Lissa Rankin's Blog, page 34

Natural Remedies For Menopausal Symptoms

You may have noticed that, although I'm a gynecologist, I haven't written much about menopause on Owning Pink. This is intentional. You see, I'm always reluctant to write about something I haven't experienced firsthand. I know men write with expertise and wisdom about childbirth and menopause, periods and vaginas, without experiencing any of these things. But I've always dug deep within when I write, so it's harder for me to write about what I haven't yet experienced.

But so many of you have asked for menopausal help that I'm gonna go for it! So if you're experiencing menopausal symptoms, this post is my gift to you.

Menopausal women are like snowflakes.

Menopause really is different for every woman. Some sail through with few, if any, symptoms. Others feel like they've been possessed. It's normal either way.

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What American Idol Can Teach Us About Sisterhood

According to this CNN article, American Idol front runner Pia Toscano may have been voted off by catty female fans who, rather than supporting a sexy, talented sister, wanted to see her booted.


WTF?


I'm not a huge fan of reality TV shows, so I'm a bit out of the loop on this bit of juicy gossip, but I do LOVE the singers that come out of American Idol and religiously download all the music to my iPod, so this comes near and dear to my heart in spite of my reality TV objections. Not only am I bummed that they booted the woman about whom former Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson tweeted, "I cannot believe they just eliminated Pia! ReAlly..???? Long as she walked away with that voice she will be alright!! Just hate to see talent like that go!"


I'm also bummed to think that perhaps this singer with star power got the boot because female fans were playing favorites with the cute boys, instead of supporting a superstar sister.

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My Faith Is Beating The Crap Out Of My Fear

As I explained here, I'm just got back from Harbin Hot Springs in Northern California, where I was on a spiritual pilgrimage of sorts after AstroTwin Ophira Edut told me that the stars had big stuff in store for me. At her suggestion, I decided to go on retreat on April 3, when six planets aligned into my house of endings -- a once-in-a-lifetime astrological event. My mission, should I choose to accept it, was to learn the life lesson I'm supposed to learn so I don't have to carry into the next 12 years, the baggage from the last 12.


Ophi charged me with viewing the retreat as a sort of rebirth, and when she said that, I knew I had to schedule a session of Watsu (water Shiatsu, a type of bodywork that takes place in a pool of warm water, which was born at Harbin Hot Springs). I've had two Watsu sessions before, so I know how profoundly emotional these sessions can be. And I know how maternal, womb-like, and birth-ish it can feel.


My intuition told me it would be just the thing. So I did it. And oh, baby…was my gut spot on.

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An Astrological Rebirth

According to the stars as interpreted by Ophira Edut, who granted me my first ever astrological reading last month, April 3 was to be a big day for me. Apparently, six planets were moving into Aries in my 12th house, the house of endings, signaling a period of closure, a time to release what no longer serves me, and make way for when Jupiter moves into Taurus on June 4 -- a time of new beginnings that will usher in a whole new 12 year phase of my life.


What was to happen on April 3 is apparently the kind of astrological event that only ever happens once in a lifetime. Like, this is it for me -- the Mama of all endings, the Grand Daddy of releases, the time to say goodbye and get ready for what's next.

Just Let It Go

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Have You Risked Everything? A Love Letter (Heartpreneur Series Part 3)

Welcome back to the Become a Heartpreneur Series, where we've been talking about how to do well by doing good and connecting to your calling while still making the moolah. This next installation in the series is aimed specifically at those of you who have taken a leap of faith in order to fulfill your life's destiny, only to find yourself stuck.

Does This Sound Like You?

Are you a woman entrepreneur who risked everything to pursue your passion, only to find that things aren't working out according to plan? Do you worry what everyone will think if you can't make it after all that you've given up? Do you just know you're here on earth to change the world, even though the stars don't seem to be aligning right now?

Are you ready to finally get out of your own way so you can skyrocket to the stratosphere?

Oh yeah, baby. Trust me. I hear you.

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Say NO to Reality TV

Life is precious. Every moment is meant to be savored. We all know that the only thing certain is uncertainty and that it could all be over in a blink. So we want to taste every sweet morsel of this life, let our freak flags fly, check things off our bucket lists, and live out loud. Right?

So then why is our society so caught up in reality TV shows?

Okay -- first, a disclaimer. I have to confess that I've never actually watched one. When Survivor came out ages ago, I was still working 4:00am to midnight during my medical training and didn't have one split second to watch television. And by the time I was finished, I was so grateful to have some free time to actually live my life that I took a stand against television and pretty much boycotted it completely.

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Are You Giving Your Business Away? Become A Heartpreneur Series - Part 2

Can you live a divinely-inspired life, connect to your calling, be an entrepreneur, and still make money?


That question has been buzzing in my head lately (see Part One in this series, "Do Well By Doing Good") and from what I can gather from those of you who are writing to me, talking to me at my public speaking events, and posting in Owning Pink comments, it's on your mind too.


Many of us are jaded and disillusioned from the corporate world, so we've left behind boardrooms, hospitals, courts, classrooms, and other systems where

we went to practice our art and found ourselves lost. After leaving the systems that conspire to dim our lights, we often find ourselves faced with uncomfortable

choices as we align with our Inner Pilot Lights. We may desire the comfort, stability, ability to be generous with others, and little (or big) luxuries that accompany a lucrative paycheck. But many of us are simply done selling our souls for the privilege of that stable income.

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Did ACOG Ban Elective C-sections? I Got Punked!

This morning, a very reputable women's website called me and asked me to write an article about a press release they sent me, which read:

(April 1, 2011) For Immediate Release—ACOG ANNOUNCES PLANS TO STOP ELECTIVE C-SECTIONS


The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) announced today it is devising a comprehensive plan to lower C-section rates in the United States. C-sections in the U.S. have gone up 700% since they were first measured in 1965, when the C-section rate was only 4.5 percent.


"The nation's C-section rate has been rising steadily for the last eleven years. It's now over 31 percent," said an ACOG spokesperson. "This is a deplorable situation that harms women and their newborns."


An organization that advocates for quality healthcare for women, ACOG is asking obstetricians to halt elective C-sections.


"C-sections should only be a last resort. They should never be performed for the convenience of the doctor," the spokesperson said, "or for financial or liability reasons."


Since the use of electronic fetal monitoring has been shown to increase unnecessary C-section rate without any proven benefit to the mother or infant, ACOG is also calling on American hospitals to stop the routine use of electronic monitoring during labor. ACOG's new guidelines encourage women to have freedom of movement during labor, labor standing up or squatting, and to eat and drink at will.


"Cesarean can save lives. But doctors and consumers have to remember that this is major surgery that carries major risk," the spokesperson said, pointing to the example of 29-year-old Abbie Dorn, who suffered severe hemorrhaging and brain damage after her uterus was nicked during a Cesarean section at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (2006), 32-year-old Diane Rizk McCabe, who died following complications from a Caesarean section at Albany Medical Center Hospital (2007), and Karen Vasques, 27, who died during a C-section at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (2008).


Maternal mortality has risen every year in the United States for the past 25 years, while over the same period the rate of C-sections has gone up 33 percent.


"The skyrocketing rate of C-section in America has had devastating consequences," the spokesperson said. "ACOG, the most highly respected organization of obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States, is leading the fight to stop it."

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Are You Brave Enough To Be a Good Samaritan?

Last week, I was hiking with a new friend in my remote coastal Northern California town when we came across a guy who was hunched over in the weed with his bicycle and a skinned knee. He was fussing with a tool kit in his backpack and I asked him if he needed help. Turns out he was mountain biking with his buddy, when he blew a tire. Usually, he was able to fix his bike, but this time, it wasn't working. His friend had ridden ahead to bike the 20 miles back home so he could get his car and come rescue his friend.


Without even thinking about it, I asked, "Can I help?"


He looked hopeful and lifted his eyebrows. I told him I had a car near the trailhead, not far from where we were. Then his brow fell. "Oh, I'd hate to trouble you, but my phone isn't working. And I'd so appreciate the help." (There's no cell service where we were.)


"It's no trouble," I said. "I can take you to my place. I'll make you some tea, and you can hang in the guest house, use the phone, and wait for your friend to come get you."


So my friend and I helped him up, collected the pieces of his broken bicycle, loaded him into the car, and started to drive him home.

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Up Yours, Big Pharma: How A Drug That May Prevent Preterm Birth Went From $20 to $1500/dose

As an OB/GYN physician, I know intimately the dangers of preterm labor. I've held in my arms the mother who lost her preemie daughter after her uterus inexplicably began contracting and spewed out her 24 week old baby before she was fully cooked. I've watched the preemies in the nursery get stuck with tubes in every orifice while incubators try to mimic the womb and ventilators push air into their undeveloped lungs. I've seen the children, years later, get wheeled into my exam room after enduring countless surgeries to deal with the disabilities prematurity can cause. And I've attended the pregnant women we imprison in the hospital for weeks on end as we try to prevent this deadly pregnancy complication.


We don't know what causes preterm labor. If we did, we might be able to prevent it. It's still one of the great mysteries of obstetrics. While technological advances like gene therapy and transplant surgery revolutionize health care, we still don't understand the most basic things about how pregnancy works. In fact, at the University of Chicago, there's an empty plaque, awaiting the name of the person who discovers what causes labor, so we can learn to prevent preterm birth.


So far, we're still clueless.

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