I think it is well known that as we get older we have a more difficult time getting pregnant, but I was shocked to hear these new statistics on fertility. It seems that 90 percent of a woman’s eggs are gone by age 30, and only 3 percent remain by age 40. Ninety Percent of eggs are GONE! That’s a huge number. That’s a scary number.
From ABC News – Fertility: 90% of eggs gone by age 30!
It’s common knowledge that women have more difficulty conceiving as they age, but this is the very first study believed to quantify the number of eggs lost and it shows that the decline is more rapid than previously believed. Over time, the quality of ovarian eggs also deteriorates, increasing the difficulty of conception and the risk of having an unhealthy baby. The study was based on information collected from 325 women of varying ages in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.
Dr. Marie Savard, “Good Morning America” medical contributor, visited “GMA” to discuss the issue and its implications for moms-to-be. “Women lose eggs a lot faster than we thought,” she said. As you get older, conceiving is “much more difficult…Even all those assisted reproductive techniques are challenges.”
“That biological clock does tick,” she said, adding that her advice to women who want kids is, “the sooner the better.”
I imagine this news is going to cause a great deal of anxiety to women in their 30’s who were holding off having children. What do they do? Do they drop everything and try to have a baby before their eggs run out? And how will this affect women who want to pursue a career before motherhood? Are women going to have to start choosing motherhood over career for fear of future infertility?
Evaluating Your Success, Not Your Failure – Cross-posted at BlogHer.com
If you made a New Year’s resolution, you’ve now had a couple of weeks to work on it. How are you making out? Would you say you’ve been successful, or that you’ve already failed? Don’t answer yet.
My New Year’s resolution included eating healthy, but today my daughter made chocolate chip cookies and I had several of them (they were super yummy too). Some might say that by eating those cookies, I’ve failed at my resolution. Have I? What really matters though, is how I perceive it. If I perceive eating cookies as a failure, then it was. However, I choose to not see it as a failure. I’ve learned from years of dieting that I am less likely to be successful if I’m too strict with myself. So instead, I remind myself of all the days that I did make healthy food choices, and that I can still continue to make healthy food choices tomorrow.
We’ve all heard that most people will fail at their New Year’s resolution. In fact, many people will use this knowledge to justify not making a resolution at all. But should we really avoid resolutions because of a our fears of failure? Of course not.
Most successful people will tell you that failure is success, as long as you learn from it. You may have even heard this famous quote from Thomas Edison:
I have not failed, not once. I’ve discovered ten thousand ways that don’t work.
This is the way I see it – If you’ve made a resolution that is really in your best interest to keep, then don’t throw it out the window just because a few weeks into it you are not exactly where you hoped you would be. It’s the intention that matters most. If your intention was good, then now is as good a time as any to tweak your resolution a bit, and make it more realistic for yourself. Remind yourself that you can choose to see your glass as half empty or half full. Perception is the only thing standing between you and success.
So now, how would you answer the question I asked at the beginning of this post…
Would you say you’ve been successful, or that you’ve already failed?
If it helps, take some time to re-evaluate your resolution, and set more realistic goals yourself. And remember, it’s much better for you to focus on the ways you’ve been successful, rather than on the ways you believe you may be failing.
My New Year’s resolution is about doing everything I can do to have more birthdays. At the moment the one thing that could keep me from doing that, is my blood pressure. I’ve had blood pressure and heart rate problems since my twenties, but now in my forties, I know I’m at a much greater risk for having a heart attack or stroke. So this year I plan on taking specific steps to hopefully lower my blood pressure. Like Morra Arrons-Mele, I would like to make these changes holistically. I’m still planning to take my medications, but even on medication my blood pressure is still not controlled.
Here are the steps I plan to take in 2010…
1. Continue to eat healthy, but kick it up a notch.
2. Reduce stress by using meditation and Reiki on a regular basis.
3. Get the Wii Fit and begin doing light exercising and yoga.
I’ll keep track of my progress by documenting my blood pressure and the days I’ve used any of the above steps.
Well, that’s my “more birthdays list.” I hope you’ll join me at the American Cancer Society’s Official Birthday Blog, by sharing a list of your own.
Here are some tips for making and promoting your Bday List and supporting the American Cancer Society’s More Birthdays campaign…
1. Create a list of things (could be one thing or many) you plan to do to stay healthy in 2010 and/or to help create more birthdays. This is your “my more birthdays list.”
2. Share your list on Facebook and/or Twitter (using the #mybdaylist hashtag). These could be anything from losing 5 pounds or eating more vegetables to training for a 10K or half-marathon.
3. Tweet and/or post messages on Facebook about the progress you’re making on your more birthdays list throughout the year. This will help you get support, tips, and encouragement from others who are trying to accomplish their more birthdays lists.
My kids are big kids now (15 & 18), and I really miss those years when they were younger and I got to be Santa. I loved shopping for toys, the hours wrapping, and especially watching the joy on their faces as they tore through everything in a matter of minutes. Back then, I was blissfully ignorant of all the dangers lurking in those toys. My only concern was getting the best deals I could find and making sure both my kids had an equal amount of gifts to unwrap. But it’s not so easy for moms today.
If you’re a mom, or anyone buying toys for a child this year, here is a round-up of posts that can help you make safe toy choices.
Today the blogging community is praying for Anissa Mayhew, a loving mother of three, who blogs at Free Anissa and Hope 4 Peyton. Anissa suffered a stroke yesterday afternoon, and we are all hoping and praying that she will make a full recovery.
It’s so important to eat health even when you’re on a budget. And in today’s economy many of us will find ourselves looking for ways to make our holiday meals without breaking the bank. Thankfully, there are many women blogging about just that. Here is a quick blog round-up that can help you have a wonderfully frugal holiday.
In honor of Word Diabetes Day I’ve decided to do a blog roundup of women blogging diabetes. Most are blogs by women who are living with diabetes, and others are women blogging about parenting a child with diabetes. I’ve also included several informative links and resources at the end of this post.
If you blog about living with diabetes or World Diabetes Day, please leave your link in comments.
Do you know someone who suffers with Alzheimer’s disease? Or someone who is a caregiver to a loved one with this devastating disease? If so, you understand the heartache associated with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Who are we without our memories of past experiences? For most of us, the though of losing our memories to Alzheimer’s disease is horrifying. But there is much more to Alzheimer’s than memory loss.
November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. I hope this post will provide information and facts about epilepsy, while also showcasing women blogging about life with seizures.
Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages – more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease combined. Almost 500 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every day in the United States. Epilepsy affects 50,000,000 people worldwide.
In two-thirds of patients diagnosed with epilepsy, the cause is unknown.
Epilepsy can develop at any age and can be a result of genetics, stroke, head injury, and many other factors.
In over thirty percent of patients, seizures cannot be controlled with treatment. Uncontrolled seizures may lead to brain damage and death. Many more have only partial control of their seizures.
The severe epilepsy syndromes of childhood can cause developmental delay and brain damage, leading to a lifetime of dependency and continually accruing costs—both medical and societal.
It is estimated that up to 50,000 deaths occur annually in the U.S. from status epilepticus (prolonged seizures), Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), and other seizure-related causes such as drowning and other accidents.
The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population and the risk of sudden death is twenty-four times greater.
Recurring seizures are also a burden for those living with brain tumors and other disorders such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, tuberous sclerosis, and a variety of genetic syndromes.
I found this video on a blog called My 3 Peanuts – It is a very informative video that explains exactly what happens during a seizure.
This is my response to seeing so many bloggers and commenters turning the “choice” to vaccinate for H1N1, into a free for all hate fest against moms who are “choosing” not to vaccinate.
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question many moms are facing when it comes to Swine Flu and the H1N1 vaccine (including me). As far as I’m concerned, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the H1N1 vaccine. There is plenty of information available for parents to educate themselves on both the H1N1 virus as well as the vaccine, and I believe every mother has the right to make the decision she believes is best for her children. But not everyone thinks so, there are many moms on the internet freely venting their disdain for anyone who doesn’t vaccinate their child for H1N1.
This is a post in honor of breast cancer survivors. They are women sharing their stories of hope, struggle, determination, and survival. Some are in words and some are in video.
Let’s talk about fear. Are You Afraid of Breast Cancer? If so, you’re not alone. Cancer is a scary thing…And all the pink in the world can’t change that. Sure, pink ribbons may be pretty, but breast cancer is ugly and scary. Here are some facts about breast cancer…
An estimated 182,800 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2000.
Approximately 42,200 deaths will occur in women from breast cancer in 2000.
One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.
Many women are blogging about their breast cancer fears. From little fears to big fears. They have fears of mammograms, fears of treatments, fears or recurrences, fears of dying…and on and on. What are your breast cancer fears?
I’m honored to be a member of the American Cancer Society’s Blogger Advisory Council, a small group of volunteers that advises the Society on its social media strategy. Part of our mission is to help spread the word that we have power in the fight against cancer. And our first step is to build awareness and encourage women to get involved. Because…Visibility equals power! So we have started a blog “chain” to spread the word among women bloggers. We call it Bloggers for More Birthdays.
You can help…Join Bloggers for More Birthdays by dedicating a blog post to someone you love who’s been affected by cancer. It’s a simple way to celebrate those you love. Just write a post (like I’ve done here), host our badge, and know that whatever you write, you are helping to raise awareness and inspiring others to join American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer.
My contribution to this effort is about an angel named Becky…
Becky was my best friend. A wonderful mother. And a great mom-mom. Even though she’s been gone for over seven years, a day rarely goes by that I don’t think of her and wish she were here. Time has helped to replace some of my grief with many lovely memories, but it hasn’t healed my anger towards the disease that took her from us. Cancer.
I hate cancer, and I hate that my friend didn’t get a chance to be a survivor. Why her? She deserved to be a survivor, she deserved to have more birthdays. She fought this disease with every ounce of strength she had, but in the end cancer took away every ounce of strength she had.
Although I’m angry, I’m also grateful for the time I did have Becky in my life. She was there for me during some very tough times. I know I’m who I am today, partly because of her influence in my life. I only wish I was able to thank her for that.
No matter how much time goes by, I will never forget the angel she was…and still is.
If you’ve posted, let The American Cancer Society know so they can feature it! Just put a link to your post in the comments section here, or email your post to bloggersubmit@officialbirthdayblog.com. You’ll be showing your support for More Birthdays and bring visibility to your blog.
It is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. But why do we need to have more awareness of gynecologic cancers? Well, there are many reasons, here are three.
1. We need to be reminded of the early warning signs of these types of cancers. Not just for ourselves, but for all the women in our lives.
You could someday be the one who tells a friend she needs to see a doctor for a particular symptom she is having. You could be the one who contributes to saving her life because she caught her cancer early.
2. We need to understand that even as we go about our days untouched by cancer, there are many other women who are not as fortunate…And we need to have compassion and empathy for those women.
3. Knowledge is power…And we do not have to be powerless in the face of gynecologic cancers.
I hope that this post will address each of these aspects of awareness.
Joint pain in my hands and wrists has been making typing on this laptop (and a lot of other things) somewhat problematic over the last few weeks. Usually when this kind of thing happens to me it only lasts a couple of days, and I generally try to ignore it. I’m not at all excited about the prospect of having any additional medical problems.
Although my doctor believes I may have Rheumatoid Arthritis and would like me to get the blood-work to confirm it…I’m resisting. Instead, I’ve agreed to at least use Tylenol and take other (non-medical) measures to reduce the pain and swelling. Obviously, if things get worse, I will follow my doctors advice and see a Rheumatologist.
One of the best things about being a contributing editor for BlogHer, is being able to showcase other women bloggers. So today, I thought we could take a look at some blogs about nutrition, weight loss, and fitness.
In no particular order, here are eighteen health and fitness blogs that I think you might like. I hope you enjoy checking them out as much as I did.
As a BlogHer contributing editor, part of my job is to link to other women bloggers. So when I decide to write about a particular topic, I spend a great deal of time searching for other women who have also blogged about that topic. And that can be very time consuming.
Since beginning to blog in 2007, I have been told that using RSS feed readers is very helpful. But it mostly seemed overwhelming to me. How could I possibly keep up with all of the posts on the reader? But then a few weeks ago, another contributing editor mentioned that I could use the Google Reader to search topics (making it easier for me to find links for my posts). In other words, if I loaded up my Google Reader with Health & Wellness blogs by women, I could then search those blogs for topics as I need them for my posts.
To be honest…It really seemed too good to be true. But to my surprise and delight it was very true. And I started almost immediately to compile health & wellness blogs from the BlogHer Health & Wellness blogrolls. And so far I have about thirty-five Health & Wellness blogs written by women. And that’s where YOU come in.
Are you a health & wellness blogger? Are you a mommy blogger who also writes about health & wellness issues? Do you write about your personal experiences with chronic health problems? Dieting? Fitness? Nutrition? Women’s Health? Health News?
If so…I want to add YOU to my Google Reader, so I can link to your blog in future posts for BlogHer. Whether you’ve just started writing your blog last month or last year, I want to add you to my reader. Just check the list below, and if your blog isn’t already on that list – leave me your link in comments.
If you’re a mom, you probably have concerns or questions about child safety. And you can find a great resource at the Home Safety Council. It’s a great interactive website with tips, links, resources, videos and more.
The Home Safety Council (HSC) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Through national programs, partnerships and the support of volunteers, HSC educates people of all ages to be safer in and around their homes.
It was just announced that BlogHer ‘10 will be in New York City next August. This will be the first time a BlogHer conference is on the east coast. I am SUPER excited!
If you’re interested in finding out more about the BlogHer conference, you can check it out here…
I’m Not A Teenager, So Why Do I Still Have Acne? Can Retin-A Help?
I went to the dermatologist for the first time in my life last week…At the ripe old age of 42, I thought it was about time. I decided it was time to go for several reasons:
Living in Florida and understanding the seriousness of skin cancer, I thought it was important to have a full body check by a qualified dermatologist.
I have a mild case of rosacea, but I’ve been told that the condition often gets worse with age.
I never seemed to outgrow getting acne, and I figured there must be something better than over the counter stuff.
I also have what I thought were sun or age spots, but the dermatologist actually said they were probably related to hormones.
And of course, I was wondering if there was some way to help my skin age more gracefully.
Even though none of my skin problems were very serious, together they were beginning to bother me. Since I had insurance that covered most of the cost of going to a dermatologist, I decided to make the appointment. And I’m really glad I did.
If it’s possible for anything good to come out of the loss of Farrah Fawcett, it would probably be that it is bringing cancer awareness back to the forefront of our minds. She even made a documentary (Farrah’s Story) of her experiences for that very reason.
But, I think there are a few things that need clarification about the type of cancer that Farrah Fawcett was suffering from. You have probably heard that it was anal cancer, but you may not realize that anal cancer is not the same as colon or rectal cancer.
How are you feeling about getting into your bathing suit this summer? Personally, I was hoping to be in a little better shape by now. Even though I’ve been successful at getting closer to my ideal weight, I’ve been playing one step forward and two steps back for the last several weeks.
Since I know I’m not the only mom out there struggling to eat healthy and lose weight, I’m not going to give up. I’m determined to have my Valerie Bertinelli moment, and it would be great if I could get to it sometime this summer. And yes, I do have a plan. It involves a few of the things that have already worked for me, and a couple of new (somewhat unconventional) ideas too.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding alternative modalities of healing, and whether or not they are effective. My feelings on alternative medicine is that mainstream medicine should not be replaced by it, but rather complimented by it. It’s not an all or nothing scenario. All alternative medicine is not good, but it’s also not all bad.
Recently there was an article about parents who withheld medical treatment for their child to treat the child with homeopathy, and the child later died. This is a sad and tragic story, but does it prove homeopathy doesn’t work? I don’t think so. I think this case is more of a reflection on neglect and/or poor choices by the parents, as apposed to the failure of homeopathy. This case is a glaring example of why traditional medicine should not be ignored for alternative medicine.
Even with all the controversy, many medical professionals are now excepting that alternative healing practices can be helpful to patients when used in conjunction with their mainstream treatments.
Do you have children that suffer with food allergies? It seems like food allergies are becoming more and more prevalent. Why is that? My personal opinion, is that it has something to do with how germ and bacteria free we’ve become as a society.
Last week was food allergy awareness week, so I thought I would use this post to look at food allergies and how some parents are coping.
Food allergy is an immune system reaction that occurs soon after eating a certain food. Even a tiny amount of the allergy-causing food can trigger signs and symptoms such as digestive problems, hives or swollen airways. In some people, a food allergy can cause severe symptoms or even a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis.
Food allergy affects an estimated 6 to 8 percent of children under age 3, and about 4 percent of adults. While there’s no cure, some children outgrow their food allergy as they get older.
Would you like to live to 100 years and beyond? Dr. Oz and other medical experts believe that a calorie restriction diet can help people to live longer with a higher quality of life. The calorie restriction diet also focuses on consuming calories that provide a high nutritional value, not just low calorie.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about today, and then I came across this interesting article on how reading can reduce stress. Since I love to read, and I also love anything that can help me reduce stress, I thought this would be a great post for today.
Are you stressed about the economy? Your job? Your kids? Politics? It’s no secret that life is very stressful these days. So…What can we do to reduce stress? Apparently, reading a book is one of the best ways to reduce stress.
Reading is the best way to relax and even six minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels by more than two thirds or 68%.
New research by consultancy Mindlab International at the University of Sussex says reading works better and faster than other methods to calm frazzled nerves such as listening to music, going for a walk or settling down with a cup of tea.
Are you a reader? Does it help you relax and de-stress?
If you’re alive, you’re probably addicted to something. What are you addicted to?
So many addictions, so little time. What are you addicted to? Smoking? Coffee? Chocolate? Soda? Sugar? Food? Exercise? Blogging?
I haven’t based this on any scientific study, but it’s my observation that…
If you’re alive, you’re probably addicted to something.
What do you think? Is it just human nature to be addicted? Do you know of anyone who has no addictions in their life? Are some addictions acceptable and others not? Have you replaced one addiction with another? What is your addiction? Is there a 12 step program for it? Do you wish there was?
We are nearing the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here is a quick roundup of some breast cancer news, facts, and posts.
Did you do a post on breast cancer awareness? Do you understand the risk factors for breast cancer? Are you at a high risk? Do you worry about breast cancer? Have you been keeping up with your mammograms and self exams?
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I wanted to do a little more than the average breast cancer awareness post. Here is my humble attempt. I’ve put this post together with; videos of survivors, an interview with Christina Applegate, early signs & symptoms, blogs of note, news, and links to informative support sites. If I’ve missed something (and I’m sure I have), please share the information with our readers in comments.
I thought I would take tonight’s post to do a roundup of some of the great fitness blogs on BlogHer. I took some time and surfed the Health and WellnessBlogHer Blogroll (I also used BlogHers new search tool), and here are fourteen of those blogs. Do you blog about fitness? If so, leave you link in comments.
My name is Catherine Morgan, and I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. Above are links to my blogs, that also list many of the posts and articles that I've written for them.
I'm also at BlogHer Health & Wellness.
My kids are big kids now (15 & 18), and I really miss those years when they were younger and I got to be Santa. I loved shopping for toys, the hours wrapping, and especially watching the joy on their faces as they tore through everything in a matter of minutes. Back then, I was blissfully ignorant of all the dangers lurking in those toys. My only concern was getting the best deals I could find and making sure both my kids had an equal amount of gifts to unwrap. But it’s not so easy for moms today.
