A fairly recent article in an Australian newspaper ─ October 2016 ─ had the inflammatory headline, " Call to stop obese women from having babies. " The picture below it featured a woman with a slight double chin and said, " Experts warn obese women should not have children. " Well, here we go again with the Obesity Eugenics Wars. This incredibly discriminatory movement is the winner of not one but two Turkey Awards. It's time to call these egregious practices out. If you aren't familiar with them, the Turkey Awards are the "prizes" I hand out to highlight fat-phobic treatment of people of size from care providers, biased attitudes or studies from researchers, or troubling trends in the care of fat pregnant women these days. In past years of the Turkey Awards, we've talked about: #1: fat-phobic care providers #2: scare-mongering and shaming tactics #3: jumping to conclusions about risks #4: scorched earth tactics #5: prenatal weight gain e...
Image: Disney "At my last doctors appointment I went in and asked my doctor if I could continue with the pregnancy past 40 weeks if I were still pregnant. He said No because the risk of uterine rupture goes up past 40 weeks." source "Gestational age greater than 40 weeks alone should not preclude Trial of Labor After Cesarean." ACOG Many women planning a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) are told by their providers that they will be supported for a VBAC, but their doctors often conveniently forget to mention ahead of time that they enforce arbitrary rules that require women to go into labor by 40 weeks or be forced into a cesarean, like the woman quoted above. Some even insist on a repeat cesarean by 39 weeks . This is what author Henci Goer calls a " Cinderella VBAC ." The doctor claims to support VBACs, but puts so many limits on VBAC labors that almost no one gets one. Examples: the mother must go into labor before 40 weeks, the baby has to...
This blog has an ongoing series on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Because so much information has been gathered about it, I am putting up this Quick Guide to the PCOS Series so the information is more searchable and easier to use. Keep checking back periodically. More posts will be added as they are finished. This PCOS series is unique on the internet because it is weight-neutral. There are many other sites with information on PCOS, but most emphasize weight loss or strict dietary restrictions as cornerstones of treatment. ( More on that below. ) This series does not push weight loss or a particular diet as a treatment, but rather discusses approaches that are not weight-centric. Weight loss as an approach is mentioned on occasion because doctors recommend it so often, but it is not promoted, and its pros and cons are critically examined. No one is shamed because they do or do not choose weight loss as a treatment. I encourage you to review many different sites on PCOS and t...
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