Maternal death rates and the curse of senseless morality

For some reason there exists today a resistance towards openly discussing human sexuality and sexual and reproductive health in the world. Coming from a European country myself, and living in the United States since 1996, I am frequently stunned to see how taboo the subject is. The religious fanatics around the country have made sex a shameful subject. Yet, at the same time, there’s hardly a product advertised on tv without some half-naked woman gazing at you in an alluring way. It’s made all the more funny when she’s selling monistat or something. Nothing sexy about a yeast infection!!!

Some values and traditions hinder many organizations working on getting information out about sex, healthcare for mothers and mothers-to-be, advise on protection against STDs and pregnancy and the prevention of aids.  All this contributes to a encompassing and devastating discrimation of women and girls.

Millions of women around the world are denied the right to their own bodies and sexuality.  They are not given the right to decide if, how and when they will have sex, or how many children they are going to have. Case in point right here in the US with the polygamists in the west.  This inequality kills millions of women. Despite repeated promises, actions and goals on an international and national level, the mortality rate for mothers has only been marginally reduced in low income countries during the last 20 years. Every day, EVERY DAY, around 20,000 women and children die, from poor or non-existent healthcare for mothers. That’s about 7.5 million women and children every year.

The lack of political goodwill, resources and effective action, the majority of the women of the world are subject to unacceptable risks where their lives are at stakes during each pregnancy. And yet, we know what needs to be done!

Today, there is an International forum in Stockholm, Sweden regarding this issue. They have 3 major goals with high priority that they want to accomplish:

Strengthen women’s positions. A great number of the women in the world today live in poverty and are at a social and economical disadvantage. Girls must have access to education. Women must be given the opportunities to own land and property, to earn money and particpate in the business world and politics. Politicians, authorities, companies, organizations and religious groups must, to a much greater extent, pass on the message of womens’ rights.

Increase the availability of sexual and reproductive services. According to calculations done by the World Bank, the number of women who die during pregnancy and labor could bed reduced by 74% through extended healthcare for mothers, and if women were given access to much needed birthing care, such as bloodpressure reducing medication, antibiotics, suction tools during birth, c-sections and blood transfusions. Abortions are of course never a preferred method of birthcontrol, but those women who do not have access to other types of birth control or are victims of rape often see abortions as their only last resort. These abortions are often done under dangerous conditions. In some countries these dangerous abortions are responsible for about 40% of the maternal death rates.

Increase the availability of preventive birth control. Access to birth control could reduce the maternal dealth rates by 25-35%. Every woman must have access to, and decide for herself, which birth control method she is most comfortable with. Young women must also be given access to confidential information and advice.

With the help of well thought through and goal oriented measures, the maternal death rates could even be almost irradicated.  Numbers and experiences from countries in Europe show this.

People must have the opportunity to have their voices heard. We cannot let morality and destructive cultural practices decide the fate of women and children. 

The maternal death rate of today is simply unacceptable. As women, we have to make our voices heard for our sisters in countries where their voices are silenced, where their worth is lower than the animals on their farms. We need to educate the men in their societies and make them see sense.

Contact your state representatives today and ask them what they are doing to help the mothers of the world.

Well-educated women have less satisfying sex

If you have a good education, a bachelor’s perhaps, or a master’s. Perhaps even a Ph.D, kudos to you. Unfortunately, however, you may be one of the many well-educated women who have a hard time climaxing in bed.

In a recent study, 62% of those women who had been to university reported having difficulties with orgasm, compared to only 38% of the women who had not been educated at university.

The reason? Apparently the well-educated women think too much and can’t relax enough to enjoy the activity.

Heh. I never knew that was my problem.

Elisabeth Fritzl and her children send message to their town

“We, the whole family, want to thank everyone for their interest in our fate. Your empathy has been a tremendous help to get through this difficult time, and shows us that - after all - there are good and honest people in this world. We hope that the time will come when we can return to living a normal life.”

This is the greeting that Elisabeth Fritzl and her children sent to the inhabitants of Amstetten today.

On a big poster mounted in the window of a store in the town square Elisabeth and the children have drawn pictures of their hands with messages to the general public.  On one hand, Elisabeth herself wrote, “My wish: that my daughter Kerstin will get better.”

Meanwhile, in Austria, another family tragedy has been unveiled. In one of the more affluent parts of Vienna a man yesterday murdered not only his parents and father-in-law, but also his wife and 7 year old daughter. His weapon of choice was an axe. His wife’s partially covered body was found in a bath, and his daughter’s body was found in the closet, where she was probably trying to hide from her monstruous father.

One can’t help but wonder what the hell is going on over there.

Health myths you might not know about

MYTH YOU SHOULDN’T MIX ANTIBIOTICS AND ALCOHOL

FACT: It is always wise to try to avoid drinking alcohol when taking medication, since there is a possibility the combination will make you feel unwell. But doing so while taking antibiotics is unlikely to have any effect. 

It’s likely the myth came about since there are many drugs which can interact with alcohol, and either increase in potency of the medicine, or make you get drunk quicker.

The only exception is Metronidazole, an antibiotic used for a variety of infections. When mixed with even small amounts of alcohol, it causes vomiting.

MYTH BREAST EXAMINATION SAVES LIVES

FACT: The idea that regular breast examinations prevent women from dying of cancer was discredited by a major American study. But screening programmes and mammograms have been shown to improve survival.

In a survey of 266,000 women by the prestigious Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, the death rate from breast cancer was the same in the group taught to check their breasts as in the group given no information.

The researchers also found that self-examination led to an increase in anxiety and needless biopsies.

Breast examination may not have an effect on mortality, but being quick to respond to any noticeable changes such as a lump, any puckering or pain, may reduce the need for more extensive treatment.

MYTH BRUSH TEETH AFTER EATING SWEETS TO AVOID DECAY

FACT: You should never do this, a dentist says.  Whenever you eat something acidic or sugary it causes a temporary softening of the enamel. So if you brush straight away, you are scraping off this protective coating and, in effect, spitting your teeth down the sink.

Wait at least an hour before brushing with a flouride toothpaste, as the enamel will have hardened by then.

MYTH LUNG CANCER IS A SMOKER’S DISEASE

FACT: Although smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, one in eight cases are not linked to smoking. Second-hand smoke and contact with some substances such as asbestos will increase the risk, though the disease can occur in those who have not had any obvious exposure.

An American study found around eight per cent of men and 20 per cent of women who are diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked. Even if you are not an obvious candidate, it is always wise to see your doctor if you experience symptoms such as a prolonged cough or unexplained pain and weight loss.

And finally… a man does not run a higher risk of having a heart attack during sex. That excuse is obsolete. Research shows that the chances of a 50-year-old, non-smoking man suffering a heart attack is about one in a million in any hour.  Having sex increases these odds to two in a million. Sex, like any other form of physical exertion, does raise the heart attack risk in men with heart disease, or who experience severe chest pains regularly, have very high blood pressure or have a weak heart muscle or heart palpitations.

Sex raises your heart rate to around 130 beats a minute, which is roughly the same effect as climbing stairs for 15 to 20 seconds - so if you feel comfortable climbing the stairs, sex shouldn’t be a heart attack worry.

Are married people without children really happier?

Do you want to live a long and happy life?

Get married - but don’t have any children.

This is the conclusion Professor Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University has made as a result of a big survey in the United States and Europe.

“The numbers show that married people are happier in almost all instances than unmarried people, whether they be single, divorced or living together. Married people live longer, earn more money and have more sex. Children seem to increase the feelings of happiness while still invitro, but as soon as they are born, the problems start” Dr. Gilbert says.

However, all is not lost if you are married with children. You can still find your happiness again.

“When the kids grow up and move out”, Dr. Gilbert finishes.

Didn’t see that one coming.

Daughter of incest monster “never wants to see his face again”

Understandable, don’t you agree?

While Josef Fritzl is now facing life in prison for the murder of his baby son (who died three days after being born and who did not get the medical attention he needed because Josef did not want to be near his daughter as she gave birth, and whom he burned in his furnace), Elisabeth is making tremendous progress every day, spending time with her children and her mom. One of the first things she said to her rescuers, however, was “I never want to see his face again.” For her sake, I hope he is locked up for the rest of his life, and in solitary confinement for that matter.

What is going through her mother, Rosemarie’s head at this point? How do you reconcile the fact that you have spent your entire adult life married to a monster? How does Rosemarie cope with the fact that the man she married raped and abused her own daughter, right below her feet, for 24 years without her knowing? Does she look back, realizing the signs were there all along, or can she truly say she was completely in the dark all those years?

These women, and the children, are going to need some serious help for many years to come. I just hope it’s not too late.

 

Are cellulites and hairy armpits really news-worthy?

Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? Are we REALLY that petty that we have to read about and revel in celebrities having the same problem most of us “commoners” do? 

Reading the newspapers over the last few days and weeks, I’m struck by how horribly hypocritical they are. On the one hand they lament the negative body image the celebrities impart on us lesser women and how young women (and some not so young, even) end up anorexic as a result. In those same articles they go on to campaign for more pictures of normal women, and how we should stop perpetuating the image of skeletal people as being something to aspire to.

Then, often in the same paper, they hand out a whallop in the other direction. “Check out Mischa Barton’s Cellulite!” one paper screams. “What is wrong with Mischa, how can she have cellulite?” is the message from another.

I just want to scream myself. What is wrong with THE MEDIA??? Cellulite is a COMMON thing.. you don’t have to be fat to suffer from it!! Stretchmarks are another common thing.. slim people deal with them too. 

And what is the deal with saying “Nice pout, shame about the hairy armpits“??? Hair grows there naturally, folks. Not too long ago, nobody would have batted an eyelid at its existence. Men have it too, do we go around gasping in horror seeing the tufts of clumped and sweaty hair (I know.. ewww, right?)poking out from their armpits?? Well… of course not! Because men don’t buy into the “I need to make an effort to look good for everyone else” that we women unfortunately do. Nowadays, it would seem that any body hair on a woman, except for the hair on our heads, is taboo and something to wrinkle our noses and lift our eyebrows at.

We need to take a stand against this two-facedness of the media. We have to acclimatize people to the fact that we all have our flaws, we all deal with our own little burdens and it’s nobody’s dang business but our own. If the Mischa Bartons of this world want some downtime, catching a few rays and just letting it all hang out, then they should be allowed to do so without having to deal with zoom lenses working overtime to catch that miniscule little flaw that actresses and celebrities are supposed to be immune to. Leave them alone, media!

And stop perpetuating in one mouthful the unhealthy ideal that’s won so much acclaim while in your next mouthful berating those of us who do not desperately cling to the trends as they shift and shimmy. BACK OFF!!

Phew. Another thing I can check off on my to-do list of pet peeves that need addressing.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any crazier..

A paedophile who molested an 11-year-old girl escaped jail yesterday when a judge ruled the victim had “welcomed” his advances. I kid you not.

British Judge Robert Atherton triggered outrage when he told Manchester Crown Court the child had invited Jon Dixon’s attack as she had a “sexual awareness” that would make someone twice her age blush.

The judge rejected an assessment by the probation service that Dixon, 20, posed a “high risk of serious harm to children”.

The court heard that the pair met in an internet chatroom in February last year where the girl was posing as a 20-year-old.

Dixon and his victim exchanged 900 text graphic messages over a two-week period before the girl told Dixon she was actually aged 12 - although her real age was 11.

He continued to pursue her with more graphic sexual text messages, emails and a request for pornographic photos before they met.

‘It was clear the defendant’s attitude and intentions towards her had not changed despite her saying she was only 12,’ said the Prosecutor.

On March 15 last year Dixon met the girl during her school lunch break and sexually assaulted her. Two days later they met again when Dixon tried unsuccesfully to rape her in an alleyway.

Now, the Judge is basically saying the 11 year old girl brought it on herself, and that it was her own fault she was sexually assaulted. Oh, and the pedophile is free to go out there and do it again. In fact, he practically has a written invitation with his get-out-of-jail-free pass that he just handed in and which was so readily accepted.

Unbe-frickin-lievable.

Now Incest Monster says he “knew he did wrong”

Why am I not surprised? He has probably figured out, finally, that he is actually in deep trouble right now. So, what to do? Well.. make excuses of course!

His excuse for forcing himself on his daughter, and locking her up in a smelly, dark basement for 24 years while fathering 7 children with her through rape? The answer will stun you:

Out of all his kids with his wife, she looked most like his mother…

His mother, you see, (and I’m rolling my eyes here) was a person he loved and (shudder) lusted after. She was a disciplinarian, a controlling matron, and the woman he admired and loved most in the whole world. And although she punished him by beating him, he felt she was amazing. While he was still fairly little, she through his father out for being a cheating scoundrel. From then on, Josef was the “man of the house”, while still very much under his mom’s control. According to him, she made him what he is. Excuses, excuses.

The reason he raped his daughter he credits to a “need, an addiction”. He did not use protection.

“The truth is, I wanted to have children with Elisabeth” he says. “I was very happy to have them. It was a wonderful thought, that I had a wife and kids in the basement.”

I just bet it was.

“Elisabeth was different from her siblings, he says. She liked to go out and spend time with friends, she drank alcohol and stayed out late.”  Josef wanted to keep her “safe” from that type of life, so he imprisoned her. You see how it makes sense, right? NOT!!!

Then, as the days and weeks went by, the thought of releasing her became harder and harder to contemplate. Partly because he had a cushy situation, but mostly because, as a narcissist of the highest order, he didn’t want to end up in trouble, didn’t want to make his own life miserable.

Well, guess what … his cushy days are over. And, of course, .. that “insanity plea”.. he just threw that one out. Admitting that he knew what he did was wrong, shows that his actions were those of a “sane man”. I put those two words in quotation marks, because while he is not insane, there is also nothing sane about him, and he is in no way a man.

Incest Monster defends himself - “I could have killed them you know”

Apparently, according to Josef Fritzl, a monster that defies description, he did the kids and Elisabeth a favor by keeping them in the basement. And we should not have any illusions about what COULD have happened to them, had he not been “kind enough” to take Kerstin, the 19 year old daughter who fell ill, to hospital.  “I could have killed them all. Nothing would have happened then. Nobody would have found out, and I wouldn’t be where I am today. Without me, Kerstin would be dead today. I was kind enough to take her to hospital.”

This man does NOT regret what he did. The narcissism this man must be dosing himself up on, on a daily basis, knows no bounds. He attacks the “onesided picture” the media is painting of him, and hails himself as the childrens’ saviour.

What’s telling though, is that nobody from Mr. Fritzl’s two families have shown ANY interest in visiting him in jail. Which is understandable considering they must be INCREDIBLY ashamed to be associated with this monster, this devil. The press in Europe are dubbing him “Europe’s most hated man”. I think that might begin to describe how people feel about the scum.