In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Category: Health

The South Dakota Task Force on Abortion

Several must-reads on the most biased report I’ve ever seen:

Echidne of the Snakes: Pro-Life Objectivity

This, my dear readers, might be the new definition of objectivity in the faith-based society. A painstaking and careful attempt to present one-sided information and to stomp the opposition into silence. You might be interested in learning that the possible health risks of abortion are widely discussed but delivering a child is apparently without any risks whatsoever. Or that all the “victim statements” of abortion sufferers came through one person in Texas. Or that the Report argues for abstinence-only education in the Brave New World that would be created if its other recommendations are followed. Imagine that: you can give birth to a baby because your brother raped you but you can’t learn about condoms.

Thoughts of an Average Woman: South Dakota on Abortion

What should scare the beejeesus out of you, and each and every one of us, is the lack of objectivity. From the start, North Dakotians couldn’t possibly have had any expectations of objectivity from this task force, as 15 of the 17 members were anti-abortionists. You have to acknowledge that the report was biased, as even some of the anti-abortion-believing task-force members called this report biased, and untruthful.

The Well-Timed Period: The South Dakota Taskforce to Study Abortions Report

Again, according to the task force, the criteria used to judge credibility and competence are admitted biases and organizational affiliations. Not relevant education or profession. Not scientific fact. Not study methodology, or any of the other scientifically rigorous, established, and accepted criteria.

So what’s the problem with [at a minimum] Drs. Unruh and Wachs, and Senator Jay Duenwald? According to the task force’s own criteria, since they are advocates for lack of reproductive choice and members of activist organizations that support regulating abortion out of existence, with the admitted bias of stopping abortion, they are neither credible, nor competent. As such, they have no place on a task force to study abortions.

As the first installment of her series as she reads this report, this is a must-read. Ema is also an OB-GYN.

Or you can read the 72-page report for yourself, provided by the kindly women at Feministing. Keep your highlighter handy.

HELLP Syndrome for Beginners

This is the first news article I have ever seen on the illness that had me giving birth to a two-months-premature Ethan:

HELLP Syndrome is a little- known pregnancy-related disease that, if left untreated, can be life-threatening for both the mother and the fetus. HELLP stands for hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels and a low blood platelet count. It was not even coined until 1982, when researchers documented a recurring pattern of these three symptoms in pregnant women. In these patients, the body starts destroying red blood cells, liver functions go awry, and blood platelets essential for clotting plunge to dangerous levels.

HELLP Syndrome is classified as a more serious version of preeclampsia, and is a disease that sounds like regular pregnancy complaints that goes largely undetected by doctors due to being so unknown. The only cure for mom and baby is to give birth within three days, if that. My experience, being a pregnant teenager on Medicaid, ended up being near disastrous, in part because the doctors refused to do any tests and sent me home from the hospital three times in three days with instructions to drink some Maalox and stop being such a hypochondriac. Apparently this experience isn’t so unusual. For one, it happened to my sister, a married, monied professional, at a major birthing facility in Atlanta in the mid ’90s.

“If HELLP gets well advanced and it’s not managed well, it can lead to multi-organ failure” and even death, said Dr. James Martin, director of the division of maternal-fetal medicine and chief of obstetrics for the Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

While only 1 to 3 percent of HELLP patients die each year, 25 percent of all such patients suffer serious complications like fluid in the lungs, kidney failure and liver rupture — often as a result of delayed treatment or a misdiagnosis. Recent studies also suggest that women may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

“We don’t understand the disease or how to prevent it,” said Dr. James Roberts, vice chairman for research in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and director of Magee-Women’s Research Institute. “The only way to help the woman is to deliver the baby.”

The good news: the last time I did any research, the stats were so all over the board that they estimated maternal death anywhere between 3-20%. I’ll take 1-3%, thanks.

After the whole ordeal, including a week-long stay in the hospital for me and a two-week stay for the wee one, I was told that I would probably have liver and kidney problems for as much as a decade after Ethan was born, as well as a lifelong tendency for anemia. Because HELLP is not a genetic disease, I am at a higher risk of getting it again in part because of my older sister’s experience (don’t ask me how that logic works, ask the OB-GYN that informed me). Additionally, as the doctor told me, my own death must be part of that consideration. Having more children in the future will be a major risk, should I decide to do so, and a choice that must be planned very carefully in advance — hence my selfish obsession with reproductive health rights and accessibility. I don’t want to go dying on anybody, especially the child I have.

Better(ish)

I’m feeling better. Sort of. If I’m active enough to require walking and/or standing for a length of time, I get tired and have to lay down, but the fever is gone and the pain is gone. Mostly. When I went out looking for a winter coat for Ethan this Wednesday, merely walking through the mall put me down for the night. I suppose my body is telling me to slow down and take it easy, but I want to move! This is my vacation!

A friend is coming into town tonight and is forcing me to endure the most physical activity that I’ve had since Wednesday, so we’ll see how I do. She is rather high energy, so I might have to sit back and observe.

Thank you to everyone who sent advice and well wishes. Today’s Feel Better Regimen includes decaf green tea, Japanese food, and the company of friends.

Seattle Passes Smoking Ban

And it’s the most restrictive in the country. Now, liberal though I may be, I’m a big fan of smoking bans. Why? Well, I don’t smoke, I hate cigarette smoke, and while I support the rights of other people to do what they want with their bodies, smoking inside closed spaces like bars and restaurants extends into my body. Wanna do coke or drop acid or chew tobacco in a closed space? Go for it. Wanna smoke in your own house or car? Be my guest. But when a person’s choices extend past their own bodies and negatively affect the health of others who are occupying the same space, it’s no longer a simple matter of individual liberties (not to get all John Stuart Mill on you, but your right to bodily sovereignty ends at the tip of your nose).

The smoking ban in New York has been great. I don’t go home reeking of cigarette smoke, and it’s saved me a lot of money in dry cleaning bills (it ain’t cheap to dry clean your winter coat every week). It’s also better for bar employees, who otherwise wouldn’t have much of a choice but to be exposed to cigarette smoke on a nightly basis. As far as I can tell, it’s pretty well-enforced, and smokers know the places where it isn’t. Seeing people smoke in a bar now is surprising — this weekend at Hiro we were shocked to see a bunch of foreign model-types lighting up. And it doesn’t seem to have had much of an impact on business (it’s New York, after all. I don’t think a smoking ban is going to keep anyone home).

That said, I think the Seattle ban is way too over-reaching. It bans smoking within 25 feet of any door, window or vent, so smokers can’t simply step outside the bar to have a cigarette. In areas like Capitol Hill, where there are lots of bars and lots of people go out, I’m not sure there would be any place for smokers to go except in the middle of the street if they want to meet the 25-foot requirement. Disallowing smoking in the bar itself will get rid of nearly all the health risk to others, which, to me, is the crux of the issue. So while I’m thrilled that I can go to bars when I go home for winter break and I won’t stink when I get home, I do feel bad for all the smokers in Seattle. Thoughts?

Love

Go give the inimitable Twisty some love. If I’d been through that shit and someone tried to serve me a dry fucking pancake, I’d need some love.

Anyone who has anything rude to say in this comment thread will be banned from the site altogether.

Just What I Need To Read During a Bout of Insomnia

I’m dead:

Scientists have long known that sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy and chronic insomnia, can lead to serious health problems, and that difficulty sleeping may be a red flag for a serious illness. But the first clues that otherwise healthy people who do not get enough sleep or who shift their sleep schedules because of work, family or lifestyle may be endangering their health emerged from large epidemiological studies that found people who slept the least appeared to be significantly more likely to die.

Wonderful.