According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, around 85% of women who menstruate experience one or more premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms such as irritability, depression, bloating, or muscle pain. A similar, but more severe condition is known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, which is rare (affecting only about 1% of menstruating women), but can cause disabling emotional and physical symptoms in women during the weeks leading up to their periods.

There are three criteria that need to be met to diagnosis PMDD, as opposed to PMS or other conditions. To receive a PMDD diagnosis, a woman’s symptoms must correspond to her menstrual cycle for at least two successive months, and if symptoms include depression, this depression must only be present in the days prior to menstruation. Symptoms must also be disruptive to the point that a woman has difficulty completing her normal activities.

Until recently, psychiatrists did not technically consider PMDD to be a disorder, but the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) officially recognizes PMDD as a mental disorder. This decision has been praised by many, while met with reservations from others.

With PMDD now classified as a mental disorder, some believe that this will help women receive treatment for a condition that may have previously been overlooked. Some women diagnosed with PMDD feel positively about the classification, stating that the recognition helps them feel they are not alone. However, others are concerned that because PMDD only affects women, it may contribute to stereotypes or affect perceptions about women’s capabilities. For example, Dr. Sarah Gehlert of Washington University in St. Louis points out that if a woman is involved in a child custody case and is diagnosed with PMDD, the fact that she has a mental disorder may impact the outcome of the case. Gehlert is also concerned that due to potential financial opportunities, PMDD may be overdiagnosed in otherwise healthy women with normal hormone changes. While understanding more about the biology behind PMDD may help clarify its classification as a mental disorder, for now, women will have to live with the positive and negative outcomes of this new designation.

Source: Standen, Amy. “Should Severe Premenstrual Symptoms be a Mental Disorder?” NPR. 21 Oct. 2013.

According to the National Women's Law Center,  "During the debate over the government shutdown, leaders in the House of Representatives passed legislation to exempt bosses from complying with the part of the Affordable Care Act, that gives women access to preventive services like birth control and well-woman visits with no co-pays or deductibles — if those employers oppose it for "religious or moral" reasons.    This means bosses could impose their religious beliefs on their employees or even block their employees' access to needed health care for vague and undefined "moral" reasons. The Senate rejected the House's plan — but this isn't the first time lawmakers have tried this trick, and it likely won't be the last."

Should your boss decide if and what birth control should be available to you through your plan???  Women need to remain vigilant as this debate continues!

As women, sisters, wives, friends, mothers, daughters, and grandmothers, we must make sure that we are doing everything in our power to be at the top of our health, always. We are depended upon to set the healthy example for family and friends around us. Breast cancer and cervical cancer is not something that we can completely prevent or predict on our own, but as women, we do face these two possibilities and it is worth our while to keep our health as updated as possible.

To many women, getting a breast exam or a Pap smear tends to sound easier than it is, but it’s not just about making the appointment. There are many aspects of getting these periodic exams that are not addressed and that can many times be the cause of why women postpone these exams and a possible diagnosis or treatment. It is always more difficult to ignore what needs to be done because of fear of a diagnosis, fear of machines, or fear of the unknown. However, there is so much more put at risk when responsibility to our health is neglected.

So why do some women fail to follow through with these periodic exams? An article in the American Journal for Public Health, 1993 took a look examining demographics. The results of this study revealed that the most likely to NOT go in and get the necessary breast or Pap smear exams at the appropriate times were:

• Low income
• Hispanic ethnicity
• Low educational attainment
• Over 65
• Living in a rural area
• Never been married

The following is recommended:

• Yearly mammograms are starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health
• Clinical breast exam (CBE), an exam of the breast performed by a health care provider to check for lumps or other changes, about every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over

Know your body and report any breast change promptly to their health care provider. Breast self-exam (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20’s.

• Starting at age 21, have a Pap test every 2 years.
• If you are 30 years old and older and have had 3 normal Pap tests for 3 years in a row, talk to your doctor about spacing out Pap tests to every 3 years.
• If you are over 65 years old, ask your doctor if you can stop having Pap tests.

Ask your doctor about more frequent testing if:

• You have a weakened immune systembecause of organ transplant, chemotherapy, or steroid use
• Your mother was exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) while pregnant
• You are HIV-positive
  For information on how to "Prevent Yourself from Breast Cancer," click here. 

  Source: www.womenshealth.gov

We all know that having children is expensive, but did you know that having your child in the United States can cost up to triple or quadruple the price as other developed countries? Pregnancy care and delivery costs have nearly tripled in the United States since 1996 and now range anywhere from $4,000 to $45,000. Gerard Anderson, an economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health who specializes in international health costs said, “It’s not primarily that we get a different bundle of services when we have a baby, it’s that we pay individually for each service and pay more for the services we receive.” Paying “more” is an understatement. In the United States, the cumulative cost of nearly four million annual births exceeds $50 billion dollars.

These astronomical prices hit families hard, especially when maternity is not covered by many private insurance plans. Data from 2011 conclude that 62% of women covered by private insurance plans in the United States lacked maternity coverage. Even when women do have maternity coverage on their plans, they are slammed by higher copayments and deductibles. From 2004 to 2010, the prices that insurers paid for childbirth rose 49% for vaginal births and 41% for Caesarean sections in the United States. It’s hard to imagine that merely 20 years ago insured mothers typically paid nothing more than a nominal fee if they opted for a private hospital room or a television.

While childbirth costs have skyrocketed in the United States, other developed countries continue to keep comprehensive maternity care cheap or even free. Why is there such a large discrepancy? The reason is that the United States bills item by item instead of charging a flat fee for the care of an expectant mother, like in other countries. Some hospitals are starting to catch on and offer all-inclusive rates for pregnancy, but this is difficult to standardize across the United States, as birthing costs differ by geographic location. Luckily, the Affordable Care Act will mandate maternity coverage so that no expectant mother should be left paying entirely on her own, but the law is not clear about what aids are included in this coverage. Expectant parents should be excited about expanding their families, not worried about their latest $900 bill for an ultrasound. However, being aware of these financial burdens will help families make wiser choices about their healthcare to protect their loved ones.

Source: The New York Times