Empowering Women to Care for Themselves and their Family

Recently, a long time patient of mine asked why I provided her with copies of all of her blood tests as they became available. She seemed to find it a bit quirky, and certainly different than what her family doctor has always done. I was reminded in discussing with her my reasoning that part of why we started From Belly to Baby more than two years ago was simply this: to empower people, particularly women, to care for themselves and their families.

Currently, we live in a province where our family doctors ask us to bring only one question or problem to each of our appointments, and where many of us don't have a family doctor. Continuity of care is often hard to come by, and even more difficult to establish – therefore I encourage my patients to be aware of all of their health conditions, their familial pre-dispositions, and to take an active role in understanding what any of their routine blood tests might mean. And then I take it one step further, I request that they start a file for themselves, and each of their children, and collect results of any test done, by any practitioner, over the course of their lives.

Because knowledge is power, without knowledge of our "normal" range in blood tests, x-rays or other medical tests, how can we make decisions about treatments and interventions for our health – and how will we know if something is just a little bit "off", versus way out of "line"?

The Journal of Family Practice published a report which stated that in the United States, up to 98,000 cases per year of misdiagnosis occur. Often these cases relate to a lack of flow of information between family physicians and various specialists. I would add that the lack of shared information between MDs and CAM practitioners (such as chiropractors, massage therapists and naturopaths) is a further disservice, and a further hurdle for women to get the care they may need for themselves and their children. If a Mother can establish a record for herself and her children, she is able to answer questions more fully for her care providers, and more importantly, she learns what questions to ask. Each of us knows ourselves and our bodies better than any doctor or chiropractor or nutritionist or physiotherapist ever will...and each of our mothers and fathers will know us second best. By creating a record for ourselves and especially for our children, we are taking power back for our health – both the maintenance and repair of it, and creating a habit of self-knowledge and stewardship.

To this end, my challenge to our readers is this: Create your own binder or folder, and keep in it a copy of everything related to your personal health. Draw a flow chart that puts you in the CEO position, and add your health care providers in a way that makes sense to you, and serves your current needs for health.