Berman Sexual Health

By Jacqueline N. Murrell, MD, Jennifer R. Berman, MD Robert Weiss, MD, Laura Berman, PhD, Sheila R. Keane, MA, Mary Christina Zierack MA, Trudy Van Hooten, PhD, Irwin Goldstien, MD, and Phillip Stubblefield, MD: Sexuality is a crucial component of the general health and well being of women. It is a central part of their body image, self-esteem, relationship satisfaction and success. Female sexual dysfunction is a significant problem that affects the quality of life of many women.

Painful Intercourse is known by the term" dyspareunia" (pronounced dis pa roo ne a). Every woman has probably experienced it once or twice in her life, either due to a yeast infection, perhaps after childbirth, or due to vaginal dryness. When intercourse is always painful, even sometimes impossible, and there is no clear identifiable medical cause, women are often made to feel that perhaps the problem is "psychological". This feeling is even further strengthened by the fact that dyspareunia is considered a mental health, rather than medical diagnosis, as evidenced by the fact that it is listed in the DSM IV psychiatric diagnosis manual.

By Crista E. Johnson, MD, Jennifer R. Berman, MD, Rasha Ebeid, MD, Linda  H. Hewes, CNM, Kimmie L. Bui, MD, Fred E. Mecklenburg, MD, FACOG:  Female Genital Cutting (FGC), also known as Female Circumcision or Female Genital Mutilation, has existed for more than 2000 years.  It describes ritual surgical procedures performed on girls and young women as a ?rite of passage? to womanhood and marriage. FGC is practiced over than 28 African countries with prevalence rates from less than 5% to 100%. It is estimated that over 130 million females have been circumcised with 2 million more at risk annually for the procedure.