Best books about general women health according to redditors
We found 100 Reddit comments discussing the best books about general women health. We ranked the 57 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 100 Reddit comments discussing the best books about general women health. We ranked the 57 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
I very recently read a book called Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick and the author's discussion on hysteria is fascinating. She talks about it throughout the entire book because so many modern illnesses/disorders that mainly or only affect women (like Fibromyalgia or PMDD) are very similar to what doctors used to call Hysteria. She basically said that most of the "contested illnesses" we have today stem directly from Hysteria- and that women's pain in general is very often described as psychosomatic (all in her head) whereas men's pain is typically seen as physiomatic (real, bodily pain). Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in how women are treated in medicine.
As an American, I am shocked by this America I have never known or seen (even though I have traveled all over).
My parents, and my friends' parents, all reacted like the Dutch parents in the article. Mothers took their daughters to get contraceptives, condoms were given, talks were given, books were given. Nearly everyone I grew up with (in America) had books like this. It says it's for women, but boys' parents bought it for them so they would understand girls and their bodies better.
We also grew up listening to Free to Be You and Me ... "the basic concept was to encourage post-1960s gender neutrality, saluting values such as individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one's identity."
Tina Muir, an Elite runner, just came out with a book on this topic-from the mental aspects to health aspects, and her journey to overcome it so she could have her daughter. Book title is “Overcoming Amenorrhea” https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Amenorrhea-Your-Period-Back-ebook/dp/B07ML1TSSP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549212186&sr=8-1&keywords=overcoming+amenorrhea+by+tina+muir ... have not read it yet, but I listen to her podcast and she has talked about this many times on there... she is a is a very honest and thoughtful person and I expect the same from her book. Anyway, seemed like a helpful related resource. Good luck, and it is great to hear you are on the road to recovery!
Go for it!
I liked the comment in the other thread about pairing it with "Our bodies, ourselves" and just leave a note, "Use it or not, your choice. You can always tell me anything you need to" or something along those lines.
If your wife thinks your daughter would like to pick one out for herself, send her to Babeland with a credit card and a limit. They have awesome quality, lots of lelo, and are extremely female friendly and pro healthy sexuality.
As for all those people saying she wont learn to use her hands, bull. I could never get off with my hands until I had been using a vibrator for years. And I get off during sex just fine. A vibrator won't stunt her 'growth' and the idea smacks of 'needing to earn her way' bullshit.
Are we looking at the same cover? This woman does not look 75+ pounds overweight to me. She doesn't look overweight at all. https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Bodies-Wisdom-Revised-Emotional/dp/0553386735
For most women, it's simply a pH issue. Check out "Woman: An intimate geography." It can probably be helped only the slightest bit when he changes his diet (avoiding fruit and veg isn't good for anyone anyway).
When he's not cumming inside you, your vag, as you know, is a pretty clean, balanced place. Smells fine or has a clean, yogurt-ish tang. However, throw in that very alkaline cum and the whole system gets thrown out of whack. Unfortunately, that allows anaerobic bacteria to flourish.
From her book (I just happen to be reading it now).
> Distressingly the microbes make trimethylamine, which is the same substance that gives day-old fish its fishy odor. They make putrescine, a compound found in purifying meat. They make cadaverine, and I need not tell you from whence that chemical was named.
Your only real solution is to stop having sex regularly where he comes inside you. It will give your vagina a chance to reobtain it's homeostasis.
edited to add: Your vagina is normally fairly acidic, with a pH of 3.8 to 4.5, so it's more acidic than black coffee. His ejaculate is 7.2-8. Those are extremely different.
I love how quick you were to assume I had no evidence, without even doing the quickest of google searches. Shows your bias, but I'm always happy to dig up studies for people.
Here's a study from a brain tumor charity which reports that women are significantly more likely to face delays getting diagnosed with brain tumors. Here, I'll even quote it:
>Men were more likely than women:
>
>• to be diagnosed within a year of initial symptoms
>
>• to see 3 months or less pass between their first visit to a doctor and diagnosis
>
>• to have seen a doctor only once or twice prior to diagnosis.
>
>Women were more likely than men:
>
>• to see between 1 and 3 years and 5 or more years pass between first symptoms and diagnosis
>
>• to wait 10 or more months between their first visit to a doctor and diagnosis
>
>• to have made more than five visits to a doctor prior to diagnosis.
It also states that women were more likely to believe that the doctors didn't know what they were talking about. I suppose the waiting times and constant referrals will do that to you.
here's a study on the misdiagnosis of depression in female patients. It estimates that 30-50% of women diagnosed with depression are misdiagnosed, however it is worth mentioning that this study's a little old now, I'd be interested in seeing how things have improved in the past twenty-odd years.
Here's a study released saying that more than twice as many women had to make more than three visits to a to a GP before getting referred to a specialist for bladder and renal cancer. Here's a quote:
>Each year in the UK, approximately 700 women with either bladder or renal cancer experience a delayed diagnosis because of their gender, of whom more than a quarter (197, or 28%) present with haematuria.
Because you don't know how to google things, I'll tell you what haematuria is: blood in urine. A over a quarter of women facing delays for seeing renal cancer specialists were pissing blood.
Here's a big one which broadly concludes that women's diagnosis for rare diseases took about twice as long or more than men's diagnosis. For example, Crohn's disease: Men's average: 12 months. Women's: 20 months.
Here's a quote:
>It is speculated that the later diagnosis of CD in women might be due to the fact that many physicians are quick to attribute CD symptoms to common causes. For example, abdominal pains may be explained as gynaecological in origin and weight loss to dieting or even anorexia nervosa.
Regarding Cystic Fibrosis:
>A later diagnosis in women than in men is surprising since the life expectancy of women is shorter than that of men among patients with CF
I pulled most of this from an excerpt from this book. I'd suggest you read it, but I doubt you would. You're obviously not a curious person.
I was diagnosed with vulvodynia (officially) earlier this year after 11 years of pain and not knowing what was wrong, The biggest thing for me is just knowing that there is someone I can vent to if I wanted to.
My partner is amazingly supportive, but It's very hard to keep a relationship when you feel like you are broken. There is a lot of stress there and sadly I don't have anyone other than my partner and my physio to vent to. I think your sister is in a great position because she has you, and it sounds like you are willing to do what you can.
If she hasn't already seen a sexual Therapist I think it would be a great idea for you to mention it to her and see if you can help her find one. Often people confuse a sexual therapist with a couples therapist so many single people miss out of the great advice they can offer.
I saw a therapist for years to try and cope with depression, But the problem was that I was depressed because I was in pain, but most therapists treat the depression like a separate issue. A sexual therapist is trained to realise that genital pain is often the cause of low spirits or anxiety, and they can give real, practical advice to help fix the problem not the symptom.
It's a bit hard to offer advice without knowing what stage of diagnoses, management or treatment your sister is currently at, There are pain medications she can be talking to her doctors about, Physiotherapy exercises she can be undergoing with a women's health specialist and tons of books she can read on the subject. Explain Pain By the NOI is a general one on managing pain, and The vulvodynia survival guide which is more specific.
You might like to read them yourself to try and understand what your sister is going through, or perhaps buy them as a gift.
The most important thing that you can do to help your sister is to remember that her pain is real, It's not to be dismissed, If she does get to a point where she is wining or complaining or constantly avoiding things, it's because she is in pain. My partner lacks a vagina so as much as he feels empathy, he will never understand just how painful every day can be, and often he gets frustrated when I have to stop, go slow or have a cry because I sat down at the wrong angle.
This isn't trouble! There is nothing wrong with you! Most women do not come from vaginal penetration alone. You are not defective! (And it's possible some of those other women were faking orgasm, which is a thing some women do, you know?)
I'm sure you all can have a lot of fun exploring this, but it needs to start from loving yourself, and your husband loving you, not from a place of thinking there's something wrong with you.
A few books that might help you learn to love your body and your sexuality:
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier
Our Bodies, Ourselves 2013 is an awesome reference for her to have that will be helpful throughout puberty and afterwards. I still have my copy and check it out often.
This looks pretty good, too, and it fits her age range.
Just an idea, have you thought about wrapping the books in wrapping paper? That way it's more of a celebration than a somber occasion. Remember that if you don't want her to feel embarrassment, shame, or guilt, you should demonstrate the opposite. Read the books you got her before she does, so you two can talk about it.
I also highly recommend showing her how to use something like this app so she can easily predict her start date and symptoms for herself. There are little happy-face cartoons and it'll empower her to know how to take care of herself.
Well in "Woman: An Intimate Geography" Natalie Angier explains it that mammals traditionally had sex with the man entering from behind the woman ("doggy style", etc.) and so men associated the shape of women's buttocks with sex.
The idea is that women who had large breasts were more likely to have intercourse with men in face to face positions, because the men liked the look of breasts because they reminded them of buttocks. Having sex in face to face positions included more eye contact, which lead to more oxytocin release upon orgasm which lead to stronger pair bonding and love which created a more stable bond between parents and more involvement in children's lives from their father because he was so in love with the mother.
The other hypothesis Angier covers is that breasts are so aesthetically pleasing that women who had spare food or supplies were more likely to give it to the women with bigger breasts.
This sounds goofy, but it's still a really good book.
I've heard good things about this book.
It’s a chemotherapy drug, some people swear by it (I have a friend who says it changed her life), but a lot of people have significant adverse effects. I’m really unwilling to try it (got diagnosed last December), but do your own research & see how you feel about it. I’m really sensitive to a lot of medications & hormonal BC, so I feel fairly certain that I’d be in the category that experience ALL the side effects.
I really liked the book The Doctor Will See You Now by Tamer Seckin
He’s a surgeon, so he really does push excision as the BEST option for treatment, but he does venture into other modes of treatment. If nothing else, reading it felt validating and gave me so much more information.
I’m glad you have a diagnosis! Welcome to the endo club?
I recommend getting this book for your sister, she can look up anything she ever needs to know, lots of good common sense advice, and scientific explanations for everything.
[Our Bodies Ourselves] (http://www.amazon.com/Our-Bodies-Ourselves-New-Era/dp/0743256115)
You should get him these
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0199781559/ref=pd_aw_sbs_5?pi=SL500_SY115&simLd=1
^ this talks about how men became the stereotypical brawny man.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0553386735/ref=pd_aw_sbs_4?pi=SL500_SY115&simLd=1
^ this talks about women's bodies and the changes they go through (I'm thinking of getting this for me)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1570628122/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1417541607&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SY200_QL40
^^^ especially this last one talks about how to have meaning fun relationships
My fiancé says: get him a dildo he'll be happy.
Sometimes emotional stress can affect our lovely lady parts! I'd recommend Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom for some interesting ideas about how to think about your health.
-signed, UTI/yeast frequent victim... ugh!! good luck!!
I was recently asking about good sex books in another post. Here were some of the good ones I found:
http://www.amazon.com/Our-Bodies-Ourselves-New-Era/dp/0743256115/
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Getting-6th-Paul-Joannides/dp/1885535333/
http://www.amazon.com/Sexually-Shy-Inhibited-Womans-Guide/dp/0984057463/
http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Sex-You-Want-Inhibitions/dp/159233301X/
http://www.amazon.com/Because-Feels-Good-Pleasure-Satisfaction/dp/160529876X/
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Amazing-Third/dp/1592573274/
http://www.amazon.com/She-Comes-First-Thinking-Pleasuring/dp/0060538260/
Seems like the phases could also be tying into your natural fertile phase? Quite common/normal for some women to be majorly aroused/turned on during ovulation and not so much the rest of their cycle? Obviously your condition may be more prominant than usual cycle but you're definitely not alone in cyclical arousal or arousal on phases (even if for different reason).
It might help to read more around energies/phases of a women's cycle as the things you have said about cleaning/work also tie in. For example check out here: https://naturalshaman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/magic-of-menstrual-cycle.html?m=1 and https://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Moon-Miranda-Gray/dp/1844266281
Learning to accept the phases (even if for you the phases are not directly hormonal but due to medical issue) might be beneficial. Explain to your bf the stages/cycles. They come/go, wax/wane and because you're going through a different phase does not mean you feel less for him but you just change through the phases. Sometimes sexuality is highly important and sometimes less so, but emphasise how it doesn't change your feelings for him or your relationship.
Maybe come up with a plan to spend a bit more quality time with each other when you're on your "down phase", just spending time and doing nice stuff that isn't sexual together?
Of course sex when you don't feel like it isn't advisable but would you be open to discussing pleasuring him during the phase when you don't feel like it yourself? But explain to him in advance that at that phase you don't feel like PIV so how about taking care of his needs in another way? Take some sexy pics when your in your "hot" phase and save to send to him during the "down" phase so he has something to pleasure himself with?
Sounds tough but with some good open communication and reassurance from you I'm sure he'll understand. Good luck!
The feminism boards, or indeed any of the discussions on mumsnet.com are always good and down to earth.
A classic of the women's heath genera is Our Bodies Ourselves https://www.amazon.co.uk/Our-Bodies-Ourselves-New-Era/dp/0743256115
I don't dream about blood, but I have other dream "signals" at different times of the month, including right before I start bleeding. Everyone's cycle is different, but it's pretty cool that you have noticed this about yourself! If you're interested in more discussion like this, check out Red Moon by Miranda Gray
Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is a combination of three things
Any combination of these can lead to HA. Which is why someone that's anorexic can experience HA without exercising, or an athlete with a healthy relationship with food can also have HA. Every person is different as well, so some people can workout 7 days a week, twice a day, maintain a low body fat, and still not get HA. Others get it "more easily" (Not sure if that's the best wording?)
​
Have you recovered from HA from last year? By that, I mean, have you had three consecutive periods and are you still getting them on a regular basis? If not, then I'd suggest eating more, and keep exercise reduced. If you have recovered, the suggestion is to usually introduce exercise slowly. Start with 2 days a week. See how your period reacts (does your cycle length remain the same? etc), then slowly bump it up to 3-5 days a week, or whatever your plan is. Just make sure your period remains steady (if you really wanted to, you could also use OPK (ovulation predictor kits) to make sure your luteal phase (the length of time after you ovulate until your period) remains consistent. A lot of people see a shortening of their luteal phase if they introduce exercise too much/too quickly and that can signal that HA is close to coming back, which would be a sign to back off on the exercise)
And most importantly, EAT lots of food!
​
If you're really curious, I found the book "No Period. Now What?" By Dr. Nicola Rinaldi to be a super helpful resource!
The description of [Confessions of a Childfree Woman] (http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Childfree-Woman-Swimming-Mainstream-ebook/dp/B00C9RHQHC/ref=pd_sim_b_14?ie=UTF8&refRID=14WB1Y4Z2MWWG6HBZNJQ) says she received death threats for saying she didn't want children. I'm sure someone was probably offended by seeing a childfree book as well.
A good book on breastfeeding would be nice (this would be my personal pick, as I found a lot of use in Dr. Sears's breastfeeding advice; this is the classic but I've never read it), and honestly I would be insulted if anyone gave me a nursing cover, as that implies I should use it.
The Nursing Mother's Companion has been recommended to me by several people, though I haven't read it yet. I have been reading the AAP's New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding, which is okay so far.
This is such an odd trend in anthropology as a whole. They essentially try to make the argument as follows:
"Hey everybody, thousands of years ago women ruled the Earth, not men! And the Earth was so much better back then and everyone was equal and happy and free!"
9 times out of 10 they're just using this as a way to promote their ideological bias and purposely either leave crucial facts about early humans out or twist it in a way where it doesn't seem important.
http://www.chrisknight.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Early-Human-Kinship-Was-Matrilineal1.pdf
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Relations-Menstruation-Origins-Culture/dp/0300063083/256-1882770-1332012?ie=UTF8&qid=1189877836&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=8-1
How can you even say that periods were the start of human culture? Because the moonlight aligns with the period of when women are menstruating? What pseudo-spiritual nonsense is this?
You can't pinpoint a start of human culture from a biological function that only women have access to.
Go to a LLL meeting(free) or see a Lactation consultant. BF is on demand. There will be more "instructions" if you feel you don't know enough.
http://www.amazon.com/Womanly-Art-Breastfeeding-Seventh-International/dp/0452285801
http://www.llli.org/
I suggest getting her the book Our Bodies, Ourselves. I gave my copy to my younger sister for one of her birthdays :)
I think that PCOS is one of those "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" disorders. The actual causes are somewhat of a mystery right now. I've gone back and forth on what I want to blame for why I developed PCOS, but the important thing is understanding how our hormones function (or dysfunction lol) and how we can have a bit of control over them. What we eat is definitely as important as how much we eat.
I don't know of readings specific to PCOS but a book on hormones in general is really helpful. One that helped me was "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom." The author is a doctor but also has a down to earth/motherly approach to understanding our bodies.
https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Bodies-Wisdom-Revised-Emotional/dp/0553386735
You'll hear a lot of Joseph Campbell (the Masks of God series was my favorite)...and maybe even Carl Jung (...along that line consider Erich Neumann, The Origin and History of Consciousness and M. Esther Harding, Psychic Energy, Its sources and its transformations); but, may I suggest three books you've probably never heard of before:
These studies not only provide flesh for the body of myth that acts as a verbal echo of our nascent cultural memory, but also provides a framework for the work that those myths did in their original context, i.e., mitigating the sexual dynamics of our species and accounting for the observed regularity--naturally, first noticed by women, those avatars of language, which is to say, the hands that rock the cradle--between the cycles in the heavens and the female reproductive system...a happenstance that Marija Gimbutas has suggested that led to our earliest "gods," i.e., woman as a creative force.
Your anthropology professor was regurgitating "evolutionary psychology," which is widespread folk-knowledge bullshit.
There's tons of great resources that show how the "Battle of the Sexes" narrative is misleading, but there's a really great one that tackles the evolutionary psychology theory in this book by Natalie Angier: https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Intimate-Geography-Natalie-Angier/dp/0385498411
(see chapter "Of Hoggamus and Hogwash" if you're interested).
>The thing is I was hoping I didn't have to be the one to have this conversation.
Yeah, none of us do.
>It will be much easier with my son but he's only 8 and doesn't need to know about sex yet.
You sure? I mean about both parts. He's probably not interested in sex, but it's 2019, and it's /everywhere/ in our society.
There are four things your daughter needs to know about sex:
(note that my wife is still very much in the picture, but I don't outsource work because it's unpleasant).
My approach to these issues was to start talking about them a little at a time early, to the degree that my daughter could understand these issues (I don't do this just with sex, I do it with everything).
#1 is fairly easy, this is the one you CAN outsource. We got spawn Celebrate your body (And it's changes too!), and there's other good books that deal with the same sorts of things. Let her read the book in private, but make VERY sure she knows she can come to you with *any* questions.
#2. You're on your own for this one, but I think that getting kids to think about their actions within the context of whatever moral framework you have is better than decreeing "this is bad, that is bad" from on high. It is very easy to build arguments both for "traditional" morality, and for more contemporary attitudes, but you need to be careful when doing it.
#3 We have dealt with several ways, one is that she's been in martial arts off and on since she was 5. She wasn't doing so good in the Krav school (my first choice for people who don't want to make martial arts a lifestyle) near our house, so we have her in Jujitsu. I'm not so fond of Jujitsu as a self-defense art, but for 12 year old and up women it's not a bad idea--knowing how to use locks and your body to unmount someone trying to hurt you. The other things we've discussed are *no one* gets to touch you if you don't want them to[1]. I have made it clear over and over that I'll have her back as long as she was attacked. This, of course, means that I have to trust her, and we're going through a dishonest phase at the moment which is angry making.
#4 I can't even imagine talking to my daughter about that. Dunno how to handle that one. I don't really want her to learn the way I did--from "Penthouse Letters" and fumbling around on couches and other places, but I don't want to encourage her to start before she's ready. In fact I want her to delay it until she's out of highschool.
#5. Make sure she's had the HPV vaccine. My SIL was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer, and is angry with herself because she only got the first HPV shot, not the second. Make sure she understands her options where birth control and STD prevention are concerned.
I think it helps a lot if you can relate your discussions to other things going on in the world and/or her life. For example, I don't know *why* your wife isn't in the picture, but there's a reason, no? You don't really want to talk down a kids mother, but is there a lesson in there your kids need to learn?
All of these discussions have to be developmentally appropriate, and (to reiterate) I think it's best if they're presented in such a way as to cause the child to think.
​
[1] My daughter has two rules: Never hit first, *always* hit back. It's also been made clear to her that a legitimate KO gets her ice cream
In this regard I recommend a book called "Every Woman"
My mother calls it her Bible and has had every edition since 1971. She is a midwife and refers patients to it.
Your Dad is the real MVP!
My mother is a bit traditional in a couple of senses- she tends to frown on the idea of hookups/one night stands and has always advised me to save having sex for someone who loves and treats me fairly. That being said, whilst I've made a few mistakes in regards to my sex life (ie: chosing assholes/mistaking lust or infatuation with love and rushing into things), she's always been supportive and took it upon herself to ensure I had a good understanding of sex and relationships.
In regards to birth control, she actually encouraged me to go on The Pill at 15, moreso because of brutal periods but also as a precaution and had no objections about it. She also encouraged me to get an IUD after I became jaded with the notion of taking pills every day and she provided me with a lot of useful information on the subject.
She gave me this book when I was around 10 years old and going through the hell of precocious puberty and it explained SO MUCH. She was always quick to answer any of my queries so for that, my mom is pretty awesome.
If someone hasn't recommended this book already, let me suggest Our Bodies, Ourselves. It's a hugely helpful resource for tons of women's issues and is one book every woman should have.
I know this post is kind of old, but you should read “No Period, Now What?”. It discusses in depth the reasons you’re most likely missing your period, differences between PCOS and HA, and how to fix it. HA is super common in the female fitness world and often misdiagnosed as PCOS.
Book on Amazon $22
It was more than likely Everywoman by Derek Llewellyn-Jones. 9 editions and millions sold since 1971, still the best no-bullshit sex and puberty book ever. Should be read by everyone who hits puberty, male or female.
Or...when your kid hates you...
https://www.amazon.com/My-Toddler-Hates-Me-Shit-ebook/dp/B01MCX6NI7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479071903&sr=8-1&keywords=my+toddler+hates+me+shit+now+what
I like The Guide to Getting it On and also Our Bodies, Ourselves, if you're looking for books.
Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Childfree-Woman-Mainstream-ebook/dp/B00C9RHQHC
The Houghton-Mifflin blurb compares it to Natalie Angier's "Woman", but your critique tells me enough to know that Angier's book is far better in its coverage of its own topic.
She is a good writer, and her book, while dated, is still worth reading.
For the bride: [Our Bodies, Ourselves](http://www.amazon.com/Our-Bodies-Ourselves-New-Era/dp/0743256115]
Would definitely check out this book. She goes into a lot of detail of the causes of PCOS and how to help alleviate the symptoms.
Period Repair Manual: Natural Treatment for Better Hormones and Better Periods https://www.amazon.com/dp/1975926773/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6y4UDbM3SFG4P
Maybe the next time you all are at a family gathering slip her a copy of something like our bodies ourselves. I know I'm stereotyping, but I feel most abstinence only education tells you that everything is a horrible incurable STD and doesn't give much information on the health and well being of your body. There are plenty of things that bodies do that are perfectly fine, but are concerning when you have a lack of knowledge.
Doing Harm by Dusenbery is a book that catalogues these issues.
/u/Freckled_daywalker posted a link to a study above.
I really enjoyed the book, "How Weaning Happens" for learning about what to expect for a baby who is going to self-wean. My LO is now 16 months and so far nursing a toddler has been 15% pain (as she discovers all these great new positions!) and 85% joy. I've also heard that the book, "Mothering Your Nursing Toddler" is supposed to be fantastic but I haven't read it.
I would like to second The Baby Owner's Manual for your boyfriend.
I recently got the Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, 6th Edition: Birth to Age 5, which is a great reference for all sorts of "what do I do about this?" questions. It's written by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
I also really like The American Academy of Pediatrics New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding for some basic step-by-step suggestions for starting breastfeeding and continuing at different ages.
you might research berberine over metformin. many women have shown good results with it. it's also an over the counter supplement and doesn't have the negative effects of metformin.
i love nightshades (tomatoes and peppers mostly) so i am so not looking forward to testing whether they give me reactions or not. but what you're doing looks similar to a low fodmap or autoimmune paleo style elimination diet. i myself do basic paleo and it helps. i follow herbalism and functional medicine approaches to health, which connects autoimmune issues to each other similarly to how you have figured out on your own.
you also might find a great deal of good information in this book. i just picked it up. though i know a lot that is covered in the book already, it does have good information on dosages of important supplements that help with pcos support.
I'm gonna take a guess and say Our Bodies, Ourselves. If this wasn't it, this book is the one that my mom got me. I don't think it was just heterocentric, as I remember some lesbian input as well, but it was a good book. My mom and I didn't/don't have that great of a discourse about sex, but this book magically appeared on my bookshelf when I got around puberty. It helped.
You should read a book though. this book is excellent start
Not comprehensive, but women have Our Bodies, Ourselves. It's a great start.
And I always found the Mayo Health Clinic Family Health Book interesting as a kid, but it looks out of date now.
I imagine there are other reference books out there like these.
10 years here!
You can also see a pain specialist/ pain clinic. They may know more about your chronic pain.
Physiotherapy is excellent! I started about 6 months ago and it has helped but there is still a ways to go. I also use a TENS machine and some medication to keep it under control.
This is a very good book : http://www.amazon.ca/Vulvodynia-Survival-Guide-Overcome-Lifestyle/dp/1572242914/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312611892&sr=8-1 and helped immensely.
It's a lot of patient heal thyself right now, unfortunately. It's a pervasive disease that isn't widely studied, but it's getting better every day. OUr greatest weapon as patients is knowledge, however, and I'm telling you that book is great. It has some reasources too in the back as well.
Hope it helps! I have an AMA (I searched for other vulvodynia stuff and found this awesome thread), so AMA if ever you need!
When she takes the pumped milk at daycare, are they warming it, or keeping it cold? My thoughts are that maybe she is drinking water because she wants a cold beverage - it is summer here, so that may feel better than warm milk.
When my daughter was 12 months old I was sending 9 oz per day, and we went down to 6 oz by about 15 months anyway. So in that respect, I don't find it too unusual that she is only taking 6 oz of milk at daycare. At this age, they are getting more nutrition from food than milk. If you check the chart at Kellymom, you can see that at 15 months, she probably needs around 15 oz per day total. If she is getting 6 at daycare, that leaves 9 oz at home. Do you think she's getting that? If you nurse say once in the morning before daycare, once when you get home, and once before bed, then she probably is getting that. She may be nursing a lot just to reconnect with you after being separated all day.
I would also recommend the book Mothering Your Nursing Toddler.
Never saw the cover of Woman: An Intimate Geography, I take it?
(And, yes, that is an affiliate link. Google it yourself, if you'd rather.)