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."
 

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.
 

Medical experts called on pregnant women around the world to do their best to get all their flu shots as soon as the vaccines become available this year to protect them against both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 (swine) flu.
Eight organizations of medical practitioners namely American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses, the Infectious Disease Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine today partnered has join hands to issue the message to protect pregnant women from the deadly H1N1 virus.
The group revealed the normal changes of pregnancy make pregnant women at increased risk of the harmful effects of flu infection.

Flu shots keep pregnant women safe from the deadly H1N1 virus.

The group then urge every pregnant woman to discuss influenza immunization with her health care provider because the risk of serious illness during pregnancy is substantial.
They explained it is important to note that the vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials.
Moreover, in addition to getting immunized before the flu season for both the seasonal and the H1N1 viruses, the groups also urge pregnant women to follow good hygiene habits, such as hand-washing and avoiding others who are sick, to prevent the virus from spreading.
The group said pregnant women who develop flu-like symptoms should also quickly contact their health care provider so that they can begin treatment immediately.
H1N1 flu is caused by a virus. In the spring of 2009, many people in Mexico became sick with H1N1 (swine) flu. It spread to several countries, including the United States. Now, the US is taking steps to deal with the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years.
Research published Sept. 11, 2009 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which surveyed pregnant women in two states, found that women who got a seasonal flu vaccine did so because their health care provider recommended it.

A recent medical study has shown that depression, obesity and alcohol abuse or dependency are interrelated conditions among young adult women but not men.
Using data collected when young adults were 24, 27 and 30 years of age, a team of University of Washington researchers found that nearly half the sample of 776 young adults tracked during the study met the criteria for one of these conditions at each of these time points.
Carolyn McCarty, the lead author of a new study and a UW research associate professor of pediatrics and psychology revealed the proportion of people with all three of these conditions at any one point is small.
McCarty said for women there is a great deal of overlap between these common emotional and health problems that span early adulthood.
She explained men may develop one of these conditions but they don’t tend to lead another one later on.
She said these conditions are major public health problems since take toll on families and community and are not subject to quick
fixes.
The lead researcher said it requires a lot of time, money and energy to treat them.

Young women need to be monitored constantly since they are prone to alcohol abuse, depression, and obesity.

Based on the study it was discovered that:

Women with an alcohol disorder at age 24 were more than three times as likely to be obese when they were 27.
Women who are obese at 27 were more than twice as likely to be depressed when they were 30.
Women who are depressed at 27 were at increased risk for alcohol disorders at 30.
Obesity offers men some protection against later developing depression.

 

McCarty said the research did not uncover any step-by-step progression from one these disorders to another.
However, she said clinicians treating women with one of these conditions should be aware that patients might develop another disorder.
McCarty said there are two possibilities as to why women with alcohol disorder at 24 were more likely to be obese at 27.
"The caloric intake associated with drinking alcohol may increase metabolic processes leading to weight gain. Or there may be an underlying connection to levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in the reward pathway in the brain because the same pathways reward both food and alcohol intake. It also may be that some people substitute food for alcohol, leading to obesity."
She said body image may play a key role in why women who are obese at 27 are more likely to report depression three years later.
"Body image is particularly important for women. There seems to be a transfer that when women feel bad they eat more.
That can have devastating effects emotionally and physically. But for men experiencing obesity, the reverse is true, and obesity seems to be protective against depression. It’s the so-called ‘jolly fat man’ theory, which suggests that overweight people are actually happier."
The link between obesity at 27 and subsequent depression at 30 among women may develop as a result of individuals self-medicating themselves.
"People who feel more emotionally down may use alcohol for a quick lift or a short-term boost. The two conditions may be connected by an underlying stress mechanism. Stress is linked to depression, so women under stress potentially eat and drink more," she said.
The study also showed that income has a significant effect on obesity at age 24 and those with higher incomes had a lower risk for weight problem.
McCarty said that finding is not surprising since many of the least nutritional items are inexpensive, and low income areas do not have the same sources of fresh fruits and vegetables that more affluent ones have.
"It costs more to eat well," she said.
McCarty believes that intervention programs are needed and can play a key role in reducing the growing public health burden caused by these conditions.
"Early prevention is important because the sooner we start the more impact we can have.
Interventions should include stress management so we can provide young people with tools to cope with situations and emotions. We also need to explore underlying factors that predispose people to these conditions, such as a family background that is not supportive or is toxic."

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.

 

Middle-aged white women in the United States had reasons to be careful these days.
This developed after recent data has shown that death rate from unintentional poisoning already triples in the US for these people.
Based on the study made by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Injury Research and Policy it was discovered that white women between 45 and 64 years old experienced a 230 percent increase in the rate of poisoning mortality over the study period.
The data they gathered also showed that white men in this age group experienced an increase of 137 percent.
The researchers also discovered that mortality rates from falls varied widely across age and gender.
The researchers revealed the death rate from falls increased 38 percent for white men and 48 percent for white women 65 and older.
The research team explained mortality rate did not increase significantly for older blacks of either sex.
The researchers said overall, 89 percent of the total increase in unintentional injury deaths in the U.S. between 1999 and 2005 was due to poisoning among those 15 to 64 years old and falls among those 45 and older, which increased by about 11,200 and 6,600, respectively.

Middle-aged women need to be careful since they are prone to unintentional poisoning.

Study co-author Susan P. Baker, MPH, a professor with the Bloomberg School’s Center for Injury Research and Policy said the large increases in the number of deaths attributable to poisoning and falls underscore the need for more research on the specific circumstances involved.
Baker added that while we don’t know the cause behind the recent increase in falls mortality, it appears that the increase in poisonings is largely due to prescription drugs.
She said national prevention efforts are needed to control the abuse of prescription drugs and limit access.
She added prescriptions for opioid analgesics to address pain have increased dramatically in the past decade, and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that prescription drugs have replaced illegal drugs such as cocaine as the most prominent substances in fatal drug overdoses.
In addition to falls and poisonings, four other leading causes of intentional injury deaths were identified for subsequent analyses: suffocation, drowning, fire/burns and motor vehicle crashes. Suffocation rates generally decreased or had no significant change, but they greatly increased in white children less than one year old.
Drowning rates increased among white men 65 and older and among white middle-aged women, but decreased in black males 5 to 24 years old, black females 5 to14 years old, and whites females 15 to 24 years.
Mortality from fires and burns decreased the most.
The rate of dying due to a motorcycle crash more than doubled in Hispanic males 15 to 24 years and in white males ages 45 to 64 years.

Researchers has recently discovered that women who get pregnant have a more positive outlook in life.
The researchers also found out that due to the positive effect of childbearing women are also protected against any negative impact on their body image.
The team who made the study also discovered that women’s interpersonal relationships were also very important in relation to their body image, and investment in their
relationships with their baby, partner, family and friends also seemed to protect against body image concerns.

Women who get pregnant have a more positive outlook in life due to their condition.

It is said that the result of the research confirmed the fact all along that giving birth is the greatest gift a woman could have in their lifetime.
Not all women were given the privilege to bore their own child so having the opportunity to get pregnant and eventually give birth is such a memorable moment for any woman in this planet.
It had been chronicled that despite the pain in giving birth to a child and the common instances of getting fat due to the situation, women still accept the responsibility bravely.

Middle-aged white women in the United States had reasons to be careful these days.
This developed after recent data has shown that death rate from unintentional poisoning already triples in the US for these people.
Based on the study made by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Injury Research and Policy it was discovered that white women between 45 and 64 years old experienced a 230 percent increase in the rate of poisoning mortality over the study period.
The data they gathered also showed that white men in this age group experienced an increase of 137 percent.
The researchers also discovered that mortality rates from falls varied widely across age and gender.
The researchers revealed the death rate from falls increased 38 percent for white men and 48 percent for white women 65 and older.
The research team explained mortality rate did not increase significantly for older blacks of either sex.
The researchers said overall, 89 percent of the total increase in unintentional injury deaths in the U.S. between 1999 and 2005 was due to poisoning among those 15 to 64 years old and falls among those 45 and older, which increased by about 11,200 and 6,600, respectively.

Middle-aged white women need to be careful since they are prone to unintentional poisoning.

Study co-author Susan P. Baker, MPH, a professor with the Bloomberg School’s Center for Injury Research and Policy said the large increases in the number of deaths attributable to poisoning and falls underscore the need for more research on the specific circumstances involved.
Baker added that while we don’t know the cause behind the recent increase in falls mortality, it appears that the increase in poisonings is largely due to prescription drugs.
She said national prevention efforts are needed to control the abuse of prescription drugs and limit access.
She added prescriptions for opioid analgesics to address pain have increased dramatically in the past decade, and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that prescription drugs have replaced illegal drugs such as cocaine as the most prominent substances in fatal drug overdoses.
In addition to falls and poisonings, four other leading causes of intentional injury deaths were identified for subsequent analyses: suffocation, drowning, fire/burns and motor vehicle crashes. Suffocation rates generally decreased or had no significant change, but they greatly increased in white children less than one year old.
Drowning rates increased among white men 65 and older and among white middle-aged women, but decreased in black males 5 to 24 years old, black females 5 to14 years old, and whites females 15 to 24 years.
Mortality from fires and burns decreased the most.
The rate of dying due to a motorcycle crash more than doubled in Hispanic males 15 to 24 years and in white males ages 45 to 64 years.

Young women around the world should be careful if they wish to engage in cheerleading.
This developed after a recent research has shown that cheerleading is leading cause among young women.
Based on the data gathered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission the rates of injuries from cheerleading accidents have gone from nearly 5,000 in 1980 to close to 26,000 to 28,000 in the past few years.
Statistics taken from the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research also revealed that approximately 65 to 66 percent of all female catastrophic injuries in either high school or college.
Researcher Miller Bohn revealed most of the injuries cause by cheerleading are still more the common types of things that people should think about such as muscle strains or pulls, ligament injuries, tendon injuries.
Bohn said the concern is that there are certainly a fair number of increasingly severe injuries.
Other medical experts said because of the increase in degree of difficulty in cheerleading skills, increased acrobatics and stunt activities may be increasing the risk of severity of injury.

Young women hooked on cheerleading should be careful since their sport could cause catastrophic injury for them.

It is said that catastrophic injuries seen in cheerleading involve either death, injuries that results in disability that are often related to head trauma or spine trauma.
The Doctors are also seeing more injuries that a person may not be able to recover from completely such as concussions or severe fractures.
According to the latest data, cheerleading injuries appear to be on the rise partly because of an increase in participants, but the sport has also changed significantly in the last 25 years.
It is observed that cheerleading no longer consists of athletes standing on the sidelines, rooting for a team.
The experts said to protect their children from cheerleading related injuries parents should ask questions about the coach’s experience, what type of athletes the coach has worked with and if they have experience with gymnastics stunt work.
The parents also need to know what the plan is for that cheerleading squad, what types of activities they will perform, who is supervising and where activities will be performed.

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.