BLOG#7 (Chapter 7, Module 7)

• Many people equate STDs with immorality, promiscuous behavior and low social status. What are you thoughts on this statement?
  

STDs has no respect of person! Therefore anyone, whether they be married, single, promiscuous, faithful, a priest or a minister, that engages in sexual contact with an infected individual can contract the disease. This stigma that society has developed about the transmission/contraction of STDs can bring harm to uneducated individuals (in regards to healthcare) that believe only those who are promiscuous and poor are susceptible to these type of diseases. Anyone who has sexual contact with an individual is also having sexual contact with everyone that individual has engaged in sexual contact with. In some cases, individuals unknowingly pass along STDs and they do not know they are infected. As future healthcare educators, we need to emphasis that it can happen to YOU too! It can happen to you when you engage in unprotected sexual activity or protected sexual activity and have skin-to-skin contact with an infected individual! It can happen to you if you do not become wise and continue to be fooled by the misconception that only a certain class of individuals contract STDs! It can happen to you if you fail to take responsibility for your own health!

It can happen to YOU too!

BLOG#6 (Chapter 6, Module 6)

• Should prenatal testing be routine for all pregnant women?

Yes, I believe prenatal testing should be routine for all pregnant women, however I do not believe that prenatal testing should be mandatory! One year before I gave birth to my daughter, my first cousin and his wife gave birth to a daughter who has Down’s syndrome. When my obstetrician discovered this information on my patient history form, he immediately wanted me to have an amniocentesis to detect if there were any abnormalities with my child and if so, he stated, “You can have an abortion” - I was LIVID! I refused to have the test performed because I would not have aborted my child even if I knew she had Down’s syndrome. For two months, my obstetrician literally tortured me to have the testing done and it was not until I threatened to report him to have his medical license revoked that he backed off. Test results are not 100% accurate! I cannot begin to imagine all of the women who may have been in this situation and possibly aborted their babies because of false positive test results. My cousin and his wife have had two other children that they were told, after amniocentesis testing, tested positive for Down’s syndrome, neither were born with the disease. To this day, I am glad that I followed my intuitions and opted not to follow through with the recommended amniocentesis testing. During my pregnancy, I had two ultrasounds that indicated that I was carrying a boy…on December 14, 1992 I gave birth to a baby girl. The walls in her nursery were painted blue, I had three baby showers…received ALL boy clothes, blue stroller, blue blankets, etc.. His name was going to be Kristopher - approximately week after I gave birth, I’ll never forget it (December 24, 1992), I was in the mall experiencing discomfort from my caesarian incision, exchanging baby clothes…LOL!

Despite my past experiences and as a future healthcare educator, I would encourage women to make an educated decision based on their personal/family medical history and their personal beliefs.

BLOG#5 (Chapter 5, Module 5)

• In what ways could someone’s culture, beliefs and practices influence contraceptive decision making?
  
  One’s cultural and religious beliefs have a great influence on the decisions women make about contraceptives. I state ‘women’ because it is usually up to the woman to take the necessary precautions regarding birth control, especially in my culture - I am African-American where the majority of the women take birth control pills, injections or Norplants. Although, birth control is discussed between the couple, it is the woman who is responsible for taking the birth control pills, ensuring that she has adequate refills and/or makes her appointment for the next scheduled injection. I am also Protestant and I have been reared and taught according to the bible that ‘we should be fruitful and multiply’ (Genesis 9:1-7) – which has been interpreted as contraceptives such as birth control pills, Norplants, injections, etc. are not acceptable. Since these types of effective birth control methods are not acceptable, many women are embarrassed to admit that they use any of these contraceptives. Note the different religious based views and some modern misconceptions regarding contraceptives listed on Wikipedia’s website:
  
  Religions vary widely in their views of the ethics of birth control. In Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church accepts only Natural Family Planning,[20] while Protestants maintain a wide range of views from allowing none to very lenient.[21] Views in Judaism range from the stricter Orthodox sect to the more relaxed Reformed sect.[22] In Islam, contraceptives are allowed if they do not threaten health or lead to sterilty, although their use is sometimes discouraged.[23] Hindus may use both natural and artificial contraceptives.[24]
  
  Modern misconceptions and urban legends have given rise to a great deal of false claims:
  
  ~~The suggestion that douching immediately following intercourse works as a contraceptive is untrue. While it may seem like a sensible idea to try to wash the ejaculate out of the vagina, it does not work. Due to the nature of the fluids and the structure of the female reproductive tract–if anything, douching spreads semen further towards the uterus. Some slight spermicidal effect may occur if the douche solution is particularly acidic, but overall it is not scientifically observed to be a reliably effective method.
  
  ~~The suggestion to shake a bottle of Coca-Cola and insert it into the vagina after ejaculation is not a form of birth control, it does not prevent pregnancy, and doing this can also promote candidiasis (yeast infections).
  
  ~~It is a myth that a female cannot get pregnant the first time she engages in sexual intercourse.
  
  ~~While women are usually less fertile for the first few days of menstruation,[11] it is a myth that a woman cannot get pregnant if she has sex during her period.
  
  ~~Having sex in a hot tub does not prevent pregnancy, but may contribute to vaginal infections.
  
  ~~Although some sex positions may encourage pregnancy, no sexual positions prevent pregnancy. Having sex while standing up or with a woman on top will not keep the sperm from entering the uterus. The force of ejaculation, the contractions of the uterus caused by prostaglandins[citation needed] in the semen, as well as ability of sperm to swim overrides gravity.
  
  ~~Sneezing or urinating after sex are also completely ineffective, they do not prevent pregnancy and are not forms of birth control.
  
  ~~Toothpaste cannot be used as an effective contraceptive[12]
  
  

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Religious and cultural

attitudes. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_control#Religious_and_cultural_attitudes

BLOG#4 (Chapter 4, Module 4)

• 
  When you went through menarche (first menstrual cycle), was it a positive experience that was celebrated by you or your family? Or was it a negative experience (shame, embarrassment, fear, etc)

When I went through my first menstrual cycle it was during the summer, I was away from home visiting with my grandmother in Louisiana. I was about to start the 6th grade and it was no big deal to me, but my grandmother was excited and told me I was now a ‘lady’! She got on the telephone and commenced to telling everyone she spoke with within the next few days that her granddaughter had gotten her period!! I was somewhat embarrassed because I am a very private person and I did not believe EVERYONE needed to know that I had started my period. She gave me 10 cents to go to the corner store (Hudson’s) to buy whatever I wanted…that was the most exciting part for me! At the time, I did not understand why she gave me money but now, several hundred years and one daughter later…I now understand that menarche is a milestone in a young girl’s life that should be welcomed and celebrated. This initial change in a young girl’s life marks the journey of many health changes regarding her body and it is the perfect opportunity to begin a never-ending open discussion about any and everything. Wikipedia’s website listed (see below) how different cultures in past have had rites of passage for a girl experiencing menarche:

Rites of passage

• In the U.S.A., rites of passage are rare since girls are taught to keep aspects of sexual development private. However, some families change that by giving the girl a card of congratulations, or even a candle lit ceremony.
  
• The Navajo Indians had a celebration called kinaalda (kinn-all-duh). Girls run footraces to show strength. A cornmeal pudding is made for the tribe to taste. The girls who experience menarche wear special clothes and style their hair like the Navajo goddess "Changing Woman".
  
• The Nootka Indians thought menarche was a time for a physical strength test. The girl is taken out to sea and left there. She is to swim back and when she returns to the shore of the village, she is cheered.
  
• The Mescalero Apaches consider their menarche celebration the most important. Each year, an 8-day-long ceremony is celebrated in honor of each girl who began their period that year. The first 4 days include of feasting and dancing. Boy singers recount the history of the tribe each evening. The other four days are a private celebration where girls have a private ceremony, reflecting on passing into womanhood.
  
• In Australia, the Aborigines treated a girl to "love magic". The women teach her of the female powers and the physical changes marking womanhood.
  
• When a Japanese girl gets her period, the family celebrates by eating red colored rice and beans.
  
• The Ulithi (oo-lith-ee) tribe of Micronesia call a girl's menarche kufar (koo-faar). She goes to a menstrual house where the women bathe her and recite spells. The girl will go back to the menstrual house when her next period comes.
  
• In Nigeria in the Tiv tribe, four lines are cut in her abdomen, being thought to make her a woman and more fertile.
  
• Sri Lanka notes the time and day. An astrologer is contacted, who studies the star's alignment at the noted moment. This is done to predict the girl's future. Her house is prepared for a ritual bathing, where the girl is scrubbed all over by the women of the family. She then is dressed in white. Printed invites for a party are sent out, where the girl receives money and special gifts.

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Menarche. Retrieved February 6, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menarche

BLOG#3 (Chapter 3, Module 3)

• Read the self-assessment on pg 84. How would you rate your “preventive practices?” What are some ways in which you can improve your health? What preventative practices do you already implement?
  

Based on the self-assessment, my “preventive practices” rate is in the eighty percentile. I can improve my health by exercising more and getting more sleep. I tend to use my work and personal schedules as reason to justify my not having time to go to the gym and exercise. However, instead of using the interoffice mail at work I personally deliver documents, I take the stairs instead of using the elevator and when I shop on the weekends, I park at the far end of the parking lot and on the opposite end of the mall from the stores I intend to visit. I do not have a solution for my lack of sleep right now because I work full-time and I do the majority of my reading at night after I arrive home from work and finish my household chores. Not only do I keep late hours, but I get up before 6 a.m. everyday, including the weekends. I go to the hair salon every Saturday morning and Sunday is devoted for church. However, I usually take a nap on Saturday and Sunday evenings around 4 p.m. for a couple of hours. I am really concerned about my lack of sleep…during the day I have to eat light because around 2 p.m. I get very sleepy. I’m open for suggestions!