Transcripts For CSPAN2 Jennifer Block Everything Below The W

CSPAN2 Jennifer Block Everything Below The Waist July 13, 2024

Good evening everybody. My name is Aubrey Stewart and im so pleased to welcome you with tonight his if it with jennifer discussing her latest book everything below the noise. Why healthcare needs a feminist resolution. She joined tonight by jackman freeman. Were kicking off a new series of feminist talks with jeff from of the frame. Before we get started, i want to let you know about a few events of god coming up. Our fall season is in full scream right now whose friday at 3 00 p. M. Lisa duggan will discuss her new book mean girl. The culture of greed. On october 7th, jodi and megan will discuss their coauthored book, she said. Making the Sexual Harassment story that held ignite a movement. With a few tickets left for that one so if you are addressing checking out harvard. Com. Well have a signing up here at the table at the end. If you havent already, you can find a copy everything below the waist at the register. Were also very pleased to cspan book tv here taping tonight his if it and when asking questions during the q a please know you know being recorded and please wait a moment before the microphone can come to you before you is you question. I want to take those moment to see thank you for buying books from Harvard Bookstore. Your book you support will support our events. Thank you. Just a final reminder to please. [silence] your cell phones for the talk. I am so excited to introduce tonight his speakers. Jennifer is an awardwinning independent journalist. Its between feminism and medicine. Her writing is appeared between the Washington Post, newsweek, new your times, the los angeles times, and monday others. Her first book pushed explores womens right to choose how to give birth as well is the copious issues of Public Health surrounding childbirth. She joined tonight by Jaclyn Friedman a selfproclaimed leisure activist. Shes also educated and author of three books. Yes means yes. What you really really want which is the [laughter] and we have titles at the register for sale as well. She also has a popular pulsatile dual unscrewed. Spiders here are discussing everything below the waist. Whose book is crucial. Its addressing one of the most aspects of feminism. The Washington Post calls it a mustread for women. Especially the woman who ever might need to see a dr. I could quote more but all of their views are in agreement. They see read whose book, the information is essential, the Healthcare System must change. On the note, i will let the authors do the talking. June please join me in welcoming jennifer and jaclyn. [applause] tina hi everyone. Good evening. Thank you for being here. Thank you to Harvard Bookstore for having us. Thank you jaclyn. Im going to be little bit from the introduction. The problem with medicine is empowerment. In california, a woman returns to the clinic where she had a 90 started and had it removed because in her words, i went from a happygolucky 31 yearold is it too depressed walking zombie in just three weeks. The clinician refuses and told ray she doesnt think its a good idea and tells her to wait six months. Says what happens we do have an abortion. After making her case, and being denied multiple times the patient shaking with anger, turn a request and to date a demand. The clinician rolls her eyes and takes the idd out. In new jersey, a woman having her second baby is nine out of ten, centimeters dilated. On hands and knees with her midwife. Feeling the urge to push when the obstetrician oncall enters the room and asked about the womans previous delivery and helped her do a csection whose time. When the woman asked questions, the dr. Threatens to call court legal people if she doesnt sign a consent forum for surgery. In minneapolis, a 40 exit 46 yearold woman has robotic minimally invasive hysterectomy. Two days later, she tells the nurses, of concerning symptoms. Pain, elevated heart rate, increased respiration. The dodgers note anxiety in her charts and administered at to her iv that went out telling her and discharge her with a prescription for the anti and dining medicine. Two days later she wakes up in pain so unbearable, she calls for an ambulance. It turns out that her intestines had been damaged during that has directly and emerges these surgery with a colostomy bag. You may already be familiar with the version of the story. Woman makes medical care, woman is ignored, woman has to fight. The patient dr. Relationship is one of the most sacred and the secular world. We soon render our modest and trust are dodgers. Their most intimate needs and vulnerabilities. In return and a minimum, we expect science, expertise, and respect. Hell live blackwell, the first u. S. Woman to get a medical degree, noted that gender power imbalance inherent in the relationship and advocated for womens equal representation in the profession. Quote is it not only by what women will do themselves in medicine, but also by the influence in which they will exert on the profession. They will eat it by women is it cannot otherwise. That was 1959. Today half of our medical students and some 60 percent of obgyn his are female gender dignity and the round is no more secure. Either is our health. At 2015, institute of medicine report found that even is women live expectancy has risen overall, u. S. Women are dying at younger ages. In our international peers. A trend that has been worsening for three decades. In the quality of those years, is worse than men. And worse than the previous generation. In 2013, study of 2000 mother and daughter peers in the United States, with the daughters, entered adulthood a greater risk for the development of chronic illness than their mothers. 42 percent of counties, women live its vacancy is decreasing. Shocked, i was two. Have we come a long ways maybe from the dark days when Cervical Cancer was the number one cause of cancer death in women. In Breast Cancer need it more awareness. And we conquered perpetual premises. Are we already better. Dont women have more power now and medicine as well is in society at large. To try to explain it whats to generational and international differences, we learned that a more toxic environmental thing now that our grandparents day. A lack of healthcare availability in the industrial roswell. Endres and i was on. Black women are more likely to die of Heart Disease and Breast Cancer and pregnancy. And researchers rolled down to determine why, the elite packers and stress caused by the daily wear and tear of being a woman of color the 21st america. And it holds true is men of color as well. Is long is her health slipping women in the United States get more dodgers have more surgeries and to help fill more prescriptions than men. Why is whose a problem women having heart attacks and strokes are more likely to be misdiagnosed in the er. In a nursing home. Women included a 2017, article in glamour, are likely to be misdiagnosed in pretty much any medical situation. Hormones are a problem, not necessarily our own, but the endocrine jeep chemical that is an infused in everything from lotion to tap water. Is also a problem. Autoimmune disorders is in 20 to 20 percent of the population. And its been 75 percent of sufferers are women. If whose disease claimed a faction of investigative efforts. Another problem has emerged in recent years, and connective realms of overt testing it over diagnosing and overtreatment, women are more vulnerable than men. We recommended scans and prescribe drugs to treat us communion, machines diagnosing and treatments were all manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry enters on these drugs often lead to these diseases. Thyroid screening came in in the 2000, so we know now that some 80 percent in surgeries and women physically were done unnecessarily. Men and women are equally obese yet women are more recommended for biometric surgery. Theyre more likely to be prescribed anti somatic his anti stress. Be prescribed opioids and 40 percent more likely to be dependent on them. More drugs and are recommended more surgery in general. In particular, we enter a lot of surgery on our cars. For the past several years roughly one third of u. S. Women giving birth, have an done so by the series and major surgery that carries shortterm and longterm risks to the mother. Critically for future pregnancies. Some of these operations are necessary, monday are not. Theres a statistical thresh hold at which the harms outweigh the benefits. And Public Health authorities agree that our rate of 32 percent cesareans come on we are well above that threshold. Whose trend raises the question not only are appropriate nest but of consent. Our hospitals in places Like Northern new jersey in mind miami florida, where they have more csections than badge numbers. And hundreds of hospitals have to factor in pans against vegetal birth. If woman had had a previous assyrian are caring and maybe in a breech position. Leaving them no choice but surgery. I think whose scenario has been getting more attention recently. Why practice standards vary and why in prostates, counties and even individual hospitals. Why so monday mothers are dying in childbirth. I like countries with Better Outcomes ploy for midwives dodgers. In whose mode, asked the more questions about everything from fertility treatments to contraception his to Pelvic Surgery to the way miscarriages are handled. Is one physician put it to me, quote, covering up the symptoms and bypassing normal functions and we are moving the organs is generally the treatment protocol. And i will leave it there. I think that opens up some avenues of conversation. [laughter]. Thank you. [applause] scenic sankyo, that was stressful. Like i want to start there, i have a lot of Big Questions to talk to you about so thats where i live. I do want to start there because i feel like it is probably on buddys minds. One of the uncompfortable but necessary things, what has reading your book is the feeling of not knowing what or who to trust about medical expertise. About health expertise. You know, you hear stories of white people folk remedies that are actually typical and how horrible outcomes and obviously theres monday in the medical industry giving us terrible outcomes are one of you can maybe give folks a little guidance about how to know what trustworthy information looks like or trustworthy conveyor of information. I can expert laissez. About Womens Health looks like. What it is a sign that you look for that either information or person who repaired to be an expert but theyre actually trustworthy. Medical or focused or what have you. Is the great place to start. That is a question of experts and expertise. Historically, its only been about a hundred or hundred and 50 years, and the medical dodgers have been the definitive expert on what we call healthcare. So to start there, its really good but that in context. We have a long human history. In our culture, they have less scholars with authoritative knowledge so journalists go to dodgers. T the expert closed. I think there might be some people in the room here tonight from the original collective. As well is from the new your new bodies object. One of the really important things that happened in the 70s was, medical dodgers, lets look at the history how medical dodgers came into power to have whose authoritative knowledge and control information and the conflicts of interest in the biases and you know the history of medicines and all wrapped up in pediatric and white diplomacy and racism and misogyny. Its an ugly history. I think one of the really great things within the south movement, would see lets first of all lets look at our bodies. Whose look at each others bodies and start about our experiences because what we are reading in textbooks is just one source of information. So today, we have whose a totally different situation when there is no other information. Is difficult to get pictures of national birth. I can even imagine. And now we have whose internet. And we have whose glut. Which conflicts. One side is is the staying you read the sign says that thing is dangerous. They conflict. What you look for in trustworthiness. How do you know who to trust. What sources are trustworthy. One example is whose uterine massage therapist who i found. Shes doing something that most physicians dont recognize. You nearly find any literature about whose. Yet i was directed to her by women who told me things like i have had horrible painful awful periods since i was 13. And i went to whose person, she removed my uterus and told me exercises to keep my uterus in place and now i dont have painful periods. Thats really powerful information. Is there evidence based medicine, no. Other possible side effects. Yes but i think so monday people are, not finding everything they need to treat their problems. From the traditional authoritative sources and theyre going to uterine stage removers. Theyre getting badge knolls steamed and data and doing all sorts of things right. The bottom line is that we actually dont know what works for everyone. And if somebody finds it something that works, if vegetal steaming works for you, i see great. I think that one of the things we lost, that spirit of like, hang on. Like who are the experts and bang on. We are the experts of our bodies and i think its coming back. Dont i dont i am not scared of people. It keeps coming up on my twitter feed. [laughter] i am scared of the scams associated with the meaningless or possibly harmful treatments right. If you want imaginal steam, and it just doesnt seem to be hurting you, go ahead. Is another thing if i dont know if whose is the thing but to buy some elaborate vaginal steaming outfit at a great cost to you that maybe you can or cannot afford, that somebodys getting rich out of it is actually not going to really help you write. It feels like things are justified. They might either scan meal or harm you is to help you. Tonight i think is important to look back. Theres medical reversals. A practice that has been entrenching to be the right thing to do. In the week ten minutes later, like estrogen preventative estrogen right. Or an episiotomy. We can talk about so monday things in the Maternity Care process. But episiotomy. Women were told for decades, whose cuts your regina will prevent bad tearing. Right. The women who were raving about whose and giving homebirth were like, we know sewing and that doesnt make any sense. If you cut a piece of material and then you pull on it, it tears more. So they said whose has brought a good idea. They attended women in their own homes, let them move around and let them get on all fours and squatted push other want to push. And lo and behold, they didnt tear is much. They took decades and not just decades but michael klein, who happened to be the father of naomi klein is the family physician in canada and he did the initial controlled trials shared and shared very definitively what women intuitive all along, that episiotomy is something you shouldnt do repeatedly. It will cause more harm. But it took a more of 25 to 30 percent in some hospitals. Were still still dealing with whose. And whose is something that was against expert opinion. The women getting in the tub to give birth. We can talk a lot about a lot of things that were the experts advice. But were helpful. Something is the question of yes, because potential for harm right. Who benefiting whose. A 90dollar jpeg. I want to switch and talk about the bill. Because the pill, one of the things i like to do buttery new book, i like to look at the index because i think its like a little work poem about the book. Like sort of condensed, is you look at the pill in here, listing for the bill starts down here and ends like over here. There is 20 or maybe 25 entries. In whose morning, we were talking about whose and staying the history of the pill and the interaction of the pill in the bodies is the history of every issue in whose book. Almost entirely a thing. Can you talk about that at all. Yes, i think the bill is really interesting because it is been a difficult conversation are feminists. I want to preface whose by staying that the live and 60s when the pill became available was completely different. So abortion was very illegal and dangerous. You couldnt walk to the corner store and buy condoms. A ring on your finger to get a diaphragm. It was completely different world. When the pill became available, was revolutionary. It gave women unprecedented control over their lives. Today, i think the pill is different. We have a lot more information about the impacts of the pill. And the impacts of not having popular tory cycles. And so there is a lot of research now showing the pill has an effect on metabolism and bone density. In Mental Health is emerging is, is the hormonal contraception. And sexuality and sexual response. We have a lot more information about it. One thing that i noticed is there has been a couple of books in recent years and that i am thinking in our control by ashley aldrich. Maybe about ten years old now. And then another book on sweetening the pill. In the reaction to those works in the feminist media was surprising to me. It was very weve got to move. Especially for holly his book. And not to see that there are problems with work but reaction to the outside and the defense of the pill, was really interesting and people assumed that she was antiabortion. Or assume that she was approved is an antisex and but while we cant seem to have whose conversation about the fact that we have whose hard man no contraception that is on the pill now. Is a pastor a ring or shot. After three months i was on the phone trying to my partner, dont make me i was literally hysterical. It made me feel like my vagina was not part of my body. It was so hard to find discourse about it. I thought i was just a crazy person. [inaudible] and i was on the telephone seven years mainly for my acne. I didnt go out much. Thats one of the things, you tried a nice light ended because i think oftentimes as you point out with hollies look or allow discussion about attachment parenting and the conclusion. Attachment parenting, some of which is really valid, all of these conversations windup pitting us against each other instead of opening up options and information. Deepening conversation. Do you have thoughts about how to have these Difficult Conversations about what we know and what we dont know and all of that anxiety have about our bodies without turning on each other about it . Like the bill is a literal

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