Female Care

It takes a village to raise a family, someone once said.

In an ideal world, the hospital, medical center, midwife or doula would send us home with our swaddled new life in our arms and a map titled: DIRECTIONS TO THE VILLAGE. A waiting entourage would whisk our little family immediately and directly to the village, where we’d be heartily greeted by its members as they broke the hand-holding circle to allow us entry. We would spend the next three years there, raising our children among veteran mothers, fathers and sage elders. After that time, we would cross the line between the cared-for and the care-giver, and stand ready in the hand-holding circle to open the gates for the next wave of new life. Continue reading »

Every parent-to-be eagerly awaits the birth of a baby. At that time it is very rare for a new parent to worry about a life threatening illness that may afflict their baby in the distant future. However many parents now do consider saving and storing cord blood as a precaution. The decision a bout this safeguard against any future medical emergency has to be taken in advance as certain preparations are necessary.

Cord blood is rich source of stem cells which are the precursors to the various blood cells and other cells of the body. These stem cells can be transplanted just like bone marrow is transplanted. The procedure can give a new lease of life to a person suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, thalassemia or several immune system related genetic disorders. The stem cells harvested from the cord blood of a new born baby can be stored in a cord blood bank and used for the baby or members of his family if they ever suffer from any of these life threatening diseases. The stems cells can also be used to save the life of an unrelated person if the cells match. Continue reading »

Blackheads are a type of Acne Vulgaris, and are caused by small plugs that develop in the pores of the skin. Blackheads are caused a build up of excess oil in the sebaceous gland mixing with Propionibacterium Acnes Bacteria. This darkens on contact with the air to the color that gives them their name.

Blackheads are also known as comedomes, and can be made worse by wearing excessive makeup, although thankfully they are quite easy to treat effectively in order to really improve the look of the skin.

A person can get blackheads at any time in their life, from early childhood through to old age. Although they are generally less obvious than pimples, sufferers should avoid squeezing them. Although this is immediately satisfying, in the long term, this can leave scars and damage the skin. Squeezing blackheads can also cause them to get infected and swell up. Continue reading »

This article details one of the easiest weight loss programs ever. You can lose 20 pounds (9 kilograms) in 6 months. It has been proved to work. Well, at least once.

The method described here is most suitable for women of, shall we say, more mature years and the great thing about it is that the regime of exercise and diet is the easiest ever to follow. A little boring some might say but no need to calculate, to cook, or to figure out any complex menu—in fact no menu figuring what so ever. For the no cooking bit to work you do need a moderately (just moderately) cooperative husband, partner, lover, or other household member.

After considerable research on the best way to lose weight—approximately half a life time’s research actually, my wife and I decided on the moderate exercise and calorie counting method as the most likely to be successful for her to lose weight. How right we were. A simple case of less energy in than the energy going out—regular exercise combined with a calculated amount of healthy food. It’s the only way to go! Continue reading »

Cleaning your curling iron on a regular basis can be essential to beautiful, luxurious locks of glistening glory.  Women everywhere spend hours upon hours of prepping their hair with fancy shampoos to leave in conditioners to bodybuilding styling aids to moisturizing treatments to hydrating scalp treatments to strong hold hair sprays to designer colors and more.

If you are going to spend that much time in preparation, then you ought to be able to spend the ten minutes you need to clean one of the most important things in your supply of hair tricks- your curling iron.  After all, over time hair spray and hair gel build up on that magical wand. Continue reading »

Cord blood banking is a relatively new phenomenon in medicine. Umbilical cord blood, harvested from the newborn, is a rich source of stem cells. Stem cells provide the building blocks of the body’s immune system, and cord blood banking allows the family to bank these rich stem cells for use in the future. The baby itself, the baby’s parents, or the baby’s siblings may benefit long-term from cord blood banking, and finding a cord blood bank is a crucial part of preserving umbilical cord blood.

Why is cord blood banking so popular? In recent years, researchers have been able to save cord blood and retrieve it from a cord blood bank to be used to repair damaged immune systems, help chemotherapy patients to overcome cancer, and to help produce red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Continue reading »

The definition of infidelity, according to Webster’s Encyclopedia Dictionary is simple: “the lack of loyalty.” I pondered this definition for days. The question, “What is infidelity?” echoed through my mind. I came to the conclusion that, even though my dictionary gives a simple definition, that infidelity is really a complex issue.

Infidelity is many things. It is not just the act of having sexual intercourse with someone other than your partner. It is the act of being disloyal in any way.

I have always taken a firm stand against pornography. It is degrading to women and the fantasies that go along with it often lead to serious crimes. The profiles of thousands of rapists, pedophiles and serial killers have one thing in common. They are addicted to pornography. Continue reading »

For hundreds of years men and women have celebrated their unions with commitment and marriage, only to have those promises eventually shattered by a partner’s cheating ways. It can happen shortly after the honeymoon, or well into the child rearing years, but either way, it can deal a devastating blow to any intimate relationship. Many questions arise after an exposed betrayal – but the most prominent can be – why did this happen and where do we go from here? This is where the differences between men and women become less subtle and a little more predictable. Continue reading »

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa plagues approximately .5% of the American female population.  Anorexia is much less common among American men, affecting about one tenth of the number of affected women (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

So often, women who suffer from anorexia are overlooked, until they drop significant amounts of weight.  According to the American Psychiatric Association, it is much more common for women to exhibit borderline signs of anorexia, and thus, are diagnosed with Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.

How can you tell if someone you love is struggling with anorexia or a less prominent form of anorexia (eating disorder not otherwise specified)?  Tell-tale signs of anorexia include: self-starvation, tearing or cutting food into small pieces, sensitivity to cold, worrying about how “fat” she is, loss of menstruation, constantly comparing herself to other women’s shapes and sizes, and focusing a lot of attention on food and weight. Continue reading »

Welcoming a new baby into the home is of course an indescribably joyous occasion, but it can be a frightening one as well. One of the biggest challenges faced by new parents is how to properly childproof the home. After all, there are many items in the home that we take for granted, but which can be quite dangerous to little explorers. Before welcoming that new bundle of joy into the home, it is important to go room by room and make sure everything is safe and secure.

The Nursery
Let’s start at the logical place – the nursery or baby’s room. The room where the baby sleeps will need a number of childproofing and safety enhancements, such as:

• Installing a baby monitor
• Wrapping any curtain or blind cords and place them out of reach. Unwrapped curtain or blind cords could pose a strangulation hazard. Continue reading »