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medpundit |
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Saturday, October 19, 2002I was dismayed to see you merely reviewing a review, rather than the book itself. I am the co-author of The V Book, with Dr. Elizabeth Stewart, an asst. professor of ob-gyn at Harvard Medical School who directs the Stewart-Forbes Vulvovaginal Specialty Service in Boston. The V Book is about as "titillating" than a book about prostate cancer. It does not "masquerade as a book on women's health," as you state; rather, its subtitle clearly states it is very specifically about vulvovaginal health only. Dr. Stewart wrote this groundbreaking book because, based on her two decades as a gynecologist and 12 years of vulvovaginal specialization, she realized that there was a great deal of misinformation--and missing information--among women about their genitalia. No, a woman is not "defined by" her vagina. But neither does she deserve to be kept in the dark about its attendant health concerns. And there are many. A suspected vaginal infection is the most common reason a woman visits her gynecologist. There are 10 million office visits a year for vulvovaginal complaints. Few of the many mass market books on women's health cover vulvovaginal concerns in accurate detail. Such issues include yeast infection; STDs such as bacterial vaginosis, herpes and genital warts from HPV; vulvodynia (vaginal pain); painful intercourse; allergies; skin conditions such as eczema; cancers and precancers; preventative measures; safe use of tampons and pads; how concerns change throughout the life cycle; and plain old what's-where physiology--all topics covered in The V Book. Such info can be hard to find. Part of the problem, Dr. Stewart points out, is that physicians, even ob-gyns, receive little training in vulvovaginal matters and continue to perpetuate poor standards of care about them. The V Book is entirely footnoted so that it might be of benefit to medical professionals as well as laypeople. I would think that a female physician, of all people, would be open-minded about this dimension of a woman's health. Dr. Stewart is hardly trying to "define women by their genitalia"--rather, she just wants them to be aware of, and take care of, what's undeniably there! Ouch. She's right. I reacted to the review (which was probably designed to be titillating) and not to the book. Mea culpa. I plan to review the book soon, once my copy arrives and I get a chance to read it. Stay tuned. posted by Sydney on 10/19/2002 04:22:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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