That Time I Wrote a Book…

book cover

Dear Readers,

I have extremely exciting news to share with you that will explain my blog’s silence these past few months. Blood, sweat, toil, and tears have been expended. (Nope, that’s overly dramatic Truthfully, I have only been expending toil, effort, energy, and love) into a different literary project that has been beckoning my attention. The project I am referring to is the book that I have been working on for several years, entitled “The Inside Story: The Jewish Woman’s Guide to Lifelong Pelvic Health.” 

That’s right, I have written a book which will be available for purchase within the next few months, with God’s help. My goal in this book is to help ease life cycle transitions for Jewish women. I want to share information about pelvic floor dysfunction and women’s health so that those suffering in silence can seek out appropriate treatment.

I feel so passionately about these topics and have the privilege and pleasure of helping individual women in my professional life. This book will enable me to bring help to an even larger audience. My hope and prayer is that God will help me educate as many women as possible, so that every single woman can have a satisfying and gratifying physical relationship with her spouse and with her own body.

As the title implies, the target audience of this (first) edition of the book is geared towards Jewish women, although the majority of the content is relevant and applicable to all women.

Please don’t get me wrong! I love and respect all women, and I embrace and look forward to the opportunity to share valuable information with EVERYONE in the next edition. That being said, I recognize that there are certain sensitivities that, as a proud, self-identifying Orthodox Jewish woman, I am capable of addressing. I also acknowledge that certain topics that I discuss in the book are considered taboo/uncomfortable, perhaps even more within my community than others. I hope that my affiliation with the Jewish community will help potential readers feel comfortable to read and benefit from my experience. And now that I have expressed in writing that this is only a first edition, you can all hold me accountable to ensure that a follow up version ensues.

So, please stay tuned for further details. I look forward to sharing more information about the book release and how to purchase it in the coming months, and I appreciate your patience with me while I diverted my attention elsewhere.

Yours in educating, enlighting, and helping many women in the coming months and beyond, 

Riva

 

Fetus Facts

As I sit outdoors on a beautiful, sunny spring afternoon, listening to Hamilton while I write this blog, the future is looking brighter both literally and figuratively. I am so grateful that much progress has been made thus far in our fight against Covid-19, and I think it is safe to say that thank God, our current circumstances are better than they were one short (yet seemingly very long) year ago. For example, I didn’t have to resort to cutting/accidentally butchering my bangs before Passover this year, because I was able to once again return to my hair salon. (You may have noticed that I had a different hairdo than my usual signature bangs in several of my Pelvic Pearls YouTube videos. The pulled back headband look was inspired by that experiment gone awry. Secret’s out!)

Joking aside and obviously more importantly, we now have two viable vaccines available. While I respect anyone who chooses to refrain from receiving the vaccine at present for whatever reason, I am a fully vaccinated, strong proponent who is grateful for this incredible development. Fortunately, approximately 20% of the country has been fully vaccinated with many more pending. New York has now offered vaccinations for anyone over the age of thirty regardless of one’s profession, and the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for teenagers aged 16-19.

Until recently, very few studies have focused on the effects of the vaccine on pregnant women as it was feared to be unsafe. Sadly, over 80,000 pregnant women have been infected with Covid-19, and 88 have passed away in the United States. In addition, this demographic is more likely to exhibit severe symptoms, to need intensive care admission, and to require a ventilator compared to their non-pregnant counterparts.

Fortunately, a recently approved and conducted NIH study revealed that Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy resulted in improved maternal and fetal immunity. The presence of antibodies in both breast milk and the placenta indicated that vaccination during pregnancy confers immunity to the developing fetus. Furthermore, the vaccinated study participants exhibited higher antibody levels than women who naturally had antibodies during pregnancy due to actual infection. It is interesting to note that antibody levels were higher in women who received vaccination earlier in their pregnancy. The side effects were similar in both the pregnant and non-pregnant groups.

While individual consultation with one’s own ob/gyn is warranted and encouraged, it is nice to be able to share these positive findings. May we continue to share additional good news and to experience more promising developments.

Reference:

Gray KJ, et al. COVID-19 vaccine response in pregnant and lactating women: a cohort study. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2021.