Women's Health

Well, not the entire city of Pittsburgh -- only 2000 people sitting in a big room in Pittsburgh.

They're all here for the same macro reason I am, which is to attend the Women's Health & the Environment Conference. Only a handful of them are here for the same micro reason I am, which is to live-blog the conference over the intertubes.

Rather than tie up this shared laptop by repeating here what's being said there, I'll just point you guys to a few of the live-blogging threads where we're doing the play-by-play, in case any CKers want to visit Pittsburgh by proxy too:

http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2007/04/live_blog_nati...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/20/94027/8000

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/

Three things to make note of before we start wading into this blog entry together, folks...

But you know what? For those in the audience who've been wondering WTF a guy like me is doing posting to feminist blogs, this is a significant chunk of the backstory for that. So make of it what you will.

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One of the things that really, really chaps my ass is what a small percentage of the people bloviating away about abortions, on both the right and the left sides of the fence, actually have any first-hand experience with them.

I'm sorry, SCOTUS. And I'm sorry, Fux News Channel. But... if you ain't been there done that, then you can't know. You just can't fucking know.

from Talk to Action

Just over a year ago, a group of veteran spiritual warriors for the religious right — including men who began their careers in the most radical fringes of the anti-abortion movement — sneaked into a Senate hearing room to "consecrate" the chamber with holy oil.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post wondered about the legality of this holy trespass.

Do not be surprised if, at some point during next week's confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, a trumpet blast is sounded in the hearing room, winged angels descend, and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee turn into pillars of salt.

This undoubtedly would be the wish of the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council. He held a news conference outside the Hart Office Building yesterday to announce that he would "consecrate Room 216 Hart" -- the hearing room -- in hopes of having, in the sacred words of Fox News, "a fair and balanced hearing."

"By dedicating it to God, we look to God to orchestrate and direct the activities that take place at that location," Schenck ... explained to the television cameras. It's unclear if this would violate Senate rules, which give Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) sole authority to direct activities in the hearing room.

Rep. David Swinford, who nominally rules the Texas House State Affairs Committee, now has had that authority usurped by the religious right as well. According to at least one Catholic anti-choice activist, the hearing room of Swinford's committee was given a clandestine inoculation against demonic pro-choice influences before its April 2 hearing on abortion-related bills.

(Day 3 on the THK Blog Tour belongs to the Democracy Cell Project, a website I've been known to frequent from time to time. This is the intro and outro to the Day 3 threader there -- to read the actual Q&A-with-THK portion of the program, visit the DCP blog and view it in its native habitat so I don't have to overwhelm CK by re-posting the whole thing here.)

Teresa Heinz Kerry is no stranger to the spotlight. She's been on stage in front of crowds larger than most of us can even imagine. But as far as she's concerned, her most important work takes place behind the scenes. As head of the Heinz Endowments and the Heinz Family Philanthropies, she has long been a leader in promoting responsible, sustainable social action.

One of Teresa Heinz Kerry's more visible projects is the ongoing Women's Health and the Environment Conference series. This year's keynote conference will be held in Pittsburgh on this coming Friday, April 20, and will feature a number of outstanding speakers, scientists, and activists discussing critical health issues facing women today.

We will be attending the Women’s Health & the Environment: New Science, New Solutions conference and will posting reports about it here at the DCP blog. Today, however, we're also participating in a special 17-stop virtual blog tour (see the complete tour schedule here). And that gave us the opportunity to ask Teresa Heinz Kerry a few questions of particular interest to members of the DCP community:

I am happy to kick off Teresa Heinz Kerry's blogtour promoting the “Conference on Women’s Health & the Environment” held in Pittsburgh on April 20th.

Teresa Heinz Kerry’s two marriages bring together two American political traditions, the Republican Heinz family and the Democratic Kerry family, and shows how good people in both parties have common ground. Teresa herself is of Portuguese descent and grew up in Mozambique. To those who think French is the most romantic of the Romance languages, to my mind Portuguese is a much more beautiful and romantic language, though also a bit sad and wistful. Educated in South Africa and Switzerland, Teresa is fluent in 5 languages. She received the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism in 2003 in recognition for her philanthropy through the Heinz Family Philanthropies which also sponsors the conference.

Much of her philanthropic effort has focused on two areas: the environment, and women’s health and economic security. To most Americans, environmental issues and women’s issues tend to be put in separate conceptual boxes. We have an environmental movement and a feminist movement and the two are not perceived as intersecting. But in Europe, particularly in the European Green movement, these issues are conceptually much more closely linked. I once was able to hear my mother, an Anthropology professor and one-time coordinator of Women’s Studies at California State University Northridge, speak on the link between these two movements, presenting them as, in essence, the two areas where traditional, patriarchal attitudes have most glaringly failed, leaving problems and inequalities that are among the most difficult issues of the modern world. The way I look at it, human society from the development of agriculture on has been understandably obsessed with fertility: the fertility of our crops and our families. This obsession has led both to the success of our species in thriving practically everywhere on earth, but also has led to what amounts to unacceptable treatment of both the land that sustains us, and one half of our species--women. Industrial poisoning of our water supplies and fish stocks, global warming, overpopulation, domestic violence, unequal pay for equal work, laws limiting a woman’s right to control her own fertility, and many, many other issues that make headlines today are at least in part a result of the patriarchal and agricultural obsession society has had with fertility for some 10,000 years. Not to say there aren’t other aspects to these issues, but the cultural mindset that dominates the world is one where both the environment and women are resources to be exploited for the benefit of the species and are not often valued for themselves.

A growing number of women of color are seeking alternative mental health services to help cope with stress and other recurrent struggles in their lives more effectively. Many of these women are now utilizing hypnotherapy, breathwork, and reiki as means of effective therapeutic intervention minus psychiatric labels and medications.

One of them is "Maya," a 36 year-old African American woman. Among many things, Maya is a single mom of two pre-teens, and a lawyer. In the past, Maya sought treatment from a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She had been an incest survivor since age 8 and experienced recurrent nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety attacks. Maya also had difficulty maintaining relationships with men as a result of her childhood trauma. Years of intensive talk therapy and anti-anxiety medication led Maya to see very little improvement in her recovery, until a friend recommended that she try hypnotherapy.

Maya says, "At first, I was skeptical about hypnosis and what it could do for me. But I was frustrated. I felt like I was hitting a wall with my therapist and that she didn't really understand where I was coming from. This had been the eighth therapist I had been to, and I was beginning to feel like talking about my symptoms and my past was beating a dead horse. When was I going to get over it? I just wanted to feel better and stop the panic attacks. . . "

The Annual Gynological Exam: What to Expect
Soma Mandal
Features Columnist
Issue date: 10/4/06 Section: Features

Reprinted from Washington Square News

Dear Dr. Mandal: I have my first gynecological exam coming up, and I'm nervous. I don't know what to expect, and I've heard really horrible stories. Does it hurt? What should I anticipate? Can my doctor answer any questions I have?

Thanks,

Nervous in New York

Dear Nervous,

The gynecological exam (sometimes called "pelvic exam" or "annual exam") is very important because it allows your physician to make sure that your genitals and reproductive organs are healthy. During this visit, breast health and sexual health is addressed as well. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Cancer Society recommends a gynecologic exam for any woman who is sexually active or over 21 years of age.

It may seem daunting for many women. Many stress over their first exams because they don't know what exactly the exam entails.

THE EXAM, STEP-BY-STEP

Once you are in the examination room, you will be given a gown and sheet to cover your torso. The doctor will ask general questions about your health and then do a brief external physical exam.

The doctor will examine your breasts for any lumps or any pain, then teach you how to do a monthly self-exam. Before beginning the pelvic exam, you will be asked to lie down and place each foot in a foot holders, called stirrups, at the end of the table. It helps to relax your knees and pelvic muscles to facilitate the exam.