Does Stress Affect Fertility?
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Jennifer Dembo, LMSW
2w ago
It’s generally accepted by the medical community that chronic stress can lead to wide-ranging physical and behavioral health issues. When we experience any kind of upset, our nervous systems trigger the “fight-flight-freeze” response. That’s a protective function. But when it happens too frequently, and if we aren’t able to manage symptoms, we’re at increased risk of conditions such as anxiety, depression, heart disease and high blood pressure. But does stress impact fertility? Thanks to a dearth of studies focused on women’s health and despite our advances in medicine, it’s a challenging ques ..read more
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How Open Should I Be with my Doctor?  
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Jennifer Dembo, LMSW
1M ago
It’s generally accepted among medical providers that the more information a patient shares, the better the care they can provide. There are very strong arguments for accurately answering everything a doctor asks you about your medical history and your current health and well-being.  But what if there are details you don’t want to share because you’re afraid of being judged or for fear a doc will lecture you on habits that aren’t considered the healthiest of the healthy?   It’s fair to say that most providers aren’t seeking reasons to shame you. For example, questions about alcoh ..read more
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So, When Do I Get My Pap Now?
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Leslie Turner, WHNP, CNM
2M ago
It used to be so simple. You went to see your gynecologist once per year. Your breasts would be checked, you’d have the dreaded pelvic exam that included STI testing and the pap, and then you’d be on your merry way. Phew, check that off the list until next year! But in recent years, things have become a little more confusing. When to have your pap done has changed (and continues to change). There is even increasing research saying that you may not, in fact, need to have that dreaded pelvic exam at all. These changes, while based on solid science, can leave women quite perplexed about when to s ..read more
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Authentic- The Word of the Year
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Jennifer Dembo, LMSW
2M ago
Bet you couldn’t avoid “Best Of” lists last month as the year came to a close. Professional critics, influencers, and amateur bloggers alike love to get in on it, giving their seals of approval to a wide swath of items such as books, movies, sports highlights, gifts for hard-to-please Aunt Edna, sex toys (maybe Aunt Edna would like one of those?!) and just about everything in between. Words are no exception.  The dictionary/thesaurus experts at Merriam-Webster pegged “authentic” as their Word of The Year for 2023. MW admits on their website that “although clearly a desirable quality,  aut ..read more
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Sex in the Media: Explore or Ignore – “Naked Attraction” 
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Jennifer Dembo, LMSW
3M ago
You might think this British series is a spoof on other titles with similar names, but you would be wrong. “Naked Attraction” is actually as literal as literal gets.  Here’s the premise: a person looking for love (dressed – at least at first) gives the once-over to six fully nude people, each of whom stands in their own individual shadow boxes. Initially, the boxes’ “lids” are lifted to reveal only the bottom third of their bodies, from genitals to feet. There is lively banter we’ve all come to expect on UK reality shows between the guest and host, Anna Richardson (doing her best Iain Ste ..read more
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Reduce Stress and Have Sex This Holiday Season  
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Jennifer Dembo, LMSW
4M ago
Let’s get right down to what you already know: the holiday season is upon us and that usually means a lot of added stress. The big headline? Stress and sex rarely mix. So, with all the travel and traffic and meal prep and gift lists and décor pressure and family pressure, etc., who can possibly think of sex at a time like this?!   You! Yes, YOU! “How” you ask? You’ve come to the right place.  Here are some tips you can employ during the Happy and the Merry (and pretty much any time of year):   Prioritize what you want for yourself sexually. Yes, this is known as the season ..read more
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I Love to Laugh: A Meditation Guide
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Helen Leff, LCSW
4M ago
There are a lot of different types of meditations to choose from and one of them is Laughter Meditation. Laughing comes from deep inside us and there’s always a healthy supply. You may be self-conscious at first but laughing out loud, not texting it (lol), breaks up tension in the body as it relaxes the muscles, bringing things back into balance. Laughter is healing as we access joy.  In an article written by Melissa Eisler, a meditation instructor writing for The Chopra Center, she outlines the following healing benefits of laughter meditation:  “Laughing gives us a chance to slow d ..read more
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Get That Laptop Off Your Uterus! …Right?
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Jennifer Dembo, LMSW
5M ago
Last night, as I said goodnight to my almost-grown daughters, I noticed that each of their respective laptops rested directly on their respective laps. Hystero-Mamma kicked into high gear. “Girls – why aren’t you using pillows as a barrier between your computers and your ovaries? How many times do we have to review this? Don’t you want children? DO you want children? I mean, no pressure, of course. But, my loves, this is not a drill – YOUR EGGS ARE AT STAKE!!”.  As they “Okay, mom”-ed me, I got to thinking…are my concerns actually based on science? And if so, is that science even current ..read more
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Psycho-Emotional Symptoms of Menopause  
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Jennifer Dembo, LMSW
5M ago
Search for a numbered list of menopause symptoms on the web and you’ll find that there’s no one definitive inventory. One site says there are 34, another one says 66 – the cataloging varies widely. Since menopause research is relatively new and medical training for treatment is practically non-existent – and because each woman’s experience is unique – experts index symptoms in different ways. However, there are two main categories no matter the source:  physiological and psycho-emotional. Today, we’re focusing on the latter.   Before we dig in, it’s important to note that while ..read more
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What Are You Feeling? Name it to Tame it.
Maze Women's Sexual Health Blog
by Helen Leff, LCSW
6M ago
In the novel “The Language of Flowers,” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (2011), the main character’s only connection to herself and the world is through flowers and their meaning. She communicates her thoughts and feelings using flowers, as they give her the distance she needs to feel safe. Each type of flower represents a different emotional state; for instance, she’ll give “Honeysuckle for devotion, Red Roses for love, and Asters for patience”. Of course, this is a book of fiction, and as beautiful as it may be to speak through flowers, we live in the real world. We must learn to use our words and th ..read more
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