Oiling the baby machines.
New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves — and to be treated by the health care system — as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.
Among other things, this means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control.
Tall order. The US Center for Diseas Control and Prevention (CDC) - which issued these recommendations - assumes that all women will and want to reproduce, and all women who do reproduce want to keep their babies. Among other things, women of reproductive age should avoid cat faeces (time to throw out that cat!), avoid smoking (fine, this makes health sense), take folic acid, forego alcohol (there goes Friday night partying) and other things that a pregnant woman usually avoids - even if they are not pregnant.
I can just see the pro-choice and childfree brigades up in arms over this.
Read the rest of the article here.
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3 opinions for Oiling the baby machines.
Deb L
May 16, 2006 at 11:11 am
Smacks of “The Handmaid’s Tale” to me. lol. geesh. I’m all for promoting good health, but as mere reproductive vessels? Where are the guidelines demanding the same of the men? I think there may be studies to show that men’s health affects the quality of their sperm, which is half the genetic donation each new life gets.
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