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Blogs Comment On Maternal Mortality, Male Birth Control, Other Topics (Medical News Today-8
July 2010)

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Is Having a Baby Bad for Your Health?" Marcia Yerman, Huffington Post blogs- "[T]here is no
shortage of contributing factors" to the high U.S. maternal mortality rates documented in Amnesty
International's Deadly Delivery- The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA, Yerman -- a writer and co-
founder of cultureID -- writes. According to the most recent statistics available, there were 13.3 maternal
deaths per 100,000 live births in the U.S. in 2006. A major factor in the maternal mortality rate is that
"America has no nationally implemented guidelines and standards for a comprehensive system of
maternal health care," Yerman writes. Women's lack of health insurance creates barriers to accessing
prenatal care, she states, adding, "Inflexible office hours, lack of childcare for other children, and
language barriers also present challenges." Caesarean sections are "[a]nother key factor in the maternal
health equation," Yerman continues, noting that 75% of maternal deaths occur after c-section deliveries.
The Amnesty report stated that "women are not given a say in decisions and do not get enough
information about sign[s] of complications and risk of interventions -- including induced labor and
caesarean deliveries" (Yerman, Huffington Post blogs, 7/6).

~ "A Birth Control Pill for Men- Still At Least 5 Years Away," Alex DiBranco, Change.org's
"Women's Rights"- Change.org editor DiBranco writes, "Every time I hear about the possibility of a
new form of birth control for men, I can't help getting excited, even though time after time I end up
disappointed." Male birth control is "never quite ready yet," and sexually active men "don't have a wide
selection when it comes to making sure they don't spread their seed without intending to," she continues.
While women are "the ones expected to be on the pill to keep their eggs unfertilized," men also should be
able "to carry the weight to [avert] pregnancy for a [change]," DiBranco writes. She adds that it might be
more accurate to call the potential for a male birth control pill "'at least five years away' [rather] than
imminent within less than five years," concluding, "But this is one of those cases [where] I'd desperately
love to be proved wrong" (DiBranco, "Women's Rights," Change.org, 7/4).

~ "Experimental Drug Being Used Prenatally to 'Fix' Intersex Genitals," Miriam Perez,
Feministing- A recent Time article examined an experimental treatment for CAH, which is "an intersex
condition that affects the hormone levels in the body and can produce ambiguous looking genitalia,"
Perez says. The treatment -- dexamethasone -- "is being given to mothers while pregnant who have an
increased risk of giving birth to a child" with CAH, Perez continues. Although the story "is being talked
about as a treatment to prevent lesbianism," it really is "a treatment to try and alter the genitals of babies
with an intersex condition to make them seem more normative," Perez states. The treatment is "just
further evidence that our falsely binary idea of gender is hurting us -- it's even leading us to treat fetuses
with experimental drugs," Perez concludes (Feministing, 7/2).

~ "Who Needs More Women on the Bench? Everyone," Rebecca Freedholm, Women's Campaign
Forum's "Women & Politics"- "We need more women on the Supreme Court," especially women who
are "as well-qualified as" Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, according to Freedholm, a WCF
communications fellow. Freedholm writes that "recent studies reveal women's presence in the courts can
make a crucial difference in the judicial decision-making process." She adds that a "diverse, gender-
balanced Supreme Court is necessary for protecting the rights of all citizens." Freedholm concludes,
"Having Elena Kagan on the bench will increase women's representation in our courts, improve the
quality of the judicial decision-making process, and will more effectively serve the American people"
(Freedholm, "Women & Politics," Women's Campaign Forum, 7/2).

~ "Conservatives Rehash Debunked Myths and Caricatures for Kagan Hearings," Eric Hananoki,
Media Matters for America- Conservative opposition to Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation is based
"on politics rather than Kagan's actual qualifications and opinions." Hananoki writes, adding, "In other
words, the Kagan confirmation battle is just one piece of the larger battle for the Supreme Court." The
conservative attacks against Kagan include the Fox News claim that she "advised President Clinton to
'essentially' endorse a health exception that would have allowed women to 'get an abortion in the third
trimester' because of 'a headache,'" Hananoki notes. He adds, "In reality, Kagan advocated for a middle
position that would have banned late-term abortions with a narrowly drawn health exception" (Hananoki,
Media Matters for America, 7/2).