A pregnant horse stands confined to a small stall, packed into a crowded facility with numerous others just like her. She has been through many pregnancies in her life, never having the chance to bond with her foals and she exists to serve one purpose - to make a profit. This is the life of a horse on a Pregnant Mares’ Urine Farm. The facility that exists to produce a drug called Premarin. Although Premarin is used in Hormone Replacement Therapy for menopausal women, Premarin should not be used because of the effects it has on the mares.
Life for pregnant mares on the PMU farms are horrendous and entails a constant cycle of impregnation to keep their estrogen levels high. They spend nearly six months out of their eleven month pregnancy, confined to stalls, unable to move or even lay down, once the babies have been born, they are escorted away. This process will be repeated over and over until the mare can no longer reproduce. The mares go through this constant cycle to produce a drug called Premarin. Premarin is a drug used for menopausal women that endures hot flashes, vaginal dryness, burning, and irritation. Premarin is the only human estrogen replacement drug that is from an animal.
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The mares that are used, go through an excruciating life. The mares spend their whole lives being impregnated over and over until the mare cannot reproduce any longer. Once the mare cannot reproduce she is sent to an auction, to be sold to a slaughterhouse, where the horses’ meat is sent to different countries for human consumption or even dog food. PMU farms are made to produce a drug called Premarin. Premarin is an estrogen based drug that helps menopausal symptoms in women. The symptoms Premarin helps reduce include: hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and irritation. Premarin may be used in Hormonal Replacement Therapy for women, but Premarin should not be used because of the effects it has on the
For activists concerned about the safety of PZP, in the studies done by Fitzpatrick, it was found that PZP in wild horses had no permanent or negative effects on wild horses- the same studies were done on pregnant mares. PZP had proven more positive effects on the condition of the horses, for example, there was increased body condition in the horses, as well as increased longevity. Compared between foals from treated and untreated horses, the foals of treated horses were found to develop better body conditions than their untreated counterparts.
She decided to tackle the health problems of a small area of few roads and no physicians, called Leslie County in Eastern Kentucky. Here she tested to her health care plans, thinking that if she succeed here, she could succeed anywhere. Horse backing around Leslie County, she asked residents about health care needs and local lay-midwives about birth practices. The results from her surveys revealed that these nursing mothers were lacking prenatal care and that they were giving birth to large quantities of children often by invasive practice.
The drug Premarin, a drug used to relieve symptoms of menopause in women, is made by harvesting the urine of pregnant horses. Premarin Farms, which are called PMU farms for short, are the site where this takes place. The mares are hooked up to rig that collects their urine throughout most of their pregnancy, which leaves them practically immobile. PMU farmers collect several different equine conjugated hormones found in the pregnant mares’ urine to make Premarin, which includes drugs such as Prempro, Premphase, Premelle, and Prempac. Some farms treat their horses with the upmost respect, and give them the proper vet care and food that they need, while on other farms, the horses are not quite that lucky. There have been allegations of the abuse of horses on these PMU farms for years, yet most farms haven’t been forced to change their horrible ways.
However, this approach has many challenges for which solutions have been elusive to date. Ideally, methods for contraception of wild horses should be safe and reversible, effective for several years, practical to administer and be of a reasonable cost and whilst having minimal effect on reproductive and/or harem behavior. This ensures the methods that are used to control the reproductive cycle are considered to be humane and ethical.
Where do babies come from? The Birds and Bees, the stork, and the “talk”, at one point in time, we’ve all heard versions of where babies come from. In the film, Life’s Greatest Miracle, the question of where babies come from is answered in much more detail than many of us knew when we heard our own versions. In this essay, I will discuss the pattern of development, aspects of the movie, and the hindrances of successful conception, how sensitivity to food smells could protect the developing fetus, lastly address concerns in the movie that the mother and father had about childbirth.
“When a motherhood becomes the fruit of a deep yearning, not the result of ignorance or accident, its children will become the foundation of a new race." (Margaret Sanger, 1) Margaret Sanger, known as the founder of birth control, declared this powerful statement. It is reality that the rights that are customary for women in the twentieth century have been the product of the arduous physical and mental work of many courageous women. These individuals fought for the right for women to be respected in both mind and body by bestowing on them the rights to protect their femininity and to gain the equivalent respect given to men. A remarkable woman named Margaret Sanger is the individual who incredibly contributed to the feministic revolution that took place in the 1920’s. Her legacy of making the right to use birth control legal for woman is a precedent in history for the foundation of the equal rights battle that is still being fought today. By giving control back to the women in their sexuality, Margaret Sanger also restored confidence in those women who felt that their lives revolved around pregnancy. She has become an influential icon to women all around the world who enjoy the security of birth control that gives them the freedom in their sexuality on a daily bases.
In the 1950’s, the search was on for a reliable oral contraceptive. Research began based
The research literature has been somewhat inconsistent regarding PMS. The prevalence of PMS fluctuates dramatically depending on the report methods. Retrospective studies have found rates as high as 97%, while prospective studies have found rates as low as 3% (Sveinsdottir, Lundman, & Norberg, 2002). However, different methodologies and different populations could account for a large amount of this variation thus suggesting that PMS is not a purely biological phenomenon. Over the last decade, there has continued to be a large emphasis on PMS within the western culture. It has been theorized that PMS is a cultural-bound syndrome, in which women of western societies label any changes that occur during the late luteal phase as abnormal (...
Oakley, Ann. “Beyond The Yellow Wallpaper.” Reproductive Health Matters 5.10 (1997): 29-39. JSTOR. Web. 7 April 2011.
Soranus still did not list all the contraceptives that were found in the Middle Ages. Others included herbs and complex ideas. One complex idea was that “a woman should carry the heart of a hare as an amulette with her,” to prevent a pregnancy. Some of the herbs that were commonly used as emmenagogues and abortifacients were “beaten wormwood, pennyroyal, century plant, thyme, rue” and others. One of the more common emmenagogues was rue, a perennial herb that grows to three feet tall and has a bluish green flower. Another more common abortifacient was Artemisia which is a species of wormwood. Artemisia was said to “protect from the pangs of childbirth.” It was never stated whether it prevented or terminated a pregnancy.
To prevent fertilization in women various contraceptive methods are utilized. One type of contraceptive method prescribed by physicians is NuvaRing. An online article published in Women’s Health Magazine addresses the issue whether this type of contraceptive is safe. The article entitled, “Is the NuvaRing ACTUALLY Going to Kill You? A Look at the Evidence” questions whether or not NuvaRing is a serious health risk to women. The concept of this article suggests that benefits outweigh the risks (Gueren, 2013).
"Chemical Castration: The Benefits and Disadvantages Intrinsic to Injecting Male Pedophiliacs with Depo-Provera." Serendip's Exchange. Web. 23 June 2010. .
DUB affects 50% of women worldwide (Schuiling & Likis, 2013, p. 610). This has a significant impact on the women’s life, family and career. When a woman has an episode of bleeding that differs from normal in amount, frequency, duration and timing, the term DUB can be applied when all other medical reasons have been ruled out. The menstrual cycle depends on a functional hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian cycle that regulates the hormonal events leading to a woman’s ability to bear children. Once a woman has established ovulation, they tend to have a regular pattern. Any deviation from this pattern can be a cause of concern for the woman.
During the time period abortions were illegalized, it’s estimated that thousands of women died or suffered serious debilitating medical problems after attempting to self-induce their abortions or going to untrained practitioners through back-alley abortions who used primitive methods as well as unsanitary conditions. Once an abortion attempt was made, the hospital had to treat these women. However many of them were treated with distain. Some women are not fit to be mothers and some were just unprepared. Whatever the reason it’s the woman’s concern.
An obstetrician is one thing, and a gynecologist is another. The job is combined together, but the two branches can be worked separately. An obstetrician is a physician who focuses and is trained in the management of pregnancy, labor, and pueperium (the period following childbirth). A physician who has specialized and trained in the health of the female reproductive system is a gynecologist. The reason the jobs are combined is because they’re both all about women. Obstetricians and Gynecologists are physicians who provide general medical care to women. They equip medical care associated with pregnancy or childbirth, and they diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases, especially those affecting the female