb.
Doctors, state legislators, health care professionals, parents, social workers and drug prevention and treatment specialist has recently gathered to discuss the issue on pregnant women who are drinking liquor during their pregnancy.
During the said meeting the group discovered that  women are getting conflicting information about drinking while pregnant.
while others are saying that drinking liquor during pregnancy is bad some sectors are themselves spreading the information that wine or Champagne were good for a woman’s blood while pregnant.
Some groups are also saying that drinking is safe in the first few months of pregnancy.
However, an intensive research has shown that many lifelong problems caused by permanent brain damage from drinking alcohol while pregnant.

Drinking liquor is bad for pregnant women.

Dr. Todd Ochs, a clinical instructor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said that part of the problem is that doctor training hasn’t changed to reflect new research about pre-natal alcohol exposure.
Ochs explained they used to worry about women using heroin or other illegal drugs while pregnant, but there are too many variables with alcohol that we don’t yet understand, so the best advice a doctor can give is that they shouldn’t drink at all.
Dr. Ochs has diagnosed and treated many children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and points out, that drinking will cause damage, they just don’t know how much damage will occur or what amount of alcohol will cause the damage, and why would anyone do something that’s known to be harmful to a baby.

 

A recent medical study has shown that pregnant women who work on their first-trimester are putting the welfare of their baby at higher risk.
Based on the research conducted by medical experts pregnant women who work on the first three months of their pregnancy are associated with reduced birth weight and an increased risk of delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
The significant pieces of information were taken from the study made on 8,266 pregnant women in Amsterdam, Netherlands who all work on the first-trimester of their pregnancy.

Pregnant women should stop working or reduce their workload for the sake of their incoming babies.

The medical experts found out that workweek of 32 hours or more and high job strain were significantly associated with low birth weight.
The team of experts also discovered that the combination of high job strain and a long workweek resulted in the largest birth weight reduction and the highest risk of delivering an SGA infant.
To avoid harm and complications to their incoming offspring, the experts recommended that women temporarily stop working while they are still pregnant.
The experts said if ever they could not really stop working it would be best that she reduce her workload and make it minimal to ensure the well-being of her baby will be sufficiently protected from harm.

Those men who are too focus on their physical appearance better be careful since they are at high risk of suffering from eating disorders.
In a recent study he conducted, Dr. John Morgan, a consultant psychiatrist and director of the Yorkshire Centre for Eating Disorders in Leeds revealed a growing numbers of young men are increasingly dissatisfied with their bodies.
Morgan said because of their dislike to their body, a number of young boys engage in unhealthy eating habits, just to be thin and sexy.
However, it is a sad note that due to these unhealthy eating habits these young men eventually suffer from eating disorders.
He added some men who showed signs of eating disorders even refused to undergo treatment since they are afraid to be stigmatized as the only man in the clinic.

Those men who are too conscious on their body better be careful since they are prone to eating disorders.

Moreover, Morgan explained the definition of sexy body as beautiful by the society drove many men to engage in unhealthy eating habits, which would later result in a disaster among them.
Morgan said this medical finding should serve as eye opener to men around the world that a healthy well-being is far more important than their physical image.

Here is a piece of reminder to all pregnant women around the world.
According to a latest study, those women who gain weight during pregnancy caused the daughter they bore to become obese later in her life.
According to a new study by Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, the findings are especially important because of the growing epidemic of obesity in women.
Stuebe said if we can help women reach a healthy weight before they start a family, we can make a difference for two generations.
To get the information, Stuebe earlier analyzed data on mothers’ recalled weights and weight gain for more than 24,000 mother-daughter pairs.
She said the heavier a mother was before her pregnancy, the more likely her daughter was to be obese in later life.
She explained , an average-height mother who weighed 150 pounds before pregnancy was twice as likely to have a daughter who was obese at age 18 as a mother who weighed 125 pounds before pregnancy.
The medical expert said weight gain during pregnancy mattered, too both too little and too much weight gain increased a daughter’s risk of becoming obese, especially if a mother was overweight before she got pregnant.
The researcher said women should aim for a healthy weight before they get pregnant, and then gain a moderate amount.

Pregnant women should avoid gaining weight during pregnancy since it could result to obesity to their babies later in their lives.

Using the Nurses’ Health Study II, Stuebe analyzed data for more than 24,000 mother-daughter pairs. The daughters, all registered nurses, are part of the Nurses’ Health Study. They reported their weight at age 18 when they joined the study in 1989, and they reported their current weight in 2001.
In 2001, each mother was asked to recall her pre-pregnancy height and weight, her weight gain while she was pregnant with her daughter, and her daughters’ weight at birth.
Daughters whose mothers gained 15 to 19 pounds during pregnancy had the lowest risk of obesity. Compared to this group, daughters whose mothers gained more than 40 pounds while pregnant were almost twice as likely to be obese at age 18 and later in life.
Too little weight gain was also linked with a daughter’s obesity risk.
Pregnancy weight gain of less than 10 pounds was associated with a 1.5-fold increase in the odds of being obese at 18 and a 1.3-fold increase in odds of being obese in later life.
Furthermore, Stuebe hoped that through her study pregnant women around the world would strive hard not to gain weight to ensure that their daughter will not become obese in the future.

Workers who do have close ties or smooth relationship with his fellow employees are more likely to suffer burnout from work.
This was the result of a recent study in public health science at Karlstad University in Sweden.
The research wad done on some workers wherein they evaluated the sickness leaves of those who have no friends and those who have close ties with their fellow workers.
The study yielded results that those persons who have weak relationship with their fellow workers ends up getting burn-out from work or sick than those who have strong ties with his or her co-workers.
Ulla-Britt Eriksson, who authored explained those workers who got burn-out from work or end up sick is seen as those who are  gradually emptied of feelings that sustain the life-giving force that provides joy and involvement and serves as a basis for mental well-being.

To last long in work, it would help if you have close ties with your fellow workers.

Eriksson said secure and comforting social relations with other people nourish this force.
The study showed that individuals on long-term sickness leave made it clear that these preconditions were lacking in their surroundings.
To avoid getting burnout from work or even getting sick it would be good to have close ties with your fellow workers.
Workers could have different attitudes and characters but if they have a good relationship with each other burnout and sickness can easily be avoided.

According to a latest study mothers who are brave enough to admit they are formerly hooked on illegal drugs can achieve good results in their action.
Based on the research conducted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada some 3,530 Alberta youth Grades 7 to 12 revealed that teens were more likely to use drugs if they knew that their mothers had used drugs but did not pressure their kids to avoid the illegal practice.
Researcher Lori Harach, a professor of human ecology at the University of Alberta revealed the findings suggest that adolescents might benefit from parental talks about the dangers of drug use, especially when their mothers have experience with drugs.
Harach said factor might give extra credibility to the messaging in the eyes of the teen.
She said mothers who have previous illegal drugs experience should not hide their unfavourable past since opening it could their children valuable lesson to avoid using illegal drugs.
As the saying goes, the best testimony is your own experience.
Mothers around the world should keep in mind that their children would not scorn them if ever they admit using drugs since their children love them deadly.
Instead of being scorned, their children would love them more and will keep away from the things that put their mother in the bad light in the past.

To keep their children away from drug addiction, mothers should be bold enough to admit they are using drugs in the past.

A recent study has shown that those persons who do not have enough sleep are also of risk of suffering from high blood pressure.
The research was conducted by the University of Chicago who monitored over 500 middle-aged people for five years.
The lead author of the study Dr. Kristen L. Knutson explained the study was part of a larger investigation called Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA), which took blood pressure measurements in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2006.
According to the researchers, high blood pressure accounts for 7 million deaths worldwide and affects about one third of Americans.
Knutson revealed for this study, the participants were 578 African Americans and whites aged from 33 to 45 years at the start.
She said sleep was also measured using a sensor worn on the wrist that measures movement patterns characteristic of sleep and wakefulness (actigraphy).
The sensor was worn on three consecutive days between 2003 and 2005 and gave measures of sleep duration and sleep maintenance (a measure of sleep quality).

Those persons who lack sleep need to be extra careful since they are at risk of suffering from high blood pressure.

Furthermore, Knutson said the results showed that on average, participants slept for about 6 hours a night and only 1 per cent averaged eight or more hours a night.
Knutson and her team revealed identifying the new lifestyle risk factor for high blood pressure could help develop new ways to prevent or reduce it.
Speculating on what the underlying mechanism might be, they suggested that insufficient sleep affects the way the body responds to stress and this might lead to raised blood pressure.
This story should serve as eye opener to those who lack sleep to be more careful so that they would not end up having high blood pressure.