Margaret Sanger ~ Blog 5

Bio.com tells us that Margaret Sanger was an early feminist and women's rights activist who coined the term "birth control" and worked towards its legalization (pg. 1).  Margaret was born in New York and raised in a Catholic family of 11 children.  She witnessed the struggles her mother encountered raising a large family and felt that lack of birth control education contributed to her mother’s young death.  Margaret sought higher education, studied nursing and relocated to the “progressive” area of Greenwich Village.  Her passion to educate and provide birth control to women was born after working with and witnessing the hardships women encountered trying to raise children while pregnant and living in poverty.  She opened the first birth control clinic in the US, was arrested and actually fled the country in pursuit of reproductive rights for women.  She held controversial ideas for her times—specifically eugenics.  I feel the statement below taken from bio.com illustrates the motives behind such contentious debate…

For all of her advocacy work, Sanger was not without controversy. She has been criticized for her association with eugenics, a branch of science that seeks to improve the human species through selective mating. As grandson Alexander Sanger, chair of the International Planned Parenthood Council, explained, "She believed that women wanted their children to be free of poverty and disease, that women were natural eugenicists, and that birth control, which could limit the number of children and improve their quality of life, was the panacea to accomplish this." Still Sanger held some views that were common at the time, but now seem abhorrent, including support of sterilization for the mentally ill and mentally impaired. Despite her controversial comments, Sanger focused her work on one basic principle: "Every child should be a wanted child."

                                                                                                (bio.com, page 2)

Margaret passed away in 1966; however, she did witness her hard work justified in 1965 as an important reproductive rights goal was met with passed ground-breaking legislation--Griswold v. Connecticut which legalized birth control for legal married couples.

Reference:

Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-sanger-9471186, pgs. 1-3.

Blog 4

The sorrows Alzheimer patients and families experience are close to my heart.  I was seven years old walking through the grocery store with my grandmother when she turned to me with a blank look in her eyes and asked “who I was” and “what we were doing”.  Barbara Price died at age 58 from complications of early onset Alzheimer.  Members of the family claim her memory encountered lapses as young as her late thirties.

The Alzheimer’s Association web page lists eight myths regarding this devastating disease…

Myth 1.   Memory loss is a natural part of aging—if you have ever been in contact with an Alzheimer patient you will understand the difference between an infrequent memory lapse versus the disease that triggers brain cell breakdown and death.        

Myth 2.   Alzheimer’s disease is not fatal—there are no survivors.  This condition produces unpredictable behavior, loss of body functions, loss of identity and communication. 

Myth 3. Only older people can get Alzheimer’s—early onset Alzheimer’s can affect persons in their 30s, 40s and 50s.  The numbers are 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, 5.2 million people age 65 and over and 200,000 people under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Myth 4, 5, 6 & 7 involve environmental factors increasing the risk of Alzheimer—cooking/drinking out of aluminum pots/cans, aspartame, flu shots and silver dental fillings.   There is no data to support these theories.   

Myth 8.  Treatment to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease is available—there is no cure.  Treatment/medications are available to slow down the progress of the disease.

Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_myths_about_alzheimers.asp

Blog 2

Interview a woman on her decision to have children or be “childless” .  Summarize her response and your thoughts regarding your interviewee’s response.

My interview was with a 64 year young woman who is childless.  She stated she knew at 18 years of age that she did not want to have children.  A contributing factor in this choice may have been associated with her childhood as her father and mother split up when she was small.  She stated she grew up in a loving home that her mother provided and she could not pinpoint any conscious thought that this situation was the reason.  There was never a doubt or a moment she thought she might have children.  She states there was never any pressures from her mother to have children.  She mentioned her love of animals and that she feels she would have been a good mother, an nervous mother, but a good one.  She has been married twice and her current marriage partner has two children and many grandchildren whom she is very fond.  She is quite content with her life--no regrets.

Before this interview I was thinking I was interested to hear tones in the woman's voice that might reflect other emotions than what she was verbally stating. I was wrong as her words rang true.  It appeared that it was not a topic she gave much thought to after her initial decision was made.  It appears that she understands herself and her limitations which I feel puts a person in a good position to build on a honest life with less worries from taking a wrong direction.  What do you think?

Blog 1 ~ Health Issues

Hello class...

Option 1
What health issues you are most concerned about?  Why?  Interview 2-3 women (different ages, ethnicity's and/or cultures if possible) and ask them the same question.  You may provide pseudo names to protect their identity.  How are your concerns similar or different?  Explain.

At this stage in my life, which our textbook tells me is midlife, the issues I'm most concerned with are the health of my reproductive organs and eating healthy and staying fit while working full time and sitting most of the day.  I've just recently experienced a uterine ablation and d&c as I have been feeling poorly for over a year with anemia (caused by losing iron through heavy periods)  To be honest, I feel like a new women.  Pardon the terminology, but who knew you could feel so good after a doctor scrapes and cauterizes your uterus.  I do have fibroid tumors but was not ready for a hysterectomy.  I hope I'm not scaring you younger chicks out there!  I've always been a very healthy person...no doctors, medicine or conditions.

I've interviewed 3 women ages 22-65 and their responses are condensed pseudo below...

Female 1 ~ 22 years old, white, unmarried/no children, college student
This young female at first commented that she has -0- health concerns.  I laughed and asked her to dig a little deeper.  She commented that she uses birth control and is concerned about cpv (cervical cancer).  Fitness, eating healthy and staying alert while managing 15+ hours a semester were also concerns.

Female 2 ~ late 30's, married, 3 young girls, employed full time, Mexican heritage
This female stated she is concerned most with diet/poor eating habits.  Both she and her husband work full time and she states it is a struggle to teach and set good examples for their children.  Her youngest child is very small and does not eat much.  She mentioned that when you have children, their issues take priority. 

Female 3 ~ 65 years old, married, grown children and many grandchildren, does not work outside the home, white
This female states she is most concerned with the specifics of type 2 diabetes.  She has just been diagnosed and she feels she can control this disease with diet/exercise.  She is always moving but does not like to exercise.  Another concern she has is for her mental health.  She helps to care for her mother-in-law who has dementia.  This females mental health is strongly affected by the experiences she encounters with her mother-in-law.

These interviews show the strong correlation between good health and eating habits/exercise.   The other issues arise during the different stages in a women's life...Young Adulthood, Midlife and Senior.

Bio...

Amy Jo Wallace...a happily married, 40+ young mother of two returning to school to complete a bachelor's degree.  My major is general studies with concentrations in business/art.  I'm employeed full time so the online degree programs that TWU offer are fantastic.  I enjoy my family, reading, movies, travel, fashion and nature.  This class is an elective for me and a topic of great interest since I am...woman :)  Our minds/bodies are amazing and mine is starting to change...I hope to gain insight and knowledge into these midlife/later years.   

Interesting insights that you might not expect or know about me after a first meeting...I am a huge tennis fan/player and I enjoy riding with my husband on his Harley motorcycle.  Best wishes for an inspiring semester in women's health...