The CDC does promote women’s health in general; it just doesn’t address that in this specific report. The CDC isn’t currently in the hands of people agitating for Gilead, really; it just happens to be part of an administration which is. So I wouldn’t put this report on the level of politicized decisions like the blocking of OTC approval for Plan B.

On caffeine, this particular childbearing age woman has no intention of worrying about the one or two caffeine-containing soft drinks that she may drink in a week. I think it’s only a problem if you drink a ton of coffee. Besides, my premie niece was actually given caffeine during the first weeks of her life to make her healthier, so it can’t be a total disaster during pregnancy.

But more importantly there is actually very little evidence that weight is an independant variable when it comes to health.

This actually works at both end of the spectrum. Very thin women are prone to osteoperosis, but is this because there’s a natural link between osteoperosis and weight, or because women who are very thin are statistically more likely to also be women who over-exercise and eat restricted diets.

Until we do know to say that we know that a particular weight class (as opposed to lifestyle decisions that may or may not coincide with you being in that weight class), I think it’s a little bit premature to talk about a ‘healthy weight’. Let alone maintaining a healthy weight.

There is such a thing as unhealthy weight, for both men and women (thereby proving that fat? It is not misogynistic.) There is a doctor term (not a feminist term) called “morbidly obese”. This applies to men and women, and means that the fat ratio on a person has indeed become unhealthy. Arteries can clog. Hearts can stop. Lungs strain to breathe. This has nothing to do with being attractive. It has to do with health. Do people find others moribdly obese unattractive? I’m sure they do, just as others find the Calista Flockhearts unnattractive. Looking good was not the point of the statement.

I don’t mean to pick up on a side tangent here in the comment section, I just felt that the waving of the “shame on you, and you a feminist!” was being waved unneccessarily at the canvas. Must be all that folic acid I’m on.

But Amanda, the problem is that the women’s health issues are being approached strictly from the “childbearing” angle. Why is women’s health not being promoted by the CDC just so women can be healthy? Why is it being promoted specifically because of infant mortality?

The report is about a very specific initiative, to get doctors in the course of caring for women altogether to initiate conversations about their reproductive health. In the report it specifically states that this is not intended to replace or supersede well-woman care. That this is in fact much less than well-woman care, just another factor in it.

She told me that it’s good to give up all alcohol and caffeine several months before you even start trying for a kid, so that it’s “out of your system.” Now I’d probably give up alcohol anyway while trying, since it apparently makes it harder to conceive for some people and just isn’t that safe when babies are a possibility. Plus it’s making me gain weight so I should really stop anyway. :-)

But not months before trying, when we’re still using birth control! And even my doctor told me that one cup of coffee a day is fine until you actually find out you’re PG. I do not have cats, but if I did I would not give them up just becasue I’m thinking about kids.

However, I think there’s a fine line between picking up healthy habits just prior to pregnancy, versus always treating your body as if you’re already pregnant. I was a virgin all through high school and much of college, so what sense would it have made to act pregnant then? In case I got raped?