GAH! Handmaid Tale ALERT!
May. 16th, 2006 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
semiotic_pirateOkay, here I am reading my flist and I see this post on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
feminist:
Edit: There was also a very recent previous post on this article in the same forum, found here. Which, for those of you who like to track back further, started over here on feministing.
A quote from the final source would make some of you (Silence of the Lambs fans) laugh: "The vessel will make sure to treat its uterus and surrounding matter with care for the preparation of the all-mighty fetus. The vessel puts the lotion in the basket."
-------------------------------------------------------------
In a perpetual state of readiness for the possibility of fulfilling my womanly destiny...
I'm in that dewy state of expectation called Pre-Pregnancy!
In the future, women will carefully tend our fertility like gardeners. We will, if our fertility is untouched by disease or toxins or menopause, mindfully tiptoe on the earth always cradling our wombs in a web of care, nutrition and gentle exercise.
Not for us, the Chosen Ones endowed with the gift of giving life, is the harsh world of overwork, stress or excitement. Adrenalin can spoil the developing brain which may secretly be forming in our Nexus of Life.
Women living in the glorious state of Pre-Pregnancy are like National Treasures, their uterii are our Greatest Natural Resource. We should signify their importance and value so that as they move about in the harsh world, citizens are alerted to take care in their presence to preserve the priceless ability they possess, invisible, lying in wait inside them. Perhaps a color or style of clothing distinctive and arresting, conveying the vibrant fertility that is the lifeblood of our continued existence as a Great Society.
Pre-Pregnant women should never experience poverty or need. In fact, their Gift is so vital they should never work at all, but live a life of protected ease. Privileged and wealthy families whose matriarchs do not possess the Gift could welcome the Pre-Pregnant into their homes and give back to their government by cultivating and nurturing their sacred bodies; conveying wealth, education and status to the resulting offspring so that all Pre-Pregnant women are properly revered and their children cared for.
Pre-Pregnant women cannot be entrusted to partners or alliances chosen by happenstance, their Ability is too wonderous and precious to be squandered on love affairs that may stress or tax them, or worse may open them up to abuse or neglect. The most profound tragedy of all would certainly be if a Pre-Pregnant were to fall into relations which could never hope to Create Life in her womb. Infertile male partners or Lesbian interactions would cruelly snuff out the light inside her Blessed body before it had a chance to shine on the world.
Our culture must awaken to the power of the Pre-Pregnant, must radically transform our society with love and faith into one which nurtures and sustains the most potent gift given us. The alternative is the destruction of our values, our way of life, our sacred quest to create a secure society which reflects all that is best in the world. In this struggle, the Holy Vessel of our hopes and dreams is the Pre-Pregnant. In her womb she carries the very future of Man Himself.
My reply was:
Subject: Cat Pan Revolt!
Even the most horrifying post - and yours is very well done btw, I too was very much reminded of The Handmaid's Tale - can put a smile on my face...
"Women should also make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date and avoid contact with lead-based paints and cat feces, Biermann said."
NO MORE CLEANING THE CAT PAN!!
Yes, my reaction to horror is to make jokes, and retain my ability to laugh in the face of danger.
-------------------------------------------------------
I even went so far as to email the author of the Washington Post article, asking for further information. This smacks of something W's administration would do. A nefarious way of making our differences of the sexes even greater, to reinforce the "traditional gendered roles" that the extreme right-wingers approve so that we lose even more ground. The ground that has already been chipped away under our feet through the loss of privacy and rights due to the unilateral, non-congress-voted-on decisions that the administration has been perpatrating since day one of the War on Terror.
While out for a bit earlier, there was an interview going on on NPR, where a woman called in and asked (neocon being interviewed) if there was or should be a difference between the "War on Terror" and a "War on Terrorists" because if you are claiming to be combating terror, an emotional state, why is the administration antagonizing our emotions to get us into a state of terror in order to do what it wants?
--------------------------------------------------------
For those who don't want to follow the Pre-Pregnancy link to the Washington Post Article, here is the script of it:
Forever Pregnant
Guidelines: Treat Nearly All Women as Pre-Pregnant
By January W. Payne
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 16, 2006; HE01
New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.
Among other things, this means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control.
While most of these recommendations are well known to women who are pregnant or seeking to get pregnant, experts say it's important that women follow this advice throughout their reproductive lives, because about half of pregnancies are unplanned and so much damage can be done to a fetus between conception and the time the pregnancy is confirmed.
The recommendations aim to "increase public awareness of the importance of preconception health" and emphasize the "importance of managing risk factors prior to pregnancy," said Samuel Posner, co-author of the guidelines and associate director for science in the division of reproductive health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which issued the report.
Other groups involved include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the March of Dimes, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention's Division of Reproductive Health and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
The idea of preconception care has been discussed for nearly 20 years, experts said, but it has drawn more attention recently. Progress toward further reducing the rate of unhealthy pregnancy results, including premature birth, low birthweight and infant mortality, has slowed in the United States since 1996 "in part because of inconsistent delivery and implementation of interventions before pregnancy to detect, treat and help women modify behaviors, health conditions and risk factors that contribute to adverse maternal and infant outcomes," according to the report.
Nearly 28,000 U.S. infants died in 2003, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The infant mortality rate increased in 2002 for the first time in more than 40 years to seven deaths per 1,000 live births, but it did not change significantly in 2003. Birth defects, low birthweight and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were the leading causes of infant death in 2003, according to NCHS.
The U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than those of most other industrialized nations -- it's three times that of Japan and 2.5 times those of Norway, Finland and Iceland, according to a report released last week by Save the Children, an advocacy group.
Preconception care should be delivered by any doctor a patient sees -- from her primary care physician to her gynecologist. It involves developing a "reproductive health plan" that details if and when children are planned, said Janis Biermann, a report co-author and vice president for education and health promotion at the March of Dimes.
"The recommendations say we need to be opportunistic," or deliver care and counseling when opportunities arise, said Merry-K. Moos, a professor in the University of North Carolina's maternal fetal medicine division who sat on the CDC advisory panel. "Healthier women have healthier pregnancies."
Women should also make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date and avoid contact with lead-based paints and cat feces, Biermann said.
The report recommends that women stop smoking and discuss with their doctor the danger alcohol poses to a developing fetus.
Research shows that "during the first few weeks (before 52 days' gestation) of pregnancy" -- during which a woman may not yet realize she's pregnant -- "exposure to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; lack of essential vitamins (e.g., folic acid); and workplace hazards can adversely affect fetal development and result in pregnancy complications and poor outcomes for both the mother and the infant," the report states.
The CDC report also discusses disparities in care, noting that approximately 17 million women lack health insurance and are likely to postpone or forgo care. These disparities are more prominent among minority groups and those of lower socioeconomic status, the report states.
The NCHS data also reflect these disparities. Babies born to black mothers, for example, had the highest rate of infant death -- 13.5 per 1,000 live births. Infants born to white women had a death rate of 5.7 per 1,000.
Obstacles to preconception care include getting insurance companies to pay for visits and putting the concept into regular use by doctors and patients. Experts acknowledge that women with no plans to get pregnant in the near future may resist preconception care.
"We know that women -- unless you're actively planning [a pregnancy], . . . she doesn't want to talk about it," Biermann said. So clinicians must find a "way to do this and not scare women," by promoting preconception care as part of standard women's health care, she said.
Some medical facilities have already found a way to weave preconception care in with regular visits. At Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y., a form that's filled out when checking a patient's height, weight and blood pressure prompts nurses to ask women, "Do you smoke, and do you plan to become pregnant in the next year? And if not, what birth control are you using?"
"It's a simple way of getting primary care providers to think about preconception care," said Peter Bernstein, a maternal fetal medicine specialist who sat on the advisory committee that helped produce the report. "It's simple and [it] costs nothing." ยท
Comments: paynej@washpost.com
OH! Sorry![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
surelle about not making it to the book club again... Low on funds. The book was great though, I really liked this one.
feminist:Edit: There was also a very recent previous post on this article in the same forum, found here. Which, for those of you who like to track back further, started over here on feministing.
A quote from the final source would make some of you (Silence of the Lambs fans) laugh: "The vessel will make sure to treat its uterus and surrounding matter with care for the preparation of the all-mighty fetus. The vessel puts the lotion in the basket."
-------------------------------------------------------------
In a perpetual state of readiness for the possibility of fulfilling my womanly destiny...
I'm in that dewy state of expectation called Pre-Pregnancy!
In the future, women will carefully tend our fertility like gardeners. We will, if our fertility is untouched by disease or toxins or menopause, mindfully tiptoe on the earth always cradling our wombs in a web of care, nutrition and gentle exercise.
Not for us, the Chosen Ones endowed with the gift of giving life, is the harsh world of overwork, stress or excitement. Adrenalin can spoil the developing brain which may secretly be forming in our Nexus of Life.
Women living in the glorious state of Pre-Pregnancy are like National Treasures, their uterii are our Greatest Natural Resource. We should signify their importance and value so that as they move about in the harsh world, citizens are alerted to take care in their presence to preserve the priceless ability they possess, invisible, lying in wait inside them. Perhaps a color or style of clothing distinctive and arresting, conveying the vibrant fertility that is the lifeblood of our continued existence as a Great Society.
Pre-Pregnant women should never experience poverty or need. In fact, their Gift is so vital they should never work at all, but live a life of protected ease. Privileged and wealthy families whose matriarchs do not possess the Gift could welcome the Pre-Pregnant into their homes and give back to their government by cultivating and nurturing their sacred bodies; conveying wealth, education and status to the resulting offspring so that all Pre-Pregnant women are properly revered and their children cared for.
Pre-Pregnant women cannot be entrusted to partners or alliances chosen by happenstance, their Ability is too wonderous and precious to be squandered on love affairs that may stress or tax them, or worse may open them up to abuse or neglect. The most profound tragedy of all would certainly be if a Pre-Pregnant were to fall into relations which could never hope to Create Life in her womb. Infertile male partners or Lesbian interactions would cruelly snuff out the light inside her Blessed body before it had a chance to shine on the world.
Our culture must awaken to the power of the Pre-Pregnant, must radically transform our society with love and faith into one which nurtures and sustains the most potent gift given us. The alternative is the destruction of our values, our way of life, our sacred quest to create a secure society which reflects all that is best in the world. In this struggle, the Holy Vessel of our hopes and dreams is the Pre-Pregnant. In her womb she carries the very future of Man Himself.
My reply was:
Subject: Cat Pan Revolt!
Even the most horrifying post - and yours is very well done btw, I too was very much reminded of The Handmaid's Tale - can put a smile on my face...
"Women should also make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date and avoid contact with lead-based paints and cat feces, Biermann said."
NO MORE CLEANING THE CAT PAN!!
Yes, my reaction to horror is to make jokes, and retain my ability to laugh in the face of danger.
-------------------------------------------------------
I even went so far as to email the author of the Washington Post article, asking for further information. This smacks of something W's administration would do. A nefarious way of making our differences of the sexes even greater, to reinforce the "traditional gendered roles" that the extreme right-wingers approve so that we lose even more ground. The ground that has already been chipped away under our feet through the loss of privacy and rights due to the unilateral, non-congress-voted-on decisions that the administration has been perpatrating since day one of the War on Terror.
While out for a bit earlier, there was an interview going on on NPR, where a woman called in and asked (neocon being interviewed) if there was or should be a difference between the "War on Terror" and a "War on Terrorists" because if you are claiming to be combating terror, an emotional state, why is the administration antagonizing our emotions to get us into a state of terror in order to do what it wants?
--------------------------------------------------------
For those who don't want to follow the Pre-Pregnancy link to the Washington Post Article, here is the script of it:
Forever Pregnant
Guidelines: Treat Nearly All Women as Pre-Pregnant
By January W. Payne
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 16, 2006; HE01
New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.
Among other things, this means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control.
While most of these recommendations are well known to women who are pregnant or seeking to get pregnant, experts say it's important that women follow this advice throughout their reproductive lives, because about half of pregnancies are unplanned and so much damage can be done to a fetus between conception and the time the pregnancy is confirmed.
The recommendations aim to "increase public awareness of the importance of preconception health" and emphasize the "importance of managing risk factors prior to pregnancy," said Samuel Posner, co-author of the guidelines and associate director for science in the division of reproductive health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which issued the report.
Other groups involved include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the March of Dimes, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention's Division of Reproductive Health and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
The idea of preconception care has been discussed for nearly 20 years, experts said, but it has drawn more attention recently. Progress toward further reducing the rate of unhealthy pregnancy results, including premature birth, low birthweight and infant mortality, has slowed in the United States since 1996 "in part because of inconsistent delivery and implementation of interventions before pregnancy to detect, treat and help women modify behaviors, health conditions and risk factors that contribute to adverse maternal and infant outcomes," according to the report.
Nearly 28,000 U.S. infants died in 2003, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The infant mortality rate increased in 2002 for the first time in more than 40 years to seven deaths per 1,000 live births, but it did not change significantly in 2003. Birth defects, low birthweight and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were the leading causes of infant death in 2003, according to NCHS.
The U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than those of most other industrialized nations -- it's three times that of Japan and 2.5 times those of Norway, Finland and Iceland, according to a report released last week by Save the Children, an advocacy group.
Preconception care should be delivered by any doctor a patient sees -- from her primary care physician to her gynecologist. It involves developing a "reproductive health plan" that details if and when children are planned, said Janis Biermann, a report co-author and vice president for education and health promotion at the March of Dimes.
"The recommendations say we need to be opportunistic," or deliver care and counseling when opportunities arise, said Merry-K. Moos, a professor in the University of North Carolina's maternal fetal medicine division who sat on the CDC advisory panel. "Healthier women have healthier pregnancies."
Women should also make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date and avoid contact with lead-based paints and cat feces, Biermann said.
The report recommends that women stop smoking and discuss with their doctor the danger alcohol poses to a developing fetus.
Research shows that "during the first few weeks (before 52 days' gestation) of pregnancy" -- during which a woman may not yet realize she's pregnant -- "exposure to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; lack of essential vitamins (e.g., folic acid); and workplace hazards can adversely affect fetal development and result in pregnancy complications and poor outcomes for both the mother and the infant," the report states.
The CDC report also discusses disparities in care, noting that approximately 17 million women lack health insurance and are likely to postpone or forgo care. These disparities are more prominent among minority groups and those of lower socioeconomic status, the report states.
The NCHS data also reflect these disparities. Babies born to black mothers, for example, had the highest rate of infant death -- 13.5 per 1,000 live births. Infants born to white women had a death rate of 5.7 per 1,000.
Obstacles to preconception care include getting insurance companies to pay for visits and putting the concept into regular use by doctors and patients. Experts acknowledge that women with no plans to get pregnant in the near future may resist preconception care.
"We know that women -- unless you're actively planning [a pregnancy], . . . she doesn't want to talk about it," Biermann said. So clinicians must find a "way to do this and not scare women," by promoting preconception care as part of standard women's health care, she said.
Some medical facilities have already found a way to weave preconception care in with regular visits. At Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y., a form that's filled out when checking a patient's height, weight and blood pressure prompts nurses to ask women, "Do you smoke, and do you plan to become pregnant in the next year? And if not, what birth control are you using?"
"It's a simple way of getting primary care providers to think about preconception care," said Peter Bernstein, a maternal fetal medicine specialist who sat on the advisory committee that helped produce the report. "It's simple and [it] costs nothing." ยท
Comments: paynej@washpost.com
OH! Sorry
surelle about not making it to the book club again... Low on funds. The book was great though, I really liked this one.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-05-17 02:49 am (UTC)