Archive for April 7th, 2009
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CONTRACEPTION AFTER CHILDBIRTH – THE IMMEDIATE PUERPERIUM
The joy, happiness and sense of achievement in the birth of the baby may be inhibited by recent memories of traumatic delivery, a painful perineum, difficulties with breast feeding or postnatal depression. Sexual matters seem an irrelevance. Several studies have shown that women experience a marked reduction in sexual activity and enjoyment in the third [...]
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THE SECOND BABY – INTRODUCTION
Many couples who have had problems conceiving their first baby have found no trouble in becoming pregnant for a second or subsequent time. But what about the agony of those whose second baby does not materialize? The women themselves often say, ‘I suppose I shouldn’t be making such a fuss because I am so lucky [...]
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COUNSELLING THE PATIENT WITH THE UNPLANNED PREGNANCY – DEPENDENT WOMAN
Difficulties may arise from the fact that other people are nearly always involved. If a woman is to have a baby, she is likely to become dependent on those around her and the influence of husband, boyfriend or parents is likely to have an important bearing on her decision, even if she chooses in the [...]
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CARE OF THE YOUNGER PATIENT – HOW SHOULD ‘YOUNGER’ BE DEFINED WHEN CONSIDERING PATIENTS SEEKING CONTRACEPTION?
Should it be by chronological age or by sexual and emotional maturity? If the latter is the yardstick, then the younger patient may be 13 or 30. The emotional tasks of adolescence, and the normal ages at which they are accomplished, have been described by Christopher (1992). The degree of emotional maturity, and the speed [...]
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THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTHERS – INTRODUCTION
Girls whose own mothering has been inadequate may be very uncertain of themselves and of their sexual identity. They may have particular fears about the effect of contraception on their fertility, and they may need to establish their femininity by becoming pregnant. For some girls, once pregnancy is confirmed and the reality of coping with [...]