The Unstoppable Force: a Woman and her Reproductive Health

Most of you who watch the news, use some sort of social media, etc., have probably heard about the HUGE debate that’s going on over North Carolina’s new law, which makes transgender men and women use the bathroom that is assigned to their sex on their birth certificate. According to Reuters, thousands of people fled to Raleigh, North Carolina to either support or rally against this new law. This even went as far that Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas cancelling their shows in North Carolina because they were so against it.

So, are you for or against this law?

In my honest opinion, I think it’s ridiculous. For hundreds of years, the LGBTQ community has been discriminated against, and I thought that last year’s law to allow gay marriage in all states was a step in the right direction.

But its laws like North Carolina’s that send the LGBTQ people 10 steps back after making one step forward.

Posts about this law have been going viral- men talking about how uncomfortable it makes them, women talking about the HORROR that will be ensued upon their children who share a bathroom with a transgender person. But let’s be real, for all we know, we could’ve been in the same bathroom is a transgender male/female dozens of times and probably didn’t even know it.

Have you ever been minding your own business walking down the street and happen to come across a VERY pregnant woman smoking? Well, this happened to me over the weekend. I thought to myself “wow, that’s really messed up”, but me, being the most passive-aggressive person I know, didn’t bother to say anything. Looking back, this really was weighing on me. Should I have said something? Was it even my place to intervene? Does this woman know the consequences of smoking while being pregnant? Based on this uncomfortable experience, I’d like to dedicate this blog post to all of the extremely negative effects smoking has on your child while in the womb.

First, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that “smoking during pregnancy can cause tissue damage in the unborn baby, particularly in the lung and brain.” If that isn’t convincing enough to quit smoking while pregnant, the CDC also reports that due to the high levels of carbon monoxide you’re breathing in, the baby is not getting nearly enough oxygen, which can lead to miscarriage. Lastly, the CDC reports that every one in five babies born from mothers who smoke will have a low birthweight and are more prone to die of sudden infant death syndrome.

For many families across the world, having a child is like being given the best gift one could ask for. It’s an exciting time meant for celebration, but sadly, there are mothers everywhere who do not get to experience such happiness after giving birth. According to postpartumprogress.com , an unfortunate 10-15% of mothers face postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression is defined by the Mayo Clinic as a long lasting, more severe sadness post-childbirth that can begin within the first few weeks. Symptoms include depressed mood or severe mood swings, trouble bonding with the child, and can even be as extreme as thoughts of harming yourself or the baby.

What can cause these feelings of intense sadness in such a wonderful time? During pregnancy, a woman’s hormone levels are extremely high, but make a huge drop after birth. According to the CDC, this can cause women to feel sad, sluggish, and tired. Also, women who have been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder are at a higher risk of facing postpartum depression.

If a mother is feeling this intense depression, there are several options she has to start feeling better. The CDC recommends talking to a counselor about how to manage the depression, and they also suggest that antidepressants can improve mood dramatically.

I think for most people, when they hear the words “sexual assault” or “sexual violence” we tend to think of it as a stranger doing the harm in some sort of a dark, mysterious alley that we’d see on Law and Order: SVU. Sadly, that’s not always the case. As a teenager, it’s normal to begin exploring the dating scene. I’m sure everyone remembers their first date, their first “real” significant other, etc., but a shocking number of teenagers are entering into sexually abusive relationships. According to the CDC, 23% of females who have ever experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by a partner, first experienced it between the ages of 11 and 17. In addition, a study done by the CDC in 2011 showed that 10% of the teens interviewed reported sexual victimization from a dating partner in the 12 months before they were surveyed.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 15 million babies are born prematurely each year. Luckily in the United States, premature babies usually have a chance to live a full, healthy life thanks to our healthcare systems that offer the best possible care for our neonates. I definitely think that’s something we take for granted living in a high income country because in many low and middle income countries, mothers and their premature babies don’t have the same opportunities that we do, and that’s really, really sad. 99% of neonatal deaths occur in low income countries, according to the WHO.

By this point in your life, you’ve probably heard about Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Yes, we know it’s an STI, but I feel like a lot of people are unaware of how many people it truly affects. It is the number 1 most commonly transmitted STI and too often, many people have on clue that they have it. According to the CDC, 9 out of 10 people will experience one of the many strains of this virus at some point in their lives.

For women, this is especially scary. Certain strains of HPV can cause genital warts, but even scarier, it can cause cervical cancer. So how can we protect ourselves?

First off, when it doubt, get tested. Through a routine pap smear, your gynecologist can let you know within 48 hours if you have HPV. Another thing you can do is use a condom when having sex, but that’s not always 100% effective. The best option? Vaccination!

Gardasil was the first vaccine created to prevent HPV infection. According to the CDC, Gardasil protects against between 4 and 9 (depends on which type of Gardasil) of the most dangerous strains of HPV, specifically those that cause cervical cancer. It is given over a span of 6 months with 3 shots given over that time span.

Once you're of college-age, it seems as though every girl is on some type of birth control. Whether it be a hormonal pill, shot, or an IUD, young women have been taking it upon themselves to take control of their reproductive lives (which is awesome!). And if you’re one of the women who’s not on birth control, that’s fine too!

Since, I’ve been on “the pill”, my “time of the month” has changed completely. This post will be dedicated to my 2 favorite benefits that hormonal birth controls can do for you!

(As a side note, know that you do not need to be sexually active to reap the benefits of birth control.)

Let’s start with cramps. Most women experience menstrual cramps during their period, which can be absolutely killer. According to Women’s Health Magazine, uterine cramps are caused by increased levels of prostaglandins that help shed your uterine lining by causing muscle contractions. The hormones in these types of birth controls reduce the amount of prostaglandins released into your body around your period week, making for a nearly painless menses.

Next, knowing exactly when you’re getting your period is a major plus of hormonal birth controls. By taking pills or getting a shot that contains progesterone, your reproductive system turns somewhat into a clock. For most pill-takers, you will take 3 weeks of active pills containing progesterone, and 1 week of water pills when you will menstruate.

“Congrats, you’re pregnant!” For many women, this is a scary, yet exciting time. You go to a pregnancy specialist (either an obstetrician or gynecologist), they prescribe prenatal vitamins, talk about how you should adjust your diet, but most importantly, they discuss your family medical history and risk factors that can affect your pregnancy. Over the next few weeks, your doctor will most likely suggest a prenatal screening method if your child is at an increased risk of a disorder, and the most common and most safe method is amniocentesis. This prenatal test is used diagnose a child if they have some type of a genetic disorder, such as Down Syndrome, Sickle Cell disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Spina Bifida, and Tay-Sachs, according to WebMD.  

So, what is an amniocentesis? The procedure is done by an OB/GYN who takes a very thin needle and inserts it through the abdomen and into the uterus around the 15th week of pregnancy. From here, they take a small sample to amniotic fluid and send it to a lab for genetic testing. According to WebMD, this test is about 99.4% accurate in diagnosing a disorder.

There are several risks and benefits associated with an amniocentesis. WebMD says that benefits of this include, obviously, a genetic screening to see if your child is healthy and the sex of the child can also be determined through the ultrasound taken before the procedure. Although small, the major risk of this procedure is miscarriage, but this only happens to less than 1% of women, according to WebMD.

With the Presidential elections coming up this November 2016, I’m sure you’ve seen more than enough of the debates, caucuses, campaign commercials, politicians bad-mouthing each other, and all that jazz. Therefore, I’m sure you’ve heard about the debate whether to continue funding or to start defunding Planned Parenthood. Regardless of which side you agree with, it’s important to know all of the services that Planned Parenthood offers. Since their start up in 1916, they have promoted many services for women and men, especially those who are young and have little to no health insurance. They now have 650 Planned Parenthood centers nationwide and have nearly 2.7 million visits every year, according to Planned Parenthood.

One of the main services Planned Parenthood offers is STI diagnosis and treatment, which makes up 41% of their yearly visits, according to Planned Parenthood. This is crucial to helping women maintain a healthy reproductive system, since STI’s can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, or can wreak havoc throughout the body. Another service they offer is free/discounted contraceptives, such as birth control pills, shots, and even condoms. In addition to contraceptives, they are also extremely helpful in teaching underprivileged people about safe sex, family planning, contraceptive use, STI’s, and abortions. Lastly, Planned Parenthood offers several types of reproductive system cancer screenings, such as mammograms and pap smears that detect cervical cancer. According to Planned Parenthood, they have performed nearly 500,000 pap smears and almost 550,000 breast exams which can be pertinent to women’s health if these tests come back positive.

Nationwide, hormonal birth controls are one of the most widely used and effective types of contraceptive. Hormonal birth controls contain either estrogen, progesterone, or a mix of both. Some common forms include a pill taken once every 24 hours, a shot given every three months, the Mirena IUD, which is implanted into the uterus and lasts up to five years, or Nexplanon, which is implanted into the under-arm that lasts up to three years.

Although there are many benefits to hormonal contraceptives, there are also a few downsides. As hormonal birth controls have increased in popularity, so have migraine prevalence in women. More specifically, migraines with aura have become more common. According to WebMD, these specific types of migraines have symptoms that include blind spots, numbness in one side of your body, nausea, vomiting, and last but not least, a headache.

So how do hormonal birth controls affect migraines? As stated before, migraines with aura have serious neurological effects that can be dangerous. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, evidence suggests that women who are prone to migraines with aura and who also use hormonal contraceptives, specifically those with estrogen, have an increased likelihood of getting these migraines more often and more harshly. In the worst cases, it can lead to stroke.

Women who experience migraines with aura should seek a medical professional, and if they are on estrogen-containing birth controls, they will most likely be taken off of them. But never fear! There are several options these women have. First, the Mirena IUD and Nexplanon only contain progesterone, so these are safe and effective methods that women can rely on. In addition, “the shot” is another progesterone-only type of contraceptive that women have the option of. Lastly, there are progesterone-only birth control pills, but these tend to have more side effects, such as increased spotting between periods. As you can see, hormonal birth controls are safe and effective, but for women who suffer from migraines with aura, estrogen birth controls can be making them worse and happen more often. Luckily, there are still many options women can choose from in order to prevent pregnancy and have more control over their menstrual cycles.