On this episode of the en(gender)ed podcast, our guest is Jennifer Block, journalist and author of the book, “Everything Below the Waist: Why Health Care Needs a Feminist Revolution.” We speak with Jennifer today about the ways in which the health industry–from preparation and trainings of doctors, to research devoted to understanding women’s bodies, to the dismissal of women’s pain–contribute to a culture where women’s health is systemically ignored and minimized, and women’s trauma, in response, collectively normalized and accepted. We explore what it means to be a woman navigating our culture who centers her own health, well-being and care, and the obstacles she encounters and must overcome everyday.
During our conversation, Jennifer and I referenced the following resources and topics:
- The book, “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler
- Actress Lena Dunham’s struggle with endometriosis and subsequent decision to get a hysterectomy
- How the incentive structure for surgeons working on women’s issues impacts the trends in frequency for procedures and outcomes for women’s health
- The phenomenon of “unwarranted variation in care” for pregnant women depending on the hospital you visit
- How obstetric violence is physically and emotionally harming women and threatening our right to make decisions about our labor and delivery
- The Alabama case of Caroline Malatesta whose baby’s head was forced back into her vagina to prevent her from delivering
- The 95 felony charges against midwife, Elizabeth Caitlin, for practicing midwifery without a NYS license
- Increased maternal mortality rates for Black women in NYS
- How Black babies are 3x more likely to die when treated by a white doctor
- Some ways ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment will equalize access to health care for women
- Our Bodies Ourselves, by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective
- A New View of a Woman’s Body, by the Federation of Women’s Health Centers
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