Need for Woman-Centered Healthcare

Not only are women deliberately kept out of joining medical schools and medical practices in general, their bodies are also not typically studied in medical science and research, because instead, male bodies are more often used. This makes the male body seem dominantly normative and generalizes an idea that women’s bodies must be similar to men’s, and dangerously disregards women’s particular differences. This causes medical professionals to make decisions based on this research that may not be particularly appropriate for women, such as the fact that aspirin reduces the rate of heart attacks for men but not for women, much to many doctors’ surprise. Gender stereotypes also exist within the medical field that may prevent women from receiving the care and attention they need, as many doctors often assume women are emotional, and thus, exaggerating their symptoms, versus men who are believed to be more rational. This also affects the amount of care they receive, which sometimes is too much or too little because some procedures like cesarean sections and hysterectomies are performed too often when other options would be just as adequate, but unfortunately, women’s reproductive systems are more emphasized than other just as important aspects of their health. In other instances, they do not receive as much diagnosis or are not taken as seriously as men are, by their doctors. According to our earlier readings, men are more often to interrupt women, so men physicians can often

There has always been a stigma surrounding the topic of women’s health, especially the reproductive kind, as the world has set standards for a how a woman’s body should be. The stigma begins where, unfortunately for the world, women’s bodies oftentimes do not comply with these standards. Because of the rifts between expectation and reality girls are shamed, oftentimes unconsciously or via systemic responses and interactions. It becomes an ingrained and understood conduct, teaching girls that their bodies exist for objective purposes, and it lays the foundation for developing insecurities. Bodily insecurities tend to run so deeply that even women in adulthood shy away from taking proper care of themselves. Because of how taboo discussing women’s

It is clear by reviewing the article that the author is very much concerned with the well-being of women at this particular time. She mentions that some “doctors showed themselves more interested in protecting themselves than in caring for their patient.” McLaren also goes into detail with examples to show how the doctors would threaten their patients. Like for instance, Stewart Murrow threatened his dying patient Jennie Young that he would not treat her for septic poisoning if she didn’t name the person who performed the operation. Another case is the Sarah Robins affair where she was stimulated with drugs so as to declare the person who performed the operation. Some doctors saw themselves as the authorities. If a woman were dying in a hospital as the result of a bungled abortion, a statement was taken if only to protect the doctor and the hospital staff. This is why McLaren feels it wasn’t fair for women that doctors were too concerned for their reputation rather than the women who needed their help. McLaren also argues that methods of contraception were very expensive, for example the condom.

In the 1800’s women were not allowed to voice their opinion regarding their medical treatment. It was unheard of for a women to voice her opinion or go against her husband judgement. If a women did speak out they were deemed crazy and often institutionalized. During this time men were the dominant forces and a husband, father ,or brother could have a

Mission: Advance the health and safety of women and girls with a focus on disease prevention and wellness. (cdc.gov/women)

Within the last century, there have been many strides in terms of women’s rights- the right to vote, a place in the work force, the ability to have control over their bodies- but that has not always been the case. Throughout the numerous works we’ve read so far, one theme that stuck out to me more than once is the role that doctors and the medical field play in terms of female subordination. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Maria Cristina Mena’s “The Vine Leaf,” doctors and medical practices have influence over the way we perceive a female’s place in society. The portrayal of these themes are slightly different between the two works, but both provide examples of women in places of inferiority. The doctors in

A person wrote a letter to the editor in “The News-Sentinel”, saying that insurance should cover women who want to go out and have babies. On the other hand, this person wants women who want to have an abortion to come up with the money themselves and that the government or insurance should not cover abortions (“The Rant,” 2009). Many believe that some women use abortions as a form of birth control. For women who find themselves in that situation, the expense for those types of abortions should be paid for by those women. However, in certain cases such as incest, rape, genetics, failed birth control and endangerment to the life of the expectant mother. Those situations should be covered by insurance.

Woman-centered care in childbirth is the process in which a woman can make choices, be involved in, and has control over her care and relationship with her physician or midwife (Maputle & Donavon, 2013). Woman-centered care is a philosophy of care which gives priority to the wishes and needs of the female patient during labor, to improve the women’s ability to make informed choices about many aspects of their care and birthing process. The aim of concept analysis is to clarify meanings of similarity and identify multiple considerations for

Women in today’s society have a lot more power and say in what they can or cannot do.

Before my diagnosis, each visit to my family doctor about irregular or severe periods would frequently yield the same result: oral contraceptive was an apparent ‘miracle pill’ that would cure all, completely overlooking my previous complaints of exacerbating symptoms of depression and anxiety. Furthermore, it was ‘sold’ to me, as Corinna’s article points out, that a ‘benefit’ would be a suppressed or completely absent period. Unfortunately, I continue to experience this frustrating mentality, the most recent case being a ruptured cyst that was excused as an ‘abnormal’ period which, in my opinion, illustrates a gross misogynistic bias within the medical system (Corinna

The role of women in society has taken a drastic change from their predecessors of the 1950’s. Women have found their voice in society through the power of voting as one of the first landmarks, and now more than ever, women are forcefully breaking through the glass ceilings in the workforce arena. The concern at hand is a woman’s ability to access timely and appropriate care as well as preventive services, which enable her to continue balancing the many hats that she is wearing in modern society. With the new health reform law, passed by President Obama in March of 2010, this new law holds the potential to expand women’s access to health insurance coverage and make reforms that may strengthen the health care systems ability to

Women make up just slightly over half the U.S population (US Census Bureau, 2010) and should not be even considered a part of a minority group. The female population should acquire the same equal research attention as men do, especially when it comes to health issues. The unavoidable, yet quite simple realities of breastfeeding, menstruation, menopause, along with pregnancy require special scrutiny from medical experts. Those medical specialties are generally referred as gynecologists or obstetrics, who focus on the exclusive needs of a female’s reproductive health throughout their lifespan. Historically, the health needs of women have been disregarded as well as their fundamental rights. However, over the past few decades, it has grabbed the media and the government’s attention causing some major changes in support of women’s rights and health care.

Woman-centred care requires a holistic approach and should encompass all a woman’s expectations from an emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural perspective (Fahy K 2012 & Australian College of Midwives (ACM) 2016). I believe that woman-centred care is of utmost importance in all aspects of midwifery care, and I am sure that many others in the profession would share my opinion. Simple principals of woman-centred care include but are not limited to: collaborative care between health professionals, continuity of care provider, care focused on the woman’s needs and expectations before those of the institution or health professionals and ensures the woman’s autonomy and ability to make informed decisions is supported and respected (Fahy K 2012 & ACM 2016). Unfortunately in some situations, woman-centred care is not always successfully implemented. A common example is when there is an indication for Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM), particularly in the intrapartum period

Throughout the course of history, the field of healthcare has always been in a state of flux; however, healthcare has also had one steady aspect and that is women have always been at a disadvantage when it comes to traversing the system. Women have and still do face many obstacles within the health care system. These obstacles include research androcentrism, medicalization, gender stereotyping, reproductive rights, differential treatment, and fertility issues, among others… These obstacles must be explored and analyzed in order to better help women navigate the healthcare system and to support women’s rights in the present and future.

Abortion has been one of the hottest topics concerning women’s health care and reproductive rights. Tune into any presidential debate and you’ll notice candidates spending as much time discussing the topic as immigration, foreign policy, climate change, and gun control. There are a lot of misconceptions about the pro-choice movement but it can be explained in very simple terms. Being pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion, it simply means accepting that women have the choice to choose what they do with their bodies, not the government or anyone else. I believe strongly in this issue and believe that we should look at our past and not go back to a time where women did not have the same rights as men over their bodies. We are trying to become equal, not return to an era of submission. No man or government should have the power to control a women’s body; every person has a right to his/her own body. Abortion should be kept an easy, accessible, safe, and legal option for all women regardless of beliefs. We should be taking strides forward toward equality, not steps back. In the mid-twentieth century, second wave feminists saw major struggles of women and sought to radically improve and change the security of women and reproductive rights. We have fought hard for many of the rights we have today, but everyday we are challenged by those who want to oppose and erase our efforts.