Morning-after Pills, Menstrual Leave, Gynecologists for Men, and More Weekend Links
by Elizabeth Kissling | Nov 30, 2013 | Internet
- Although it’s well known that weight affects dosing of many medications, including birth control pills, new warnings about effectiveness of Plan B and similar morning-after pills made headlines this week when the European manufacturer of a similar drug announced that they will begin warning consumers that the drug is completely ineffective for women who weigh more than 176 pounds and begins to lose effectiveness in women who weigh more than 165 pounds. The FDA is evaluating whether to require US emergency contraceptive pill makers to change their labels. (The average weight of a woman in the US is 166.2 pounds.)
- The new label of Norlevo, the European morning-after pill, also says it “cannot stop a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb”. While US brands say they work mostly by blocking the release of eggs before fertilization, they also say the drugs may inhibit fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. Court watchers are speculating about whether this could affect the current case before the US Supreme Court, involving corporations that object on religious grounds to the health care law’s requirement that employers provide insurance coverage for contraception, including emergency contraception.
- Could old-school menstrual gear be the solution for VPL (visible panty lines)? Nah, we didn’t think so either, and neither do our Twitter and Facebook followers.
- The Act of Gender Equality in Employment in Taiwan has been modified, adding three extra days of menstruation leave that will not be deducted from half-pay common sick leave.
- Vaginal discharge is part of the magic of the vagina’s self-cleaning function, but it can still stain your unders, maybe even more than menstrual fluid. If that bothers you, Jezebel‘s Jolie Kerr has some advice for you.
- Gynecologists who treat men are not common, but some do treat men with anal cancer. It is rare, and usually caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is sexually transmitted. But these doctors risk losing their certification from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology if they don’t limit their practice to female-bodied patients.
- This article has been making the rounds on the #Menstruation Twitters this week: Men don’t like to talk about menstruation because they’re men.
