Some thoughts about Planned Parenthood

I've had a bunch of different jobs through the years.  Library assistant, grounds crew worker, store clerk, babysitter, temp office worker, health educator.

My job as a medical assistant and abortion counselor at Planned Parenthood is still possibly the most memorable.  In some ways it was the hardest job I had, but maybe not for the reasons you would think.

Despite propaganda to the contrary, I found that many women faced with an unplanned pregnancy chose abortion because things in their lives were hard, complicated, painful, and poorly timed.  I heard stories about questionable partners, sick parents, financial woes.  After a couple years of hearing these stories, it really wore on me.

There was another group of women I found very hard to deal with, and who continue to color my feelings about abortion politics as a whole.  These were the women I encountered who claimed to have always been against abortion before, and even after, their own unplanned pregnancy.

Over and over I heard some version of "my situation is completely different than other women's".  One woman told me that if abortion became illegal, which she would support, she was sure her own doctor would risk punishment to help her if she felt the need for an illegal abortion.  This hypocrisy and contempt for other women's lives was really hard to stomach.

To this day, I assume that many people involved in the anti-choice movement are working through a pregnancy decision they have not come to terms with.  Perhaps they were forced to make an unwanted choice by a parent or a partner, or were later made to feel guilty by someone with an agenda.  I really never understood how women could have an abortion and continue to be against others having that choice.

According to a recent study, most women who have an abortion have no regrets.  Allowing women to make the decision they feel is best will lead to the best outcomes for families in this country. Sometimes this decision will mean continuing a pregnancy, and sometimes it will mean terminating a pregnancy.

I did  get a lot of satisfaction from helping women learn about options to prevent future unplanned pregnancies.  This may be hard to believe, (or maybe not if we listen to our politicians demonstrating their knowledge) but many people reach adulthood in this country with no practical knowledge of reproduction, anatomy, or contraceptives.  I guess they missed that day of class or slept through the lesson that showed the picture of female genitalia (yes, there is more than one hole "down there") or explained how you can keep sperm from reaching an egg. (yes, not having sex is always first on the list, and no, 14 year-olds are not going to use the "rhythm method" very reliably).

Providing education and access to pregnancy prevention information and services, which Planned Parenthood does, is how we reduce abortions in this country.  Not eliminating services for those without resources (because rich women will always have access to healthcare) and cutting back on real education for all ages.

Sleeping it Off

Today my kids enjoyed a 2 hour delayed start for school.  This is to make up for having a normal school schedule yesterday, in the midst of what turned out to be about a 3-5" snowfall.  All over the DC region school buses got into accidents, teen drivers got into accidents, pedestrians and other drivers got into accidents.  It was a mess.  So while the snow and ice are not noticeably different today, the kids got to sleep in a bit.

I on the other hand did not sleep in.  I got up at 5:30am to go to the gym.  My husband was going in anyway, and I figured if I didn't go early, before the kids got up, I might not get in any exercise today.  But also, I realized over our recent Winter Break that sleeping in is not good for me.

On typical school days I wake at 5:30 after getting 6-7 hours of sleep.  I help son #1 get breakfast and pack him a good lunch (if I didn't I don't think he would eat lunch) and he gets in some driving practice going to school with me as co-pilot.  If I am working early I may get up at 5:00 am.  I sometimes feel tired upon waking, but once I've had a big cup of black tea and breakfast I am ready for the day.

At the start of Winter vacation, we traveled to Ohio to see family.  I was fighting off the end of a cold, and happily slept about 10 hours our first night there.  I felt so much better the next day and was glad to be able to get extra rest.  I continued to get 8-10 hours of sleep each night while in Ohio.  When we returned home I was still in vacation mode.  I did not need to get up early, and my kids were happy to sleep in until 9 or 10am (I realize that this is not typical teenager "sleeping in" but was late for them!). I was still getting about 8-9 hours of sleep a night.  Waking at 8 am didn't seem too late, but somehow I felt like I was losing half the day.  It took me a long time to get moving and I felt less productive all day.

It turns out there are real side effects to oversleeping.  Sleeping too much has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, headaches, depression, heart disease and even a higher risk of death.  It is important to note that for some of these things, including headache, extra sleep is said to actually be a cause of the problem, but for others including heart disease there is only an association, and a direct cause has not been identified.  A discussion of effects of oversleeping can be found here.

In addition to staying up later and not setting my alarm, I was drinking wine throughout my vacation.  Not a lot, but more than I typically do.  It turns out that alcohol intake can disrupt sleep in a number of ways.  Although it may initially cause sleepiness, alcohol can interrupt sleep cycles, make you sleep less soundly and even cause wakefulness.  This in turn can make you feel terrible the next morning!  This article explains some of this process.

Keeping the same sleep and wake times is recommended for good sleep habits.  This is obviously something I wasn't doing during my vacation.  An occasional change in habits is okay, but it is better to stick to a routine.  Regular exercise and healthy eating, as well as limited alcohol and caffeine use before bed can help too.

Now that I've returned back to my regular schedule I feel so much better!  Even though part of me really wanted to turn off the alarm early this morning, I am so happy I got up and exercised.  I've already written my first blog post in months, a sure sign of major productivity!

Happy Winter everyone!