The Woman Way: Guidance for Fertility, Birth and Menopause Health

08/29/2019

When in doubt, the world is perfectly empowering and good when you realize it’s pumpkin spice latte season! ☕️ 🎃

06/12/2019

A pelvic floor physiotherapist shows us the truth about what vulvas and vaginas are supposed to look (and smell) like in this viral Facebook post.

06/11/2019

❤️ 💕 ❤️ 💕 🌈

After years of trying, waiting, heartbreak, patience, and so much love, they finally have their little ones here!

Kelly carried the twins for 36 weeks. One baby is biologically hers and the other her wife's. Jaci has ALSO been able to breastfeed the babies! 2 babies, 2 mamas, so much love 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦

🌈💙💜

~ Melissa Benzel Photography with Kelly and Jaclyn Pfeiffer
www.benzelphotography.com

05/12/2019

May all Mothers feel loved and supported especially on this day

For more than 40 years, no one knew her name, but they knew about the photo taken of her and her children, a photo that would become a strength and inspiration for mothers everywhere.

The famous photo named "Migrant Mother" taken by Dorothea Lange has been compared to the Mona Lisa achieving "near mythical status, symbolizing, if not defining, an entire era in United States history," making the "Migrant Mother" immortal.

Her name is Florence Owens Thompson. Although she has been misidentified for years as being of European descent, Thompson was actually “a full-blooded Cherokee Indian” from Oklahoma.

A new book, “Dorothea Lange: Migrant Mother,” written by Sarah Meister, a photography curator at the Museum of Modern Art, confirms this information. According to the New York Times, "the book comes out at a time when faces of desperately poor people in migrant caravans dominate the news."

Florence Owens Thompson was born in 1903, in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma. Although both her parents were Cherokee, her father abandoned her mother before Florence was born. Her mother remarried another man (of Choctaw descent). The family lived on a small farm in Indian Territory outside of Tahlequah.

Thompson married at the age of 17. The family, with three children, would migrate West to California. In 1931, Thompson was pregnant with her sixth child when her first husband died of tuberculosis. She would work in the fields and in restaurants to support her children.

Thompson would remarry two more times. She and her family (now with 10 children) worked as migrant farm workers following the crops in California.

Thompson would say in an interview, "I worked in hospitals. I tended bar. I cooked. I worked in the fields. I done a little bit of everything to make a living for my kids."

She struggled all her life, just trying to make ends meet, trying to be a good mother, raise her children well and hopefully give them a future in which they can have a better life than she had.

In 1936, Thompson and her family were on their way to Watsonville hoping to find lettuce-picking work, when their car broke down. As her sons went into town to pick up some parts for the car, a woman with a camera would approach her. She asked if she could take some photographs of her and her children.

The photographer's name was Dorothea Lange, and one of the pictures she took would become "Migrant Mother."

Thompson hoped the picture might help her or her children. She always wanted a better life. At the very least, she hoped it would share awareness of the working poor.

It did share awareness, but, at that time, it did not help Thompson or her family. After the picture was published, people became aware of the migrant workers who were starving and within days, the migrant camp where Thompson was would received 20,000 pounds of food from the federal government, but Thompson and her family had already left the camp.

Thompson never received any payment for the photograph, and she was mostly ashamed of the photos. And, since she was never identified by name, her identity would not be known for 40 years.

In 1978, a reporter found Thompson and her family, and her name and story was finally revealed to the public.

Still ashamed of the photograph, Thompson, later in her life, would remember the photograph again.

She was suffering from cancer and a recent stroke, and she wasn't sure how to pay for all her medical bills. The cost of her care was too much, now the entire family was burdened with uncertainty and the future looked bleak for her children.

She then remembered the picture, the picture she once said was "a curse" because it shamed her.

But, after being hospitalized and wondering how the family could ever pay their medical bills, Thompson and her children made a public appeal. And, the public would remember her - based on Lange's famous photograph.

The family would receive more than 2,000 letters from people who had drawn strength and inspiration from the "Migrant Mother" photo. The family would also receive $35,000 in donations to help pay for her medical bills. Her son would say, "For Mama and us, the photo had always been a bit of curse. After all those letters came in, I think it gave us a sense of pride."

A month later, on September 16, 1983, Thompson would die of "cancer and heart problems" at the age of 80 at Scotts Valley, California. But, she left this Earth, knowing that her family would not be burdened by her financial problems and that she did all she could to be a good mother.

In a 2008 interview with CNN, Thompson's daughter recalled how her mother was a "very strong lady", and "the backbone of our family". She said: "We never had a lot, but she always made sure we had something. She didn't eat sometimes, but she made sure us children ate. That's one thing she did do."

When Thompson died, she was surrounded by her 10 children, the same children who were there when her photograph was taken, the same children she nurtured, fed, and took care of through the worst of times, becoming a symbol for mothers everywhere.

Her gravestone would read: "FLORENCE LEONA THOMPSON Migrant Mother – A Legend of the Strength of American Motherhood."

05/03/2019

"I thought, how many new lives can we have? Then I thought, as many as we like."
- Dame Judi Dench

(one of my absolute favorites ❤️)
✨✨✨
(portrait by jimmy fontaine)

04/12/2019

Be crazy...

04/12/2019

Oldest colour photo of an Irish Witch (Bean Feasa/Wise Woman) from 1913 named Nan (Anne) O'Toole of Claddagh, Galway city.
Born in 1877 known to have cures for many ailments.
For infants suffering with bowel problems Nan prescribed holy well water mixed with burnt turf dust, which was then fed to the child.
Babies born prematurely were hung in a fishing net over a basin of very warm water, as this was said to replicate the womb, providing the greatest comfort to the child.
Nan died in 1952. (Info via the Galway City museum).

My late Grandmother was a Storyteller from Galway and she often told me stories about 'Wise Women' and their cures.

This image, which represents the first ever colour photographs taken in Ireland, was taken in 1913 by two French women, Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon-Alba, who used newly available auto-chrome colour plates.

04/11/2019

~Silver~
"How many years of beauty do I have left?
she asks me.
How many more do you want?
Here. Here is 34. Here is 50.

When you are 80 years old
and your beauty rises in ways
your cells cannot even imagine now
and your wild bones grow luminous and
ripe, having carried the weight
of a passionate life.

When your hair is aflame
with winter
and you have decades of
learning and leaving and loving
sewn into
the corners of your eyes
and your children come home
to find their own history
in your face.

When you know what it feels like to fail
ferociously
and have gained the
capacity
to rise and rise and rise again.

When you can make your tea
on a quiet and ridiculously lonely afternoon
and still have a song in your heart
Queen owl wings beating
beneath the cotton of your sweater.

Because your beauty began there
beneath the sweater and the skin,
remember?

This is when I will take you
into my arms and coo
YOU BRAVE AND GLORIOUS THING
you’ve come so far.

I see you.
Your beauty is breathtaking."
~ Jeannette Encinias
**Image -
Wise Old Woman by Daniela Rosenhouse

04/03/2019

for more giant breasts around London!

The inflatables are part of the campaign to fight the stigma around breastfeeding in public.

03/31/2019

“Respectfully, I decline these notes.”

03/23/2019

Smoking for two? What a mind f**k

03/18/2019

❤️

A year ago I never could have posted this. No way. No how. This was my shame. This was my horror.
But today, I have no hesitation. No nerves. No “oh my gosh what will they say?”. Just peace.
Because I understand now. I understand that this is just the human body.
This is a body that has carried three amazing children.
This is a body that has been a range of weights swinging 110lbs in difference.
This is a body that used to feel worthless and now feels strong.
This is a body that needs to be fed with love, attention, kindness and good food.
This is a body, and through PRACTICE and EFFORT and EXERCISE in self care, I have grown to love.
This is a body that I will use to help show others that they are not alone in their bodies.
My friends, this is your life. This is your body. Whether you’re tall or small, curvy or striped, this is you. And you are beautiful.
And it takes time to grasp these things. It’s not something that you SUDDENLY magically feel ok with, but the effort in hate is more draining that the effort in love. So, practice.
Because it took years of words, pictures of perfection and endless comparisons to create the voice inside your head to where it is today, and now it’s time to redirect.
Now it’s time to fill it with new words, new pictures, and valuable connections.
Now it’s time to live. Really live. With peace, and understanding. And a love that will not just fill you, but pour into others. Spreading the truths for more to know. 🔅
That self love, it’s so worth it.
So, practice. ❤️
Powerful words and gorgeous 📸

03/09/2019

I’d much rather hang with my girlfriends than smoke 15 cigs in a day!

Well, if you needed one more reason to grab your girlfriends and go on a Read more

03/09/2019

Happy international women’s day!

Freddie Oversteegen and her sister Truus would often go out looking for N***s.

03/06/2019

Mindblowing!

Isn't this AMAZING!!!! Reposted from - The WONDERS of the HUMAN BODY! 📷:
“Education is incredible. Visuals are heaven!😆 They truly give you a better grasp on a concept. This is an adult uterus. It grows up to 3x its original during menstruation. ‘When your baby reaches full term, your uterus will be bigger than five times its original size with a capacity of 500 times more than before you conceived. It'll be 15 times heavier on its own without the baby and the placenta. After you give birth, the uterus immediately starts contracting to shrink itself. One week after delivery it'll weigh about 1.5 pounds but two weeks after birth it'll be down to 11 ounces. By the six week after pregnancy it'll be back to its pre-pregnancy weight of 2.5 ounces.’ Pregnancy-Info.net Isn’t that incredible! 😲 Such a small organ that literally populates the world. “ -

03/06/2019

So beautiful ... this is us!

02/14/2019

Image credit: Kat Kissick Art + Illustration for those who are struggling to read it on the image itself.... be sure to like her page as she's got an announcement coming up soon about T-shirts with this image on.

Find her on Instagram

And buy a print at www.Etsy.com/shop/katkissickart

01/15/2019

I’m planning to work through this list in 2019!

A Mighty Girl's top picks of new biographies about Mighty Women for adult readers.

01/15/2019

The most emotional commercial I’ve ever seen to date 😢. The world is changing, one man at a time

Backlash includes call for boycott of maker P&G, complaining the We Believe commercial is ‘insulting’ and ‘emasculates men’

12/03/2018

‘You’re so rare
So fine
I’m so glad your mine!’

Viva la V***a!

This is "Libresse 'Viva La V***a'" by Soundtree Music on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

11/08/2018

We associate knitting with women, specifically older women. Could it be more wisdom of the elders that pass on knitting as a legacy for mental health?

When you wrap a strand of yarn around your finger, when you twist it around a needle and start creating, something happens. It happens in front of...

10/23/2018

by WorldTribune Staff, October 17, 2018 News that Yazidi s*x slave survivor Nadia Murad has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of s*xual violence as a weapon of war b…

07/21/2018

Cause P***y DOES grab back 😼

Emelia Holden (pictured), 21, took hold of Ryan Cherwinski's arm and hurled him to the ground when he grabbed her rear at Vinnie Van Go-Go's in Savannah, Georgia.

05/23/2018

Do you have this virus?? Probably

🔥⚔️🐉PERFECTIONISM is a PRISON 🐉⚔️🔥

There is a patriarchal mind virus that we are vulnerable to as Priestesses, and it is called Perfectionism. Perfectionism will keep your magic in prison. It will eat away at your power to live as Love and serve the Great Mystery, and to enjoy your life as you do so!

If you happen to have contracted this virus, you might think that embodying the Priestess successfully looks like this:

Healthy body, amazing relationship, large social media following, financial abundance to be able to buy all the crystals you want, gorgeous clothes (all sustainable), your financial abundance comes mysteriously and magically because of course your offerings are affordable for everyone, you are compassionate and merciful with all people who trigger you, you have hot s*x every night because your womb is awake and your Grail Code is turned on!, balanced Inner Marriage complete, psychic visions/oracular dreams every night, thriving children, happy parents you have healed your relationship with, ability to turn every single life experience into a teaching that will serve the world, able to emanate mystery and be accessible and human at the same time.

WHEW!!! It is time to say a loud and vehement NO! to this virus! As a Priestess, you do not have to have all the answers, you do not have to emanate eternal wisdom in every moment. You do not have to save the world, or have your life all together, perfectly balanced and graceful. This image of the Priestess as emotionally smooth and in harmony at all times is a construct of power-over cultures. It is not the essence of a Priestess and in fact diminishes your true magic.

True Magic is Alive, it is Divine Law, and it includes chaos, spontaneity, crazy and messy. It runs on what we in the modern mind call Wilderness. What Wilderness really is, is the Goddess. Untamed Elemental Enchantment. It is our authenticity, our raw primal goodness and deep human nature.

Walk out of the prison of perfectionism, leave it in the past today! Be the Lady of the Lake, take the Sword of Sovereignty back and cut yourself Free! The Goddess does not thrive in a cage!

04/25/2018

Wow! Respect man, thank you for seeing that

Skin to skin. Our mana.
Blessed and proud to bring another strong girl into this world.
Tiana Gia Johnson came into this world like a force of nature and Mama Lauren Hashian Official labored and delivered like a true rockstar.
I was raised and surrounded by strong, loving women all my life, but after participating in baby Tia’s delivery, it’s hard to express the new level of love, respect and admiration I have for Lauren Hashian Official and all mamas and women out there.
Word to the wise gentlemen, it’s critical to be by your lady’s head when she’s delivering, being as supportive as you can.. holding hands, holding legs, whatever you can do. But, if you really want to understand the single most powerful and primal moment life will ever offer - watch your child being born. Its a life changer and the respect and admiration you have for a woman, will forever be boundless.
And to my third and youngest daughter, Tiana Gia - like I did when your two older sisters Simone Alexandra and Jasmine Lia were born, you have my word, I’ll love, protect, guide and make ya laugh for the rest of my life.
Your crazy dad has many responsibilities and wears many hats in this big ol’ world, but being your dad will always be the one I’m most proud to wear.
Oh and one more thing.. you’re gonna love rollin’ in daddy’s pick up truck.

04/14/2018

Yes, gross. So subtle this misogyny

04/11/2018

04/07/2018

Be brave, not quiet

SUCH an important message from our friends at !!
We stay quiet.
No one tells us about the changes that take place after we have babies. We only see the “bounce back” adorned on the cover of the magazine as we wait to buy our groceries.
We stay quiet.
We stand in that grocery line unloading our produce onto the conveyor belt and think to ourselves, “I wonder if that Tummy Tea would help?” “I should have used that stretch mark cream more often.”
We stay quiet.
We don’t talk about the stretch marks. We don’t talk about our loose skin. We quietly trade in the bikini for a one piece...because why would we want to offend others with the ungodly sight of our postpartum body?
We stay quiet.
We are taught that a mother’s body is something to be hidden. Those are the unspoken rules and we have to follow the rules. After all, we are mothers now.
We stay quiet.
We don’t seek help when we p*e ourselves or have discomfort long after childbirth. We blame ourselves. “I really should have done more kegels,” we think.
We stay quiet.
Our culture has dictated that the “ideal” is a flat tummy and the ultimate compliment is from the stranger who says, “My goodness, you don’t even look like you’ve had a baby.” We compare ourselves to others, and ask what we did wrong to have such a flawed postpartum body.
We stay quiet.
What if we weren’t so quiet? What if we knew that a part of becoming a mother meant likely having a changed body? And what if we celebrated that? What if we celebrated those stretch marks as a symbol of how strong our body was and how miraculously it housed our great loves? What if we stopped blaming ourselves and started being gracious with ourselves instead? What if we TALKED about the changes that happen, so that all postpartum bodies were embraced? What if we gave women resources so they didn’t write off postpartum pain as simply a side effect of having a child? What if we helped women focus on how they felt instead of how they looked? What if?
What if we didn’t stay so quiet?

04/06/2018

Katia Hetter taught her daughter an important lesson with a very simple phrase: “I would like you to hug Grandma, but I won't make you do it.” Her then four-year-old daughter was going on what she describes as “a hugging and kissing strike” -- parents might receive a hug, but even close family would not. Hetter felt it provided a good opportunity to teach her daughter “that it's OK to say no to an adult who lays a hand on her -- even a seemingly friendly hand." As she explained, "I figure her body is actually hers, not mine. It doesn't belong to her parents, preschool teacher, dance teacher or soccer coach. While she must treat people with respect, she doesn't have to offer physical affection to please them. And the earlier she learns ownership of herself and responsibility for her body, the better for her."

Hetter’s decision is backed up by many parenting experts, especially since the vast majority of s*xual abuse of children is carried out by relatives or family friends. Ursula Wagner from FamilyWorks in Chicago says that forcing physical contact like hugs “sends a message that there are certain situations [when] it's not up to them what they do with their bodies.” That message can have multiple repercussions as children grow: Irene Vanderzand, cofounder of Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International, says that “forc[ing] children to submit to unwanted affection in order not to offend a relative or hurt a friend's feelings, we teach them that their bodies do not really belong to them because they have to push aside their own feelings about what feels right to them... [this can lead] to children getting s*xually abused, teen girls submitting to s*xual behavior so 'he'll like me' and kids enduring bullying because everyone is 'having fun.'”

Hetter also points out that allowing children to refuse hugs does not mean allowing them to be rude: “She has to be polite when greeting people, whether she knows them or not. When family and friends greet us, I give her the option of ‘a hug or a high-five.’ Since she's been watching adults greet each other with a handshake, she sometimes offers that option.” Hetter explains to family members “why we're letting her decide who she touches.” And, as she’s already observed, there is one additional benefit to letting her daughter lead the way when it comes to physical contact: “When my child cuddled up to my mother on the sofa recently, happily talking to her about stories and socks and toes and other things, my mother's face lit up. She knew it was real.” To read more, visit http://cnn.it/VLKGbO

For books to start teaching children -- girls and boys alike -- from a young age about age about the need to respect others and body privacy, we highly recommend: "My Body! What I Say Goes!" for ages 3 to 6 (https://www.amightygirl.com/my-body) and "I Said No! A Kid-to-kid Guide to Keeping Private Parts Private" for ages 4 to 7 (http://amzn.to/2pDSNH2)

For older children, issues of body autonomy, boundaries, and consent are discussed in more comprehensive books that address topics such as puberty, s*x education, and health, including "It's So Amazing!" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/it-s-so-amazing) and the more detailed "It's Perfectly Normal" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/it-s-perfectly)

For more books to make it easier to discuss appropriate touching and personal boundaries with young children, check out our post "Body Smart, Body Safe: Talking with Young Children about their Bodies" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11069

For an excellent parenting book that offers advice on how to talk to teenagers about s*x, respect, and consent, we highly recommend "For Goodness S*x: Changing the Way We Talk to Teens About S*xuality, Values, and Health" at https://www.amightygirl.com/for-goodness-s*x

And, for parents of children with special needs, "An Exceptional Child’s Guide to Touch” is especially geared toward children with special needs from ages 3 to 7 or the equivalent developmental age (https://www.amightygirl.com/an-exceptional-children-s-guide-to-touch) -- and, for parenting guidance on teaching appropriate boundaries, check out "Teaching Children With Down Syndrome About Their Bodies, Boundaries, And S*xuality" (https://www.amightygirl.com/teaching-children-with-ds).

Thanks to Safe kids, thriving families for sharing this image!