Web & Print Resources:
Adoption
Infertility
Parenting
New Parenthood
Pregnancy
Sex Therapy
Additional Resources
Adoption |
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People come to adoption various ways. Most struggle for years with infertility and different levels of high tech
treatment before making the choice to adopt, but some opt for an eclectic family and add to their natural family
by reaching out either locally or across the nations. Here are some resources for those exploring the adoption
option.
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Infertility |
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Parenting |
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New Parenthood |
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If you've recently had a child, I've written the following information to try to help you make sense out of some feelings you may have:
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Pregnancy |
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Pregnancy is a very special time in a woman's life and in the lifecycle of a couple as well. Besides a host of
physical changes, from the swelling breasts and growing belly to differences in mood and libido, there are also
a host of social and emotional changes that accompany this irrevocable passage. In this section I offer my
patients several links to helpful websites as well as a list of books that might prove helpful in planning for
delivery. I encourage all of my patients to consider hiring a birthing doula for their labor and delivery and
a postpartum doula to help with newborn care. Throughout history women have been attended by older, wiser,
and more experienced women in the birthing process and in learning to get to know the new baby. Our culture is
uniquely isolated and isolating in expecting new moms to figure it out on their own, at best with the help of their
own mothers (who typically only gave birth once or twice), but disconnected from the larger community. This
disconnection places a tremendous burden on modern moms who are trying to straddle two worlds and usually
feeling somewhat cast adrift with an impossible mission:
One of the most wonderful aspects about living in a democratic western culture today is the tremendous number
of choices that we have. Along with choice comes the daunting responsibility for making sure that the choices
we make are fully informed. Personally, I believe that a truly free and informed choice is one that is made
largely free from fear. In order to diminish fear and increase the likelihood of truly informed choices, I
offer my patients the following links to articles about the emerging, and increasingly popular option of
elective C-Section:
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Sex Therapy |
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Two medical advances have led to an increase in the incidence of hypoactive sexual desire disorder - Selective
Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) used to treat depression and anxiety and oral contraceptive pills (OCPs)
used to prevent acne and pregnancy. While these medications are very important to many people, the undesirable
side effects pose a challenge to intimate relationships and may require the skilled intervention of a qualified
sex therapist. The American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists or AASECT
(see www.aasect.org for more information) has been existence
since 1967 as the premier organization that certifies sexual health practitioners, setting the standards for,
and credentialing of professionals in sex education, counseling and therapy. Because AASECT maintains the
most rigorous standards for ethics, academic preparation and applied skills with a stringent Code of Ethics
and clearly defined requirements for training, it is important that you insist on AASECT certification when
choosing a sex therapist. Here are several resources dealing with intimacy issues:
Few experiences are as devastating in life as the diagnosis of cancer can be, especially when it affects the
core of one's identify, self image, body image, gendered self, and intimate sexual life. Here are some
resources to help you cope.
Resources dealing with the effects of aging on sex.
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Additional Resources |
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- ASRM (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)
ASRM is interested in all aspects of the reproductive life cycle. They provide information on infertility,
menopause, contraception, reproductive surgery, endometriosis, and other reproductive disorders.
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