An authoritative reference from the most trusted name in women's health care. It provides complete information on health care and medicine, articles on complex women's health issues, and resources for women's health clinics, organizations and hospitals throughout the country. Based on 80 years years of experience providing preventive care information, this guide gives women the knowledge they need to be healthy and stay healthy. Illustrations. NPR sponsorship.

The Planned Parenthood® Women's Health Encyclopedia is the authoritative reference from America's most trusted name in women's health. This groundbreaking resource offers crucial health information from Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of women's health services in the nation. Designed to provide women with all the information they need to negotiate the medical system, The Planned Parenthood® Women's Health Encyclopedia provides accessible information on everything from choosing a gynecologist to preventing osteoporosis, from choosing birth control to coping with PMS, from dealing with depression to learning more about the diagnosis and treatment of breast and ovarian cancers. Alphabetically arranged and extensively cross-referenced, this guide covers women's health from medical and holistic perspectives, discussing physical and emotional issues and providing preventative and diagnostic information, treatments, and alternatives. In order to offer women the knowledge to make the most informed decisions about their own health, The Planned Parenthood ® Women's Health Encyclopedia also includes differing viewpoints on controversial health issues. Throughout the text are evaluation exercises, charts, interactive questionnaires, and survival strategies to help every woman cope with demands, solve problems, make choices, and get the most out of her life. For more information on a specific topic, most sections conclude with a list of organizations throughout the country that offer specialized services related to women's health. AppendiCes include a listing of medical abbreviations, a glossary of medical tests, and a recommended reading list. Line for line, The Planned Parenthood® Women's Health Encyclopedia is the premier publication for helping women feel better, stay healthy, and live longer. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate nearly 1,000 health centers nationwide. Its national headquarters is located in New York City.

Although there are many reference guides to diseases, symptoms, and treatment for health problems of women, there is no comprehensive source for the social, political, economic and ethical issues that affect women's health decisions. The Encyclopedia of Women's Health Issues provides valuable information on over 200 topics, including the issues and history surrounding diseases and medical procedures faced by women; health concerns of different ethnic groups of women; information on organizations and programs that deal with women's health; profiles on the people who have pioneered women's health services and information; and legal decisions related to women's health. An extensive bibliography and guides to good Web sites and organizations give users additional helpful resources. Among the features and benefits of this reference are Charts and tables that present helpful facts and statistics Contacts for Web sites and organizations that provide access to information about women's health issues--much of it free Coverage of the issues, not just the diseases, critical to women's healthcare Provides both basic information and guidance for further reading and research

eproductive rights refers to a range of claims concerning whether, when and how to have children. Beneath this clear statement lays the most contentious political, legal, and cultural issue in America today. Involving the self, the family, and the State, women's reproductive rights generates much impassioned argument but painfully little agreement. Topics and authors take on diverse and often clashing positions, highlighting this issue's complex and highly charged nature. Arranged alphabetically by topic, articles representing racial and ethnic groups' experiences figure prominently, as do the effects of age, class, education, health, religion, and sexual preference on childbearing and -rearing practices, in and out of wedlock. It also includes articles on laws, court cases, political attitudes, prominent activists, and technological advances as they relate to reproductive rights. Entries are written by highly regarded scholars, are cross-referenced, and conclude with suggested further readings. Designed to introduce and inform the reader to this extremely difficult topic, Baer's ecumenical approach exposes us to a variety of opinions from support for current abortion policies to the building movement for fetal rights. Only reasoned opinions supported by hard evidence are included, and no attempt was made to mute the often incommensurable opinions expressed within. This book will be a valuable resources for students, scholars, and any person interested in learning about the multiplicity of perspectives on this important issue that is at the heart of our current culture wars.

Edited by a noted scholar of health and sexuality, Encyclopedia of Birth Control is a complete report on the historical development and efficacy of contraceptive practices around the world, both past and present. Without contraception, a healthy, sexually active woman will give birth to about 15 children and over her life span, spend most of her reproductive years either pregnant or nursing a newborn infant. So controlling fertility has preoccupied women—and often their husbands—since at least 1000 B.C. In this comprehensive reference, readers can explore the history of birth control from a variety of perspectives: anthropological, biological, economic, feminist, medical, political, and psychological. From wet nurses to chastity belts, from animal-dung contraceptives to the Dalkon Shield, readers will learn how women have attempted birth control, contraception, and abortion throughout history and throughout the world. Readers will also discover why opposition to birth control was so fierce early in the 20th century that many American women and men were jailed for disseminating information on avoiding pregnancy, and why family planning remains hotly controversial almost a century later.

An outspoken Christian reproductive-justice advocate draws on his upbringing in the Deep South and his experiences as a physician and abortion provider to explain why he believes that helping women in need without judgment is in accordance with Christian values.

Did you ever walk out of class having even more questions than when you walked in? You may feel that way about History or Math, but what about your Sexual Health class (if you even had one)? If you’re anything like most of the youth in America today, your head is probably spinning with a swirling, high-speed hurricane of questions. It is totally normal to be curious and to have questions about relationships, bodies, consent . . . you name it! But where can your average teen go to get all the reliable and accurate answers they need? In Case You’re Curious (ICYC), a text-and-answer program conceived by Planned Parenthood, has been providing this educational service for teens for years. And now In Case You’re Curious: Questions about Sex from Young People with Answers from the Experts is a big book of answers with funny and educational illustrations, to the most popular and most interesting questions young people have about birth control, development, sexually transmitted diseases, and so much more. Within these pages you will find non-judgmental (and fun!) answers meant to educate teens without the uncomfortable silence or weird eye contact often associated with “The Talk.” With questions like “Does masturbating give you a disease?” and “Is the pineapple thing true?” In Case You’re Curious isn’t afraid to tackle the nitty-gritty questions you may think twice about raising your hand to ask in your Sexual Health class or at home.