Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The 8 Inalienable Rights of Pregnant Women

In 1978 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the EEOC passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act which put into law that firing or not hiring a woman simply because she is pregnant is illegal and is punishable.

Apparently some businesses still do not understand the ramifications of their actions if they in fact fire or refuse to hire someone because of their pregnancy status. 

CNNMoney put out an article on summarizing the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. The article found that within the fiscal year, “government agencies received 5,370 charges alleging pregnancy discrimination in the workplace”

CNN listed 8 inalienable rights of pregnant women: 

1. An employer cannot fire a woman because she's pregnant
2. A company cannot refuse to hire a woman because she's pregnant -- or because she may become pregnant in the future
3. New mothers have the right to pump breast milk at work in a safe place. A company cannot fire or discriminate against a woman because she's lactating
4. In some cases, pregnancy-related conditions may entitle women to special accommodations
5. An employer cannot force you to take time off or change jobs, if you're still able to do your job
6. Non-medical leave must be equally available to both women and men
7. You can't be harassed based on pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions
8. You cannot be fired for having an abortion or considering having an abortion



The most common complaint was that employers fired the workers for being pregnant.  One of the interesting points of the article is that even if an employer wants to limit a pregnant worker from doing dangerous, toxic, or hard jobs and have them switch to an easier job, the employer cannot make that decision for the pregnant worker.  Changing jobs within the company can only be initiated by the pregnant worker herself or her doctor.   


The article as stirred up quite a bit of opinions so we would like to hear your opinion on the matter.  Do you think there is still pregnancy discrimination out there today? Have you ever been discriminated when you are pregnant? Have you ever had an employer ask you about your plans for becoming pregnant? 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

A pre-pregnancy contract?

Rebecca Onion wrote an article in Slate Magazine last week about having a Pre-pregnancy contract that divides up all baby duties before the baby is born, a prepup if you will.

Onion says a prepup would be a “legally binding document, outlining expectations and setting a course for periodic re-examination of the division of labor, alleviate my fears, and prevent aggravation, or fights, or divorce, in the future?

This article in Slate Magazine has been quite controversial in this 21st century feminism world.  Many women believe that parenting today is a two-street and both parents should want to parent their newborn equally.  However, as pointed out there is no real way to enforce this contract.  If you are going to divorce your husband because they didn’t change the diaper at 2am when he was supposed to, is this contract really helping to prevent divorce and rocky marriages?  Chances are if you are going to divorce him over not changing a diaper, you don’t have a strong marriage and probably would get a divorce anyway eventually even without the prepup contract.  Dividing up tasks in a legally binding agreement just says that you are insecure in your marriage to me.

“In a “spontaneous” household, work tends to revert to the less spontaneous person, who is often the one culturally expected to carry it out. “

The Huffington Post picked up the story and asked a few bloggers and therapists to video chat with them regarding the article. 
The opinions had the same sentiment among all of the guests.  If you need a contract to force your husband to change a diaper or feed your child then you probably shouldn’t be married to him.  Most of the guests did agree that before baby arrives you should have a talk with your partner and decide how you are going to divide up tasks so neither parent feels resentment towards the other.

The guests during the live stream were:
Alesandra Dubin 
@AliceDubin (Los Angeles, CA) Lifestyle Writer ; Pregnancy Blogger for Parents.com

Elena 
@prebabyblog (FL) Blogger, 'The Art Of Making A Baby'; Managing Editor, Daily Mom

Kate Dunbar               (Ventura, CA) Chef & Blogger, 'Kate's Curious Kitchen'

Sherry Amatenstein LCSW 
@sherapynyc (NYC) Relationship Therapist; Author of 'The Complete Marriage Counselor'


You can watch the recorded video that was live this morning on Huff Post LiveOnline.

Do you think prepups will work? 

Do you think they are applicable now more than ever? 

Would you use a prepup on your husband?

Monday, July 21, 2014

Eating for Two?

Since women have been pregnant since the dawn of time, there has been the connotation that eating for two is the right thing to do and is one of the healthiest actions a new mother can take while being pregnant.  However in recent years, the eating for two bubble has been popped.  Eating for two means eat enough for new mom and new baby that is growing inside.  It does not mean eating for two human beings however. 


 The Conversation recently reported about the suggested weight gains for women who are pregnant.  The suggests weight changes depending on how overweight or underweight the mother was before becoming pregnant. 

“The amount of weight you should gain during pregnancy depends on your pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). If you’re a healthy weight, with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9, you should gain 11.3 to 15.9 kilograms. If you’re underweight, with a BMI of less than 18.5, you’ll need to gain a couple more: 12.7 to 18.1kg.

If you’re overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9, you should gain a little less: 6.8 to 11.3kg. For obese women with a BMI of 30 or above, the recommended weight gain is between five and nine kilograms.

If this weight gain sounds excessive, keep in mind that the baby at term makes up only about one-third of this weight. The rest may be made up of other tissues and fluids, including an extra 2kg of blood, 1.5kg of breast tissue, 0.5kg placenta and 1kg amniotic fluid. All of this weight is quickly lost after birth.”

Even though some women strive to eat healthy during pregnancy, most women welcome the cravings and succumb to chocolate cake and pickles.

There is currently a study in Victoria Australia that is looking at the excess weight gain of women during pregnancy.  The study is part of Deakin University in Victoria.
The study is looking at the extra weight that women gain and the psychology behind it.  Emily Kothe, a psychology lecturer at Deakin is behind the study.  It is looking specifically at first world mothers who struggle to maintain a healthy diet despite being highly motivated to do so. Women across Australia are being asked to be part of the study.


"Data from our previous studies clearly shows that it is not a lack of motivation to eat well that causes around half of pregnant women to put on excess weight," said Deakin psychology lecturer Emily Kothe. "Mothers want to eat well for their, and their baby's health.  But something is stopping them from being able to translate their motivation for healthy eating into action."

"We know that we only achieve about 47 per cent of all the things we intend to do, partly due to lapses in self-control that make it hard to act on our intentions even when we're motivated," Dr Kothe said. "So we all have a self-control limit which is more likely to be reached when we're stressed or tired or have been paying a lot of attention to controlling our behaviour. It is possible that with all of the extra things that women have to deal with while pregnant, they simply reach the limit of their self-control when it comes to what they eat."


If you want to learn more about the Deakin Study here is their Facebook Page:



What does “eating for two” mean for you? 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

First Tennessee Woman Charged on Controversial New Drug Law

Time Magazine reported two days ago that 26-year-old Mallory Loyola was arrested on July 8th and charged with misdemeanor assault after she and her newborn baby tested positive for meth. Monroe County Sheriff Bill Bivens told a local news station in Knoxville, Tenn., that Loyola admitted to smoking meth days before the birth of her child. 

This controversial new law went into effect earlier this month.  The law allows mothers to be "prosecuted for assault for the illegal use of a narcotic drug while pregnant" if the child is harmed by, or becomes addicted to the drug in question. 

The new law punishes women who have a drug problem instead of helping them through it. Pregnancy is a hard time in a woman's life but making them feel like criminals will not help the drug problem in America.  

Jessica Valenti, a writer for The Guardian posted a response article to this new law about women being treated as potential criminals.  

"A world in which all women who can get pregnant are considered "pre-pregnant" – and in which the state has more of a vested interest in protecting any embryo or fetus at any stage of development than the woman herself – is the stuff of nightmares, and a frightening future that's already upon us.
But a pregnant woman is still a person under the law, with the right to make decisions – even poor ones – about her own body. Instead of living in some Margaret Atwood-style dystopian world where we regulate, monitor and punish vulnerable pregnant women, let's instead make sure that those who need help, get it – and not from inside a jail cell."


 What do you think about this new law? Do you think women should be prosecuted or helped if they have a drug problem while pregnant? 

Monday, July 14, 2014

SurePredict Guarantee


Here at USHealth Tests and SurePredict we know that sometimes tests are faulty.  This is because of natural human error, a slight manufacturing flaw, or bad dye in the test itself.  We are committed to make sure you have a beneficial experience with SurePredict which is why we are offering a 100% replacement guarantee if any of the tests fail you.  




 If you have instructions regarding our tests: 
Please read over all of our instructions carefully.  If you lost your instructions you can download them here on our website. If you still have questions you can call us Monday through Friday at 
511-866-TEST-NOW or email us at sales@ushealthtests.com. 

If you experience a bad test: 
 If you have received a bad test please call us at 511-866-TEST-NOW or email us at sales@ushealthtests.com.  Please have your order number, where you ordered our tests from, the date, and your personal information when you call so we can verify your order before we initiate the replacements.  If you do receive a bad test please take photos for us before you throw them out. 








Monday, July 7, 2014

Overweight and Pregnant?



Pregnancy, or the desire to become pregnant, often inspires women to take better care of themselves — quitting smoking, for example, or eating more nutritiously.
But now many women face an increasingly common problem: obesity, which affects 36 percent of women of childbearing age. In addition to hindering conception, obesity — defined as a body mass index above 30 — is linked to a host of difficulties during pregnancy, labor and delivery.
These range from gestational diabetes, hypertension and pre-eclampsia to miscarriage, premature birth, emergency cesarean delivery and stillbirth.
The infants of obese women are more likely to have congenital defects, and they are at greater risk of dying at or soon after birth. Babies who survive are more likely to develop hypertension and obesity as adults.
To be sure, most babies born to overweight and obese women are healthy. Yet a recently published analysis of 38 studies found that even modest increases in a woman’s pre-pregnancy weight raised the risks of fetal death, stillbirth and infant death.
Personal biases and concerns about professional liability lead some obstetricians to avoid obese patients. But Dr. Sigal Klipstein, chairwoman of the committee on ethics of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says it is time for doctors to push aside prejudice and fear. They must take more positive steps to treat obese women who are pregnant or want to become pregnant.
Dr. Klipstein and her colleagues recently issued a report on ethical issues in caring for obese women. Obesity is commonly viewed as a personal failing that can be prevented or reversed through motivation and willpower. But the facts suggest otherwise.
Although some people manage to shed as much as 100 pounds and keep them off without surgery, many obese patients say they’ve tried everything, and nothing has worked. “Most obese women are not intentionally overeating or eating the wrong foods,” Dr. Klipstein said. “Obstetricians should address the problem, not abandon patients because they think they’re doing something wrong.”
Dr. Klipstein is a reproductive endocrinologist at InVia Fertility Specialists in Northbrook, Ill. In her experience, the women who manage to lose weight are usually highly motivated and use a commercial diet plan.
“But many fail even though they are very anxious to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy,” she said. “This is the new reality, and obstetricians have to be aware of that and know how to treat patients with weight issues.”
The committee report emphasizes that “obese patients should not be viewed differently from other patient populations that require additional care or who have increased risks of adverse medical outcomes.” Obese patients should be cared for “in a nonjudgmental manner,” it says, adding that it is unethical for doctors to refuse care within the scope of their expertise “solely because the patient is obese.”
Obstetricians should discuss the medical risks associated with obesity with their patients and “avoid blaming the patient for her increased weight,” the committee says. Any doctor who feels unable to provide effective care for an obese patient should seek a consultation or refer the woman to another doctor.
Obesity rates are highest among women “of lower socioeconomic status,” the report notes, and many obese women lack “access to healthy food choices and opportunities for regular exercise that would help them maintain a normal weight.”
Nonetheless, obese women who want to have a baby should not abandon all efforts to lose weight. Obstetricians who lack expertise in weight management can refer patients to dietitians who specialize in treating weight problems without relying on gimmicks or crash diets, which have their own health risks.
Weight loss is best attempted before a pregnancy. Last year, the college’s committee on obstetric practice advised obstetricians to “provide education about possible complications and encourage obese patients to undertake a weight-reduction program, including diet, exercise, and behavior modification, before attempting pregnancy.”
An obese woman who becomes pregnant should aim to gain less weight than would a normal-weight woman. The Institute of Medicine suggests a pregnancy weight gain of 15 to 25 pounds for overweight women and 11 to 20 pounds for obese women.
Although women should not to try to lose weight during pregnancy, “a woman who weighs 300 pounds shouldn’t gain at all,” Dr. Klipstein said. “This is not harmful to the fetus.”
Dr. Klipstein also noted that obesity produces physiological changes that can affect pregnancy, starting with irregular ovulation that can result in infertility.
Obese women are more likely to have problems processing blood sugar, which raises the risk of birth defects and miscarriage. There is also a greater likelihood that their baby will be too large for a vaginal delivery, requiring a cesarean delivery that has its own risks involving anesthesia and surgery.
The babies of obese women are more likely to develop neural tube defects — spina bifida and anencephaly — and to suffer birth injuries like shoulder dystocia, which may occur when the infant is very large.
High blood pressure, more common in obesity, can result in pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, which can damage the mother’s kidneys and cause fetal complications like low birth weight, prematurity and stillbirth.
It is also harder to obtain reliable images on a sonogram when the woman is obese. This can delay detection of fetal or pregnancy abnormalities that require careful monitoring or medical intervention.

This is a reblog of an article written in the New York Times about the complexities of being pregnant and overweight.  


09 10