Category: Reproductive Rights

“Baby Brain”: Pregnancy Programs the Brain for Mothering & Attachment

A brand new study published in the Science journal, “Pregnancy Programs the Brain for Mothering”, has found that female brains undergo significant rewiring during pregnancy that drives maternal instincts. Previously, it was believed that the onset of maternal behaviors was primarily triggered by hormones released during and after childbirth.

According to the study, pregnancy hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, are instrumental in initiating these changes via a hormone called galanin produced in the hypothalamus in the central brain. This observation indicates that hormonal changes occurring during pregnancy play a pivotal role in instinctual maternal behavior.

The researchers observed enhanced maternal behaviors in female mice during late pregnancy. Interestingly, exposure to pups was not a prerequisite for the development of these behaviors. It originates internally.

This is why children should never be removed for any significant time from their mother (unless, of course, she endangers the child).

This is also why the mother, as the primary bond who is primed physically and emotionally to nurture and protect her child from before birth, should automatically maintain primary custody after divorce. And, because the attachment process is critical during infancy and toddler years, especially while breastfeeding, children should not be away from their mother more than a few hours.

This scientific reality should inform custody rulings.

Society has been, and is still being, conditioned to believe fathers make just as good of mothers as mothers, they are the same when it comes to parenting. Unfortunately, for the sake of “equality”, feminists agreed, for a time anyway. This nonsense needs to finally be dispelled.

During “women’s lib” back in the ‘60’s, feminists downplayed the differences between males and females in the pursuit of equality. They were portrayed for the most part as interchangeable. Boys and girls were the same—it was only culture that made them different. Fathers and mothers were the same—it was only culture that caused women to be primary caregivers.

Equality was (and still is often) conflated with sameness.

After millions of years of evolution selecting for maternal behaviors in females that result in the successful rearing of children, mothers and fathers cannot all of a sudden be deemed the same because politically or socially expedient.

“Equality” in the home fit the feminist goal of getting men to take on half of the child care and domestic labor so women could work outside the home and not have to shoulder all the domestic stuff too. And by taking this equality stance, feminists believed it would help in getting workplace equality.

It didn’t.

But it did backfire in the home where men still do not take on anywhere near half the domestic or child rearing labor during an intact marriage but now have (unscientific) justification for taking children from mothers after divorce.

Source: “Baby Brain”: Pregnancy Programs the Brain for Mothering & Attachment

UK: NHS Guidance Encourages Trans-Identified Females To Continue To Use Testosterone While “Chestfeeding” Despite Unknown Risk To Baby – Reduxx

The National Health Service of the United Kingdom is advising “transgender” females who take testosterone to continue doing so even while breastfeeding a baby despite acknowledging the unknown risks the hormone may have to the child.

The worrying guidance was first called to attention by users on social media, prompting a wave of backlash from advocates concerned with women’s rights and child safeguarding.

Speaking to Reduxx, retired family physician Dr. Maja Bowen condemned the NHS for what she labeled an “alarming” guidance.

Dr. Bowen also points out the apparent contrast between the guidance given to trans-identified females, noting how pregnant women and nursing mothers are often inundated with warnings about avoiding certain medication, food, and drink deemed risky.

This is not the first time concerns have been raised about official guidance on transgender adults breastfeeding children, though many previous issues have surrounded the phenomenon of trans-identified males inducing lactation for the purposes of “gender affirmation.”

Source: UK: NHS Guidance Encourages Trans-Identified Females To Continue To Use Testosterone While “Chestfeeding” Despite Unknown Risk To Baby – Reduxx

Western Australia’s abortion reforms a historic win for reproductive freedom across Australia | Human Rights Law Centre

The Cook Government’s Abortion Legislation Reform Bill 2023 passed the WA Parliament last night [20 September 2023]. The new laws will finally see abortion treated like healthcare in law, including by:

  • allowing patients to decide whether to have an abortion up to 23 weeks gestation in consultation with their healthcare provider, after which two doctors would need to be involved in decision-making

  • requiring doctors with a conscientious objection to respect their patient’s right to healthcare

  • removing abortion from the state’s Criminal Code, together with harmful legal barriers to timely abortion care, such as mandatory counselling and needing multiple doctors’ approval

Source: Western Australia’s abortion reforms a historic win for reproductive freedom across Australia | Human Rights Law Centre

Mental health of one third of kids on puberty blockers deteriorates, new analysis finds | The Australian

Leading Australian psychiatrists say puberty blockers should be restricted to children enrolled in rigorous clinical trials, after a new British analysis found the mental health of one-third of adolescents deteriorated while they were taking the controversial drugs.

The new UK analysis of an earlier, landmark study found 34 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 reported their mental health had deteriorated after taking puberty blockers for one year, while 29 per cent of children saw their psychological health improve. No mental health change was reported by 37 per cent of the children who had been on blockers for 12 months.
Overall, the fresh analysis, published on preprint health sciences website medRXIV, suggests 71 per cent of children taking puberty blockers reported a decline or no change in their mental health after one year of treatment. Yet as the study states: “The main argument for the introduction of puberty blockers in the UK for this age group (under 16) had been their potential to relieve psychological distress’’ while the children explored their gender identity.
Psychiatrist Jillian Spencer, who openly advocates for a cautious rather than an affirmation-only treatment model for children with gender dysphoria, said the latest UK findings “beg the question, ‘Why on Earth are puberty blockers still being prescribed?’ ”.
Dr Spencer said despite potential side-effects including infertility and impaired sexual function, in Australia, these drugs “are being prescribed off label for children with gender dysphoria, which means that no drug company has ever had to prove to a regulator that puberty blockers are safe and effective”.

Source: Mental health of one third of kids on puberty blockers deteriorates, new analysis finds | The Australian

Birthing on country success stories prove how important it is for Aboriginal mothers to have a voice | Janine Mohamed | The Guardian

Aboriginal-led birthing on country programs have allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to determine how and where they give birth. The result has dramatically improved health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and babies.

As a mother and a former nurse, I can’t think of a better illustration of how an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice enshrined in the constitution will improve the health and wellbeing of our peoples.

There has been a global recognition of the benefits of listening to diverse needs and the limitations of top-down control. In the health sector, it’s about structural reform. Most health professionals would now agree that patient outcomes are better when people are consulted and involved in their own health.

That’s what the voice offers to our people.

So, it comes back to empowerment. Women understand the importance of self-determination because if we understand how sexism works, we know how systemic racism works.

Source: Birthing on country success stories prove how important it is for Aboriginal mothers to have a voice | Janine Mohamed | The Guardian

Why Children Are Being Returned To Abusive Fathers Overseas – primer

In October last year, a group of lawyers, academics, domestic and family violence (DFV) professionals and mothers launched the Hague Mothers Legacy Project. . . . Based in the UK, US and Australia, these women are bringing their expertise to bear on what must be one of the thorniest legal issues: how to change an 53-year-old international treaty so that it protects the rights of vulnerable mothers and children.

To understand why any court would order that a child should be taken from a mother and returned to an alleged abuser in another country, it’s necessary to look at the origins of the Hague Convention.

When it was drafted in 1980, it was thought that international child abductions most commonly occurred when men – often wealthy men – were unsuccessful in custody battles. The Convention was designed to enable children to be found quickly and returned to their mothers.

But according to Miranda Kaye, an academic in the Faculty of Law at UTS in Sydney, who is a member of Hague Mothers’ international steering group, the authors of the Convention didn’t think about what unintended consequences it might have – “that in fact, it was going to be women fleeing”.

In 1980, society had little understanding about the complexities of domestic violence and coercive control. While the numbers of Hague abduction matters heard in Australia are fairly small – around 100 cases a year – it’s estimated that DFV is a motivating factor in about 70% of abductions by custodial mothers. Yet nowhere in the Convention is there a single reference to domestic violence or coercive control.

For years, Cassandra Hasanovic had been terrified of her husband and, in 2007 after he sexually assaulted her, she fled with her children to Sydney where she had relatives. But Hajrudin Hasanovic triggered a Hague application for the children to be returned to the United Kingdom and an Australian court ordered they be sent back. Hague Mothers believe the Convention cost Cassandra Hasanovic her life.

Anna Kerr, founder and principal solicitor of the Feminist Legal Clinic in Sydney, believes women and girls need to be told early the implications of relationships with men who are citizens of other countries. “Once they’ve fathered their children, there is no escape,” Kerr says. “I think very few women realise that when they conceive a child, they are potentially giving up many human rights, including freedom of movement. Until that child is grown up, their lives may be ruled by the man who impregnated them… many women underestimate the extent to which their lives are going to be controlled in this way.”

In December 2022, the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, announced amendments to Australian legislation that addresses the Convention to make it clear that allegations of DFV can be considered under the ‘grave risk’ defence before return orders are made.

Yet experts like Miranda Kaye and Gina Masterton say the amendment does nothing to address the systemic inequalities in the Hague system.

Hague Mothers believe many women have seen no option but to return to abusive relationships, just to stay close to their children. Other custodial mothers separated from their children live with daily trauma and distress.

Source: Why Children Are Being Returned To Abusive Fathers Overseas – primer

Concern surrogacy laws may lead to ‘coercion’ of intended parents | Ireland

Sam Everingham, Global Director of Growing Families, an Australian organisation which provides advice to parents on international surrogacy, said Irish parents could struggle to find surrogates abroad at all if payments are banned.

The surrogacy landscape is constantly changing. India has banned international surrogacy; Georgia will follow suit next year; while Ukraine – previously a very popular destination for Irish couples – is now not a safe option.

This problem was starkly highlighted just last month in Greece, when eight people were arrested at a major fertility clinic in Crete, and are now under investigation for trafficking vulnerable women from countries like Georgia and Albania to become surrogates for foreign couples.

During an interview following a recent conference in Dublin, Prime Time asked Sam Everingham why his organisation had recommended the clinic. He initially disputed that contention, saying his organisation does not recommend any clinic or agency, and that simply it provides information. However, after further questions he conceded that the language on his site represented a recommendation.

Mr Everingham also conceded that Growing Families cannot stand over the accuracy of any of the content provided on its website. He said the website constitutes a repository of information provided to it by others and therefore his organisation is not responsible for the veracity of the material provided.

Source: Concern surrogacy laws may lead to ‘coercion’ of intended parents

Breastfeeding better for planet, climate change than being a vegan | The Australian

According to the algorithms developed by ANU honorary associate professor Julie Smith, my breastfeeding efforts are enough to offset greenhouse gas emissions from the use of our family car for one year. It’s a bigger carbon offset than going vegan for 1.5 years or vegetarian for 2.5 years. It also easily offsets 144kg of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from an estimated 36kg of formula we used after weaning.

The positive impacts of improving rates of breastfeeding are difficult to ignore. Research from the World Health Organisation estimates that exclusively breastfeeding all babies in Britain for the first six months would offset the use of up to 77,000 cars every year. It’s also a population control, naturally delaying the return of fertility for women and helping them space children further apart in places where access to birth control is low.

Using data from her 2002 study based on early weaning at Canberra Hospital, Smith estimates that improving breastfeeding rates could save up to $120m across the Australian hospital system. A study from the US showed breastfed babies presented at hospital less and required fewer prescriptions.

The repeated failure to improve breastfeeding rates, despite strategies and mounting evidence of the benefits, tells us that no amount of preaching to women about the benefits of breastfeeding will improve breastfeeding rates. As long as time out of the paid workforce comes at such a significant personal cost to women, early cessation of breastfeeding will continue. Legislating paid parental leave that falls several months short of the six-month breastfeeding recommendation is a special form of stupidity.

If women lack the structural, financial and cultural support required to breastfeed, they won’t be able to do it for as long as is recommended. They will feel individually responsible for a systemic failing, adding further to the stress and pressure of parenthood.

Source: Breastfeeding better for planet, climate change than being a vegan | The Australian

More woke madness! Women’s health writer is censored on Always website… for saying that females have periods

The words ‘women,’ ‘girls’ and ‘females’ should be removed from online articles about periods to avoid offending transgender people, a sanitary pad manufacturer is said to have told a website.

The firm Always reportedly issued the edict to the parenting site Good To Know to make content it sponsored ‘inclusive’.

Writer Milli Hill told The Mail on Sunday she was ‘outraged’ when the website changed all mentions of women or girls in her contribution to a recent article about helping teens with their first periods.

Source: More woke madness! Women’s health writer is censored on Always website… for saying that females have periods