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Blisstree Fitness Models: Round 2 Of Our Writers, Readers & Friends In Their Real Workout Clothes
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Photo Essays Explore The Way We See Overweight Women (And They See Themselves)
A new study says that Caesarean sections could contribute to childhood obesity risk—which sounds like custom-made comment bait for parenting blogs, what with all the reference to hot-button issues of obesity and mothers’ bodies. But on closer look, I think it’s probably an attempt to get more parents and doctors contemplating the real health risks associated with C-sections, which have reached an all-time high. More
Between the kids, the job, the house, the growing to-do list and that Blackberry or iPhone looming over you at all times, there’s little room for romance, and even less room for actual sex. If this scenario sounds familiar to you, I hope to inspire you to think differently and to take steps to get your “mojo” back. You may even be one of the millions of adults who experience sexual dysfunction, the incidence of which appears to be at an all-time high. More
Katherine Stone will be the first person to tell you that most people don’t know enough about postpartum depression. In fact, she admits she didn’t know much about it either. That’s why, when it hit her after the birth of her first child nine years ago, she was completely caught off guard. She went from feeling “normal” before her pregnancy to feeling like a horrible “monster” afterward. She even admits to having thoughts about being so inadequate that she worried she may drown her son. More
Brad Seng, an anti-abortion activist who teaches abstinence-only education in Colorado public schools, has an interesting way of engaging his students: backwash. He asks them to chew a mouthful of food, spit it into a cup of water, and offer it to other students. When students predictably refuse to sip each others’ backwash, he explains that having sex with someone who’s had premarital sex. But he says that he’s in not being judgemental…or pushing a sexist agenda. More
Children born to obese, hypertensive or diabetic mothers are 60% more likely to be autistic or have other developmental delays, according to a new study. This adds to a wealth of evidence linking maternal obesity with unhealthy or impaired children. Yet whenever the issue of pregnancy and weight gets attention—ahem, Jessica Simpson—everyone still acts like it’s mostly a matter of looks, or how it will affect post-pregnancy weight loss.
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Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus really, really wants all of the controversy surrounding women’s reproductive rights—you know, the one that stumps GOP nominee Mitt Romney and turns female voters off of his party—to go away. So to persuade everyone, he compared women to caterpillars, and called the birth control debate “fictional.” Because women haven’t been compared to animals enough this year. More
If you are plagued by cramping with your menstrual cycle each month, you’re not alone. Millions of women experience menstrual discomfort, making it a common cause of missed school or work hours. For some, dysmenorrhea, also known as painful menstruation, may begin a few days prior to the onset of menstrual flow, while the luckier ones experience it only on the first day or two. The symptoms of mild to severe cramping in the lower abdomen, low back, inner thighs or legs may last from one day to the whole length of the menstrual flow, up to six or seven days. Other symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fainting or headaches may also be associated in severe cases. But what many women may not realize is that their diet and lifestyle can have a huge impact on their monthly symptoms (or lack thereof). More
In Georgia, a bill intended to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks has passed both the state House and Senate. Speaking in support of the bill—officially HR 954, but referred to by lawmakers as the ‘fetal pain bill’ and opponents as the ‘women as livestock‘ bill—state Rep. Terry England compared pregnant women pigs and cows. The final, compromise bill allows for abortion after 20 weeks in cases where a fetus had “profound and irremediable’ anomalies that would be ‘incompatible with sustaining life after birth.’
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As we round out reproductive health week, we thought it was important to look at what often leads to reproduction in the first place–our libido. But for many women, a high sex drive is not always that easy. In fact, according to one study, 43% of respondents reported some level of sexual dysfunction. Of them, 39% reported low levels of desire, 26% had problems with arousal and 21% had difficulties with orgasm. If you fall into one of these categories (and who doesn’t from time to time?), not to worry! This week on Pimp My Health, we’re going to pimp your libido with some natural remedies that may just help you have great sex again. Take a look: More
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We’ve been talking a lot of about contraceptive and reproduction this week, and mostly focusing on female birth control. But the truth is, male birth control isn’t that far behind…and men want it. So why the long wait for a medication that is both in demand, and scientifically plausible? Guest writer Hunter Motto–a confirmed heterosexual male–attempts to parse it out. More
Writing for the Atlantic last week, Alice Dreger—a professor, bioethicist and mom—explained why the most scientific birth is actually the least technological. What’s that mean? It means Dreger read tons of scientific literature on childbirth and found that, in low-risk pregnancies, home birth with the aid of a midwife was statistically safer than giving birth in a hospital. More
I did some stupid things in my teens and 20s, but having unprotected sex was not one of them. In fact, I was all about doubling up on the protection (pill and condom; condom and foam – remember foam?). Sure, I had my share of drunken sex and one-night stands. Then, at one point, there was a serious boyfriend whom I thought I’d marry, maybe pop out a couple of babies with one day in the future. Throughout it all, my little purple packet of birth-control pills (Diane-35) lay on the bathroom counter alongside the staples (tweezers, toothbrush, hair straightener). In my mind, birth control was a given. It didn’t matter if you were banging some random frat boy in a dirty bathroom stall – so long as you used protection, you were golden.
Fast-forward two decades and, well, I use the “withdrawal” method (a.k.a. “pull out method” – when a man pulls out before he ejaculates). I say this sheepishly because, back in the early 90s, I would have judged anyone who actually considered “pulling out” to be a form of birth control. I would have called them stupid and naive. More
“Sex became a job instead of being fun and easy.” That’s how Khloe Kardashian describes “baby-making sex” – you know, sex for the sole purpose of making a baby – in the latest issue of New! magazine. And for the first time in the history of reality television, I agree wholeheartedly with a Kardashian. In fact, I couldn’t have said it better myself! That’s because baby-making sex is the worst kind ever. And anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
Here’s the deal: sex in general is awesome. It’s fun and and exciting and, well, it feels really fucking good (or at least it should). But when you’re doing it for the sole purpose of procreating, sex just becomes another thing on your giant to-do list. That’s right, the one thing that’s supposed relax you and make your problems disappear has the opposite effect. It’s stressful and tedious and, frankly, it becomes one of those things you actually have to “schedule in” – kind of like getting your teeth cleaned. Or summer highlights. More
Recently, I wrote about the reason I use birth control: so that I can have sex, and not babies, which is still true for me. But that’s not always the reason women take contraceptive–case in point, Hunger Games and 30 Rock actor Elizabeth Banks, who, in a recent blog post for CelebVillage, thanks the Pill for an unlikely miracle: her son, Felix, who was carried by a surrogate. Yup, for Banks, contraceptive was key to a happy, healthy family, and she wants to make sure everyone has the access they need. More
