What’s something that women spend an average of 3,000 days doing over the course of their lives, yet rarely talk about? Menstruating! With the typical age of menarche (first period) occurring between 12-13 in developed countries, and an average of two to seven days of menstruation per month-it adds up! Periods add up in other ways, too: some research […]
reproductive health
Nutrition Month Tips
Women’s Nutrition It’s March, which means it’s National Nutrition Month! “Go Further with Food” is the theme for 2018, and its importance is timely for many reasons. Whether it’s starting the day off right with a healthy breakfast or fueling before an athletic event, the foods you choose can make a difference. In this newsletter, we focus […]
Lessons Learned Series: Recommendations for Providers (Part 4)
Providers are delivering care within a contained framework that is pressed for time, prohibiting the average provider from really building a relationship with patients. In a perfect world one that we can absolutely develop for generations to come – providers and patients would have a relationship similar to that of the case management relationship shared […]
The Later Reproductive Years
The Later Reproductive Years They say that age is nothing but a number, when it comes to having a baby past the age of 35, (unfortunately) it’s one that we need to pay more attention to. This month we highlight the “later” reproductive years, what to expect, and how to ensure your health for, what […]
Lessons Learned Series: Voluntary Kinship (Part 3)
In Part II of the Lessons Learned Series: Defining Support, I shared a snapshot of a collection of conversations from Young Families Connect participants and recent conversations with willing participants (signed consent) who shared how they would like to be supported as new moms by their medical providers. I wrapped up the last blog by […]
Lessons Learned Series: Defining Support (Part 2)
Women of childbearing age in local community based programs* are unapologetically sharing their stories with their peers and community influencers (i.e. doulas, care management team and volunteers). These women represent the Young Families Connect program and a collection of other programs housed at the YWCA Greensboro. For the last two years, I have been the […]
Lessons Learned Series: Strategies to Care for Young Families in the Rural South (Part 1)
Local community organizations across the Southeast are opening safe spaces for women of childbearing age to share their stories about preconception and perinatal health care. These are informal storytellers – everyday folks who share common threads, including motherhood and participation in a community infant mortality reduction program. However, these programs aren’t administered as a publicly […]
Black Mamas Matter
Black women and their babies have suffered centuries of injustice. Black women’s voices are co-opted, but not heard. Change must happen. Tweet Facts are facts, Black women living in the South face historic, ongoing challenges to their health and wellbeing. While we can argue that all women in the South could have better health outcomes, […]
My Doctor DIDN’T Fat-Shame Me And It Was A Radical Life-Changing Experience
OR: A brief history of why I hated doctors for so long, and why I finally stopped. “Your blood pressure is a little higher than I’d like. It’s 120 over 90. If it isn’t lower by the time I next see you, I’ll have to take you off the pill.” I am 20 years old, […]
The Benefits of Planning for Your Reproductive Future
During my teenage years, my girlfriends always provided good advice. From who to date and what outfit to wear to school, to what colleges to apply to and how to bargain shop. They did not have a say, however, in my figuring out when to have children. Planning for my reproductive future was always a […]