Women's Health books

Shortlisted for the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2021 The ebook edition of this title is Open Access, thanks to Knowledge Unlatched funding, and freely available to read online. Growing numbers of women around the world are now accessing social egg freezing: a fertility extension technology which is enabling some women to extend their fertility and reproductive timelines when faced with age-related fertility decline. This book explores the accounts and experiences of some of the pioneering users of this technology in the UK and the USA. Drawing on theories and concepts across medical sociology and parenting culture studies, as well as literature from demography, anthropology, law, and bioethics, this book examines women’s motivations and experiences of social egg freezing in the context of debates surrounding reproductive choice and delayed motherhood. The book also delves into the broader sociological questions raised by this technology in relation to the gendered burden of appropriately timed parenthood, the medicalisation of women’s bodies in the reproductive domain and the further entrenchment of the geneticisation of society. It also considers the sexual politics underpinning the timing of parenthood, relationship formation and progression, and the way in which reproductive and parenting ideals, values and expectations can come in to conflict with the biological and relational realities of women’s lives.

Are you wondering what the hell has happened to you since you hit 40? You’re not alone! Millions of women over 40 worldwide are suffering needlessly. Stressed out and exhausted, struggling to lose weight, suffering mood swings and PMS, or hot flushes and night sweats, life can seem like one big struggle.What many women don’t realize is that the key to sustainable weight loss, vitality and balance is not the latest fad diet or fitness programme. For women over 40, the answer is to take back control of your hormones!It’s Not You, It’s Your Hormones is the essential guide for every woman over 40, providing natural and practical solutions to fight fat, fatigue and hormone havoc.

A comprehensive guide to the female menopause, written for men to help them understand this often perplexing topic. It addresses all the important aspects of the menopause, including the physical, psychological, genito-urinary and long term symptoms that can occur. It gives essential information on options available to cope with those symptoms plus good advice for men (and women!) on practical lifestyle choices. Short and easy to dip in and out of, with humorous illustrations and practical tips for what you can do (and what NOT to say), this is your essential handbook for surviving the change in YOUR life.

Want to know the secrets of The Confident Mother? More than 20 inspirational mothers and parenting experts share their innermost secrets on what it takes to be a confident mother: Dame Sarah Storey successfully educated the GB cycling team management to allow her to combine full-time competition with motherhood. Toni Brodelle of the Pay It Forward Foundation encourages us to nurture our own emotional well-being and asks whose love you craved as a child. Elaine Halligan and Melissa Hood of The Parent Practice show us how to raise our children’s self-esteem. This book shows you that good enough really is good enough. You don’t need to be the perfect mother; simply focus on what’s most important to you to be The Confident Mother. 10% of the profits from this book will be donated to a local breastfeeding group.

Menopause can be a complex time of life but it doesn’t have to be complicated to get control of your symptoms Too many women think it’s either HRT or suffer but that’s not the case. There’s a third option, which is to get control of your symptoms naturally.The Hot Flush Freedom Challenge is for busy, professional women who want straightforward practical advice they can implement with minimum fuss and time. Written using everyday language, the book offers a step-by-step solution to getting control of your hot flushes, night sweats, energy bombs, mood swings, brain fog and sleep in just 10 days.

Since the 1970s, alarming discourses about declining fertility and the difficulties of balancing work and family have flourished in Western countries. Captured by the notion of the 'biological clock', they put women's reproductive age and the fertility decline to the centre of public and medical attention. Reproductive biomedicine constitutes a specific domain invested with hopes for technological and medical answers and a new market for fertility extension technologies, such as egg donation and social egg freezing. Addressing long-standing questions about the articulation of the biological and the social in the making of bodies and identities, this book questions the nature of reproductive ageing, a taken for granted 'fact of life' at the core of reproductive biomedicine. What is the biology of the 'biological clock' made of and how can we account for its embodied reality from a feminist perspective? Opening the black box of the biological, the book makes a way between essentialism and constructivism with the aim of accounting for its materiality, while also illuminating its political implications. By following the ontological choreographies of age-related infertility in the science and medicine of reproduction, this study explores how age materializes and documents what happens when reproduction meets ageing. Deeply transdisciplinary, it questions what is fixed about the biology of the fertility decline in a way which adds complexity to debates about the biomedicalization of reproductive ageing.

Yoga for Happy Mums focuses on the real issues that mums of young children face: lack of sleep, low energy levels, stress, negative emotions (anxiety, guilt, depression, anger and irritability), fluctuating hormones, a weakened immune system, issues with body confidence and difficulties with addictions and relationships. Each chapter includes a discussion about how the particular issue applies to mums, a questionnaire so you can identify which are particularly relevant to you, some suggested points for reflection, guidance from the Kundalini Yoga tradition (including Top Tips such as dietary suggestions), a breathing practice, a physical Yoga set and a meditation. The book is fully illustrated, with easy-to-understand instructions so that you can practise at home. You do not need any previous experience, or to be particularly flexible or physically fit in order to practise these sets. Kundalini Yoga is a comprehensive form of Yoga that uses the breath, sound (mantra), postures and meditation. It is an ancient tradition which can empower you to meet the challenges of modern life with grace and equanimity. Unlike other forms of Yoga which were originally practiced in isolation, Kundalini Yoga has always been a householder's yoga, designed for people with the commitments of family and work.