In May, Global Women Connected ran a survey to find out what you thought of our posts. 40% viewed Global Women daily, 40% twice a week and 20% once a week. 30% only viewed our Facebook page and said they preferred to view the posts this way. We would really love to get more of you viewing and commenting directly on our web site. We will be working on this in the coming months. We were glad that no one was dissatisfied with the content and quality of our posts. Thanks to those that filled in this survey.
|
|
Some of our most popular posts from May 2016
Women's Health News - Six of our top stories
|
|
Two genes have been linked to the chance of having twins
A genetic basis for twins has long been assumed by studying the patterns of twins that appear in families, but new research has identified two specific gene variants responsible for this. Unlike identical twins—who are genetically the same—fraternal twins are no more closely related in terms of DNA than regular siblings.
The variants that have been discovered increase the likelihood of a woman having fraternal (non identical) twins.
|
Should a woman remain a virgin until she is married?
This post caused some heated debate.
There are still countries where it is essential that a woman is a virgin if she is going to be married – including Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Malaysia and Ghana.
It seems these cultures are only concerned that the woman has not had vaginal sex. This does not seem to include anal, oral or any other types of sex, including gay sex.
Read More...
|
|
Gut bacteria may be transmitted between friends and family
Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK reported that over half gut bacteria species produce spores which survive in air and could possibly be transmitted to another person and cause a number of diseases and conditions, including obesity and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which includes Crohn’s Disease and Colitis.
Read More....
|
|
Sperm binding peptide beads could help infertility and contraception
The zona pellucida, which surrounds ovulated eggs, is the site where sperm is recognised and bound. It precedes sperm penetration and fertilisation. New research into this matrix has identified a peptide called ZP2, which can bind to sperm. Authors of the study, Avella et al., saw that it could be used in two ways; to facilitate infertility treatment or, conversely, contraception because of its ability to trap sperm.
Read More....
|
|
The Royal College of Midwives position statement on abortion
“The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has been a longstanding supporter of the right of women to have choice over their fertility and over all aspects of their maternity care. This includes the right to choose whether or not to have a baby. We call for every women to be given the necessary information to make an informed choice as to whether not to continue with their pregnancy."
“The RCM recommends that abortion procedures are regulated in the same way as all other procedures relating to a woman’s healthcare."
Read More....
|
Why is domestic abuse still not taken seriously in the UK courts?
Criminologist at the university of Gloucestershire, Jane Monkton-Smith, says many cases of manslaughter convictions were mitigated by “ridiculous claims, like how much the perpetrator said they loved the victim”. She adds: “It’s a refusal to have a robust approach to the offender. And even at the level of homicide we’re seeing sentencing lower than the level we’re seeing for stranger homicides.” This was the case in many of the 72 domestic abuse killings she reviewed.
Read More....
|
|
Discussion of the day - Lets get talking
|
|
|
Does the weather affect your mood?
Global Women wants to discuss your mental health as well as physical health.
Does the weather affect your mood? Does it make you happy when it is sunny and depressed when it is raining?
Stephen Covey, in his book 7 habits of highly effective people, says ‘Reactive people are often affected by their physical environment. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn’t, it affects their attitude and their performance. Proactive people can carry their own weather with them. Whether it rains or shines makes no difference to them. They are value driven; and if their value is to produce good quality work, it isn’t a function of whether the weather is conducive to it or not.’
Read More...
|
|
Is your pelvic floor OK?
The pelvic floor is the muscular base of the abdomen, attached to the bony pelvis. It is shaped like a sling and provides support for the bladder, intestines and uterus and maintains continence.
The pelvic floor can be damaged during childbirth and in elite athletes involved in cycling, water-skiing and equestrian sports.
Damage to the pelvic floor can lead to urinary incontinence and prolapse of the vagina, bladder, rectum, or uterus – prolapse is when organs protrude into or outside of the vagina.
Read More...
|
|
What is the craziest diet you have been on?
Losing weight and keeping it off requires a long-term commitment, yet all dieters occasionally are tempted by the quick weight loss promised by fad diets and try strange ones like chewing but not swallowing or sleeping and not eating.
On Facebook people told us about diet involving only drinking high protein shakes, rice only, salads without olive oil and salt and the cabbage soup diet.
Read More...
|
|
The first human head transplant
An Italian doctor hopes to perform the first human head transplant. He’s highly criticised for his reasons and thoughts behind it but for him it’s only one step further than heart, liver and other organs.
It’s a bit too Frankensteinish for my liking but at the same time you could argue that medicine might benefit from it.
What are your thoughts?
Read More....
|
|
News in brief - Short summaries of women's health news
|
|
|
The rapper Lil' Kim was born black - now she is white
The first person to famously bleach his skin was Michael Jackson. But Lil’ Kim, one of the most successful rappers in the world, has had years of plastic surgery, hair treatment and skin bleaching so she has totally changed her appearance.
My issue is that she is a role model for many young girls. Isn’t Black Beautiful? What do you think?
Read More....
|
The Natural Caesarian:
New research from University College Hospital
In most Caesarians, the doctor will pull the baby all the way out quite quickly. In a natural Caesarian section, a small slit is made in the abdomen and the doctor will ease the babies head out. The doctor will then leave the baby to slowly ease its own way out, which takes about 4 minutes. The baby is then rested on the mothers tummy with the umbilical cord still attached.
Read More...
|
|
|
This is what it is like to pee after female genital mutilation
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the act of intentionally partially or fully cutting female genitalia without a medical reason. Global women have written several articles about FGM (see read more).
FGM leads to complications in sex, periods, pregnancy and urination. In this BBC article – Hibo Wardere talks about her experience of FGM.
Read More....
|
Janet Jackson pregnant at 49
There are an increasing number of celebrities who are getting pregnant in their mid to late forties. It is very difficult to get pregnant naturally at this age. A natural conception at 49 years of age would be a miracle.
Celebrities often do not admit that they have used egg donation. My concern is that this gives women an unrealistic view of conception.
Read More...
|
|
Inspiring Stories - Women overcoming obstacles
|
|
A father's letter to his daughter with Down syndrome on her wedding day
“I would tell you to give your fiancé, Ryan, your whole heart, but that would be stating the obvious. I would tell you to be kind to him and gentle with him. But you do that already, with everyone you know. I would wish for you a lifetime of friendship and mutual respect, but you two have been together a decade already, so the respect and friendship already are apparent. A decade ago, when a young man walked to our door wearing a suit and bearing a corsage made of cymbidium orchids said, “I’m here to take your daughter to the Homecoming, sir,’’ every fear I ever had about your life being incomplete vanished.”
Read More....
|
Why women shouldn't dye their grey hair
In the UK, people spend £7.2 billion on the hairdressers and £322 million on home colouring kits.
Anne Kreamer (pictured) has recently released a book called “Going Grey: How to Embrace Your Authentic Self With Grace” and insists that dyeing hair once it goes grey is detrimental to self confidence.
In an interview, Kreamer said that she still tends to be the only woman in the room with grey hair, blaming the social stigma of having grey hair and the beauty industry for enforcing it.
Read More...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
