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Introduction | p. ix |
A Letter from Founders of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective | p. xiii |
Taking Care of Ourselves | p. 1 |
Body Image | p. 3 |
Eating Well | p. 19 |
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Mood-Altering Drugs | p. 45 |
Our Bodies in Motion | p. 57 |
Complementary Health Practices | p. 67 |
Emotional Well-Being | p. 82 |
Environmental and Occupational Health | p. 96 |
Violence and Abuse | p. 118 |
Relationships and Sexuality | p. 139 |
Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation | p. 141 |
Relationships with Men | p. 154 |
Relationships with Women | p. 169 |
Sexuality | p. 186 |
Sexual Health | p. 225 |
Sexual Anatomy, Reproduction, and the Menstrual Cycle | p. 227 |
Safer Sex | p. 261 |
Sexually Transmitted Infections | p. 272 |
HIV and AIDS | p. 291 |
Reproductive Choices | p. 307 |
Considering Parenting | p. 309 |
Birth Control | p. 322 |
Unexpected Pregnancy | p. 381 |
Abortion | p. 389 |
Childbearing | p. 417 |
Pregnancy | p. 419 |
Childbirth | p. 450 |
The First Year of Parenting | p. 474 |
Childbearing Loss | p. 495 |
Infertility and Assisted Reproduction | p. 506 |
Growing Older | p. 525 |
Midlife and Menopause | p. 527 |
Our Later Years | p. 553 |
Medical Problems and Procedures | p. 585 |
Unique to Women | p. 587 |
Special Concerns for Women | p. 658 |
Knowledge Is Power | p. 699 |
Navigating the Health Care System | p. 701 |
The Politics of Women's Health | p. 719 |
Organizing for Change | p. 748 |
Glossary | p. 759 |
Resources | p. 763 |
The Production Team for Our Bodies, Ourselves 2005 | p. 781 |
Authorship and Acknowledgments | p. 783 |
About the Contributors | p. 791 |
Index | p. 799 |
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Welcome toOur Bodies, Ourselves,the classic book about women's health and sexuality that is written by women, for women. Since its first newsprint version in 1970,Our Bodies, Ourselveshas been created and revised by women speaking from our own research and experiences about our bodies, health, and medical care.
This edition reflects the work of more than four hundred women -- and quite a few men -- who share both personal stories and health information based on the latest scientific evidence. The result is a newOur Bodies, Ourselves,rewritten for today's realities.
Changing Times, Continuing Need
Much has changed since the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the group that became the Boston Women's Health Book Collective first started to meet. Abortion is now legal (though threatened), and birth control options have increased; the AIDS epidemic has made safer sex a subject of public discussion; and lesbian and gay couples have the right to marry, at least in Massachusetts. Many groups, including an active movement of women with breast cancer, have drawn new attention to environmental factors in disease and to the politics of research funding. More health care providers are women now, and doctors and medical researchers of both sexes tend to be more sensitive to and knowledgeable about women's concerns than doctors of an earlier generation. Information on women's health is widely available.
But the need for a book likeOur Bodies, Ourselvesremains. Too much medical care still focuses on the expensive "solutions" of drugs and surgery, rather than on prevention or management strategies such as good food and exercise, a clean environment, and safe working conditions. Too often, women's life experiences, from childbirth to menopause, are seen as diseases to be treated rather than natural, healthy processes that sometimes have problems. And too many of us still don't have the knowledge and resources to participate effectively in maintaining our health.
Self-help and Beyond
This book offers individual women the tools to take care of ourselves, from eating well and becoming more physically active to learning how to cope better with stress. It provides helpful, clear information about substance abuse, heart disease, eating disorders, and many other conditions that women confront. A new chapter, "Navigating the Health Care System," provides practical advice for getting the best care possible.
YetOur Bodies, Ourselvesis about more than self-help. Many aspects of our health, from workplace safety to sexual violence, are often beyond an individual's control. Therefore, this book addresses the political, economic, and social factors that affect our health and medical care: the industrial plants spewing pollution, the fast-food giants pushing junk food, the pharmaceutical companies unethically promoting drugs, the government dismantling our social safety net. We can change these conditions only by working together, sharing our stories with other women, and advocating for policies and programs that protect the health of our families, our communities, and the world.
Many Women's Voices
Despite some changes, this edition retains one of the distinctive traits ofOur Bodies, Ourselves:the use of real women's voices. These first-person stories, set off in italicized passages throughout the text, have been collected from conversations, letters, and e-mail messages that spanned the globe.
Diverse voices are also embodied in the all-embracing "we" of this book. When the Boston Women's Health Book Collective first wrote about "our bodies," the "we" reflected the white, mostly middle-class, well-educated background of many of its founding members. But as more diverse women have helped revise the book, the "we" has grown to include a greater variety of experiences.
Making Changes Together
No matter who we are, we often need both information and support to make healthy changes. If we are trying to get more exercise, for example, inviting a friend to share a morning walk may make it more fun. Similarly, if we are feeling overwhelmed as new mothers, we may want to join a play group with other families in the neighborhood. The same principle extends to issues beyond our individual well-being: By working together, we can bring about change and improve the health of our communities.
This new edition ofOur Bodies, Ourselvesserves as a first step on such paths, offering information, stories, and resources so that we can take care of ourselves -- and one another.
Heather Stephenson, managing editor
For the Boston Women's Health Book Collective
July 2004, Boston
Copyright © 1984, 1992, 1998, 2005 by the Boston Women¹s Health Book Collective
Excerpted from Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era by Boston Women's Health Book Collective Staff
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.