2.22.2008

In the News

In Canada, some doctors are claiming a "conscience clause" to refuse women pap smears. Because, you know, only dirty girls get cervical cancer.

Midwife licensure bill passes Missouri senate committee. Yay! Keep up the good work, MO.

Our Bodies Our Blog focuses on teens' dirty vagina diagrams and sex education today.

Avoiding unnecessary labor induction is a good thing.

You know how Henry VIII cast aside his wives when they "failed" to produce male heirs to his throne? (He was hardly the only man blaming his spouse for lack of male offspring.) I see some parallels to that in all the emphasis that is placed on mothers' habits, health, age, diet, etc. in determining the health of her baby. Our wombs are not vacuums, folks! It takes two to tango, and two to make a baby, as it turns out. Some recent research is confirming that dads play a part in making a healthy baby, too. Paternal exposure to toxins can have a real impact on fetal development. So can age. (Hear that, ACOG?)