National Women's Health Network

Last updated
National Women's Health Network
AbbreviationNWHN
Formation1975
Founder Barbara Seaman
Alice Wolfson
Belita Cowan
Mary Howell
Phyllis Chesler
Founded at Washington, D.C.
Typenon-profit women's health advocacy organization
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Website www.nwhn.org

The National Women's Health Network (NWHN) is a non-profit women's health advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1975 by Barbara Seaman, Alice Wolfson, Belita Cowan, Mary Howell, and Phyllis Chesler. The stated mission of the organization is to give women a greater voice within the healthcare system. The NWHN researches and lobbies federal agencies on such issues as AIDS, reproductive rights, breast cancer, older women's health, and new contraceptive technologies. The Women's Health Voice, the NWHN's health information program, provides independent research on a variety of women's health topics. [1]

Contents

History

The NWHN was founded in late 1975 as the National Women's Health Lobby by Barbara Seaman, Alice Wolfson, Belita Cowan, Mary Howell, and Phyllis Chesler. It was created to be both a lobbying organization and to monitor federal legislation and research relating to women's health, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearings, and Department of Health, Education and Welfare regulations. [2] By December 1975, the organization was renamed the National Women's Health Network after the group realized that regulatory groups, as opposed to legislative bodies, had more influence on women's health. [2] [3]

The first action of the NWHN was a demonstration held outside of the FDA building in Rockville, Maryland, on December 15 and 16 of that year, in order protest against the FDA's approval and lack of oversight of synthetic estrogens. The protest was planned for those days because two scientific studies done on the risks of estrogenic drugs were about to be published in The New England Journal of Medicine and inside the building, the FDA was going to be holding hearings on the risks of DES (diethylstilbestrol)--formerly prescribed to pregnant women in order to prevent miscarriages and other complications, by 1971 DES had been found to cause a rare cancer, clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina, in women and girls exposed to the drug in utero —and whether to mandate patient packaging inserts for estrogen replacement therapy drugs prescribed to menopausal women. [4] On the outside of the building, the demonstrators held a funeral service to memorialize women who had died after taking drugs containing synthetic estrogens. Speakers discussed the risks of taking medications like DES, the morning-after pill, estrogen replacement therapy for menopausal women, as well as combined oral contraceptive pills. [5] Speakers included Jim Luggen, a widower whose late wife had died of a pulmonary embolism caused by the oral birth control she was taking; Mary Daly, a radical feminist theologian and philosopher; a DES daughter Sherry Leibowitz; and Barbara Seaman. [6] The protest had approximately 100 participants and Richard Crout, the head of FDA Bureau of Drugs at the time, attended. [5]

Participants carried signs reading "Feed Estrogen to the Rats at the FDA" and "Women's Health, Not Drug Company Wealth". [7] After the protests and the Nelson Pill Hearings, Patient Packaging Inserts (PPIs) listing side effects were instated for oral contraceptives—the first PPIs in U.S. history. [8]

With the help of a grant from the Ms. Foundation, the NWMN also became a clearinghouse for women's health information, and continues to provide women with objective health information from a feminist viewpoint. [9] [2]

The Present

Values

Raising Women's Voices

The National Women's Health Network helped found Raising Women's Voices, a national initiative that advocates affordable healthcare for everyone. Raising Women's Voices wants to ensure the national discourse on healthcare reform takes the needs of women into account. Other founding members include Mergerwatch and the Avery Institute for Social Change. Raising Women's Voices includes a list of 26 principles including:

Publications

Fact sheets and position papers

The NWHN publishes independently researched fact sheets and position papers on a variety of women's health topics including breast cancer, endometriosis, cervical cancer, fibroids, menopause and hormonal therapy, mammograms, abortion, and hysterectomy. Every publication is from an objective, feminist perspective without endorsing any specific treatment plan or method. [16]

The Women's Health Activist

The National Women's Health Network publishes a bimonthly newsletter, The Women's Health Activist. The Women's Health Activist has been in circulation since 1976, but was known as the Network News up until 2001. The newsletter includes articles by NWHN board members, staff members, and contributors from diverse organizations and institutions. Recent contributors have included the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, Georgetown University, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, PharmedOut, and SisterLove, Inc.

Content consists of independently researched articles on current events, health policy, awareness campaigns, informational topics, and medical updates. Articles in the Women's Health Activist have spoken out against many government actions including the FDA's re-approval of silicone gel breast implants. [17] The newsletter also includes a Young Feminist section, written by current interns or other young professionals in the health activist field. [18]

Staff & Board of Directors

Board of directors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency contraception</span> Birth control measures taken after sexual intercourse

Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mifepristone</span> Medication

Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days of pregnancy. It is also effective in the second trimester of pregnancy. It is taken by mouth.

Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also be referred to as hormonal therapy or antihormone therapy. The most general classes of hormone therapy are oncologic hormone therapy, hormone replacement therapy, androgen replacement therapy (ART), oral contraceptive pills, and transgender hormone therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethinylestradiol</span> Estrogen medication

Ethinylestradiol (EE) is an estrogen medication which is used widely in birth control pills in combination with progestins. In the past, EE was widely used for various indications such as the treatment of menopausal symptoms, gynecological disorders, and certain hormone-sensitive cancers. It is usually taken by mouth but is also used as a patch and vaginal ring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drospirenone</span> Medication drug

Drospirenone is a progestin and antiandrogen medication which is used in birth control pills to prevent pregnancy and in menopausal hormone therapy, among other uses. It is available both alone under the brand name Slynd and in combination with an estrogen under the brand name Yasmin among others. The medication is an analog of the drug spironolactone. Drospirenone is taken by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norethisterone acetate</span> Chemical compound

Norethisterone acetate (NETA), also known as norethindrone acetate and sold under the brand name Primolut-Nor among others, is a progestin medication which is used in birth control pills, menopausal hormone therapy, and for the treatment of gynecological disorders. The medication available in low-dose and high-dose formulations and is used alone or in combination with an estrogen. It is ingested orally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaginal ring</span>

Vaginal rings are polymeric drug delivery devices designed to provide controlled release of drugs for intravaginal administration over extended periods of time. The ring is inserted into the vagina and provides contraception protection. Vaginal rings come in one size that fits most women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Seaman</span> American journalist (1935–2008)

Barbara Seaman was an American author, feminist activist, and journalist, and a principal founder of the women's health movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mestranol/noretynodrel</span> Combined oral contraceptive medication

Mestranol/norethynodrel was the first combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) being mestranol and norethynodrel. It sold as Enovid in the United States and as Enavid in the United Kingdom. Developed by Gregory Pincus at G. D. Searle & Company, it was first approved on June 10, 1957, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of menstrual disorders. The FDA approved an additional indication for use as a contraceptive on June 23, 1960, though it only became legally prescribable nationwide and regardless of the woman's marital status after Eisenstadt v. Baird in 1972. In 1961, it was approved as a contraceptive in the UK and in Canada.

In 1970, Barbara Seaman brought the dangers of combined oral contraceptive pill use to the attention of Senator Gaylord Nelson with her book The Doctors Case Against the Pill. Nelson, who at the time was also busy organizing the first Earth Day, called Senate hearings in January 1970 to investigate the problems Seaman's book addressed—that many women experienced severe side effects such as decreased sex drive, weight gain, heart problems, blood clots, and depression, but did not know that oral contraceptives were the cause.

Jerilynn C. Prior is a Canadian endocrinologist and medical doctor specializing in menstrual cycles and the effects of hormones on women's health. She has been called a leader in understanding and treating perimenopause and menopause. She was born in the USA and moved to Canada in 1976, and has taken citizenship there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birth control in the United States</span> History of birth control in the United States

Birth control in the United States is available in many forms. Some of the forms available at drugstores and some retail stores are male condoms, female condoms, sponges, spermicides, and over-the-counter emergency contraception. Forms available at pharmacies with a doctor's prescription or at doctor's offices are oral contraceptive pills, patches, vaginal rings, diaphragms, shots/injections, cervical caps, implantable rods, and intrauterine devices (IUDs). Sterilization procedures, including tubal ligations and vasectomies, are also performed.

The Feminist Women's Health Center of Atlanta is a feminist health center that provides comprehensive gynecological health care, engages in community outreach, and advocates for reproductive justice. Kwajelyn Jackson has served as the executive director since 2018.

The first large-scale human trial of the birth control pill was conducted by Gregory Pincus and John Rock in 1955 in Puerto Rico. Before the drug was approved as safe in the mainland U.S., many Puerto Rican women were used as test subjects. These trials are a major component in the history of the development of female oral contraceptives, occurring in between initial small trial testing on the east coast and the release of the drug for public consumption. As a result, women gained more independence as they were able to delay pregnancies. The trials are controversial because the Puerto Rican women were uninformed of the potential health and safety risks of the drug. There was a large amount of criticism coming from feminist circles surrounding the trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estradiol (medication)</span> Steroidal hormone medication

Estradiol (E2) is a medication and naturally occurring steroid hormone. It is an estrogen and is used mainly in menopausal hormone therapy and to treat low sex hormone levels in women. It is also used in hormonal birth control for women, in feminizing hormone therapy for transgender women, and in the treatment of hormone-sensitive cancers like prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women, among other uses. Estradiol can be taken by mouth, held and dissolved under the tongue, as a gel or patch that is applied to the skin, in through the vagina, by injection into muscle or fat, or through the use of an implant that is placed into fat, among other routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estrogen (medication)</span> Type of medication

An estrogen (E) is a type of medication which is used most commonly in hormonal birth control and menopausal hormone therapy, and as part of feminizing hormone therapy for transgender women. They can also be used in the treatment of hormone-sensitive cancers like breast cancer and prostate cancer and for various other indications. Estrogens are used alone or in combination with progestogens. They are available in a wide variety of formulations and for use by many different routes of administration. Examples of estrogens include bioidentical estradiol, natural conjugated estrogens, synthetic steroidal estrogens like ethinylestradiol, and synthetic nonsteroidal estrogens like diethylstilbestrol. Estrogens are one of three types of sex hormone agonists, the others being androgens/anabolic steroids like testosterone and progestogens like progesterone.

Belita Cowan was a women's health activist during the 1960s and 1970s. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She worked part-time at the University Hospital while finishing her master's degree in English. Cowan started her research as a result of how horrified she was by the false advertising of the morning after pill. She was invited to present her research findings at the Senate hearing on DES in 1974. This made her the first women's health activist to ever testify as an expert witness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined hormonal contraception</span> Form of hormonal contraception combining both an estrogen and a progestogen

Combined hormonal contraception (CHC), or combined birth control, is a form of hormonal contraception which combines both an estrogen and a progestogen in varying formulations.

The women's health movementin the United States refers to the aspect of the American feminist movement that works to improve all aspects of women's health and healthcare. It began during the second wave of feminism as a sub-movement of the women's liberation movement. WHM activism involves increasing women's knowledge and control of their own bodies on a variety of subjects, such as fertility control and home remedies, as well as challenging traditional doctor-patient relationships, the medicalization of childbirth, misogyny in the health care system, and ensuring drug safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aid Access</span> Abortion services provider

Aid Access is a nonprofit organization that provides access to medication abortion by mail to the United States and worldwide. It describes its work as a harm reduction strategy designed to provide safe access to mifepristone and misoprostol for those able to become pregnant in the United States who may not otherwise have access to abortion or miscarriage management services. People are able to manage their own abortion with remote access to a physician and a help-desk for any questions. The website is available in English, Spanish, and Dutch.

References

  1. ↑ "Health Information".
  2. 1 2 3 Ruzek, Sheryl Burt (1978). The Women's Health Movement. New York: Praeger Publishers. pp. 150, 155–156. ISBN   0030562368.
  3. ↑ Lipnack, Jessica; Stamps, Jeffrey (1982). Networking: The First Report and Directory. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. pp. 18–21. ISBN   0385177720.
  4. ↑ "The First FDA Protest (1975)". National Women's Health Network. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Morgen, Sandra (2002). Into Our Own Hands: The Women's Health Movement in the United States, 1969-1990. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. pp. 26–31. ISBN   0813530717.
  6. ↑ Seaman, Barbara (January 4, 2011). The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth. New York: Seven Stories Press. p. 149. ISBN   9781583228623.
  7. ↑ Prescott, Heather Munro (April 27, 2017). "The Pill Kills: Women's Health and Feminist Activism". Nursing Clio. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  8. ↑ "National Women's Health Network | A Voice for Women, A Network for Change". Archived from the original on 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
  9. ↑ "National Women's Health Network | A Voice for Women, A Network for Change". Archived from the original on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  10. ↑ "Women's Health Network Petitions FDA to Halt Sales of Estrogen, Testosterone Combination Treatments". Medical News Today. August 28, 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
  11. ↑ "National Women's Health Network | A Voice for Women, A Network for Change". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  12. ↑ "All* Above All".
  13. ↑ Adams, Patrick (27 April 2017). "Spreading Plan C to End Pregnancy". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ Tzortzis, Andreas (5 April 2018). "Profile: Francine Coeytaux". Ageist.
  15. ↑ "Raising Women's Voices for the health care we need - Home". www.raisingwomensvoices.net.
  16. ↑ "National Women's Health Network | A Voice for Women, A Network for Change". Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  17. ↑ "National Women's Health Network | A Voice for Women, A Network for Change". Archived from the original on 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  18. ↑ "Newsletter Health Articles".
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