Ovarian Cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States. Ovarian cancer is a malignancy of the almond-shaped organs in the female reproductive system that produce eggs and certain hormones. Ovarian Cancer is more common in white women than Black women, and primarily affects older women who have already gone through menopause. About half of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 63 or older.

If the cancer isn't identified at an early stage, it can spread to the abdomen and pelvis, including other parts of the female reproductive system. Ovarian cancer has four stages, with stage 4 being considered advanced and indicating that the cancer has spread to distant organs:

If you’ve just given birth, it’s natural that your own hygiene is not your top priority. However, postpartum infection, also called puerperal infection, is not uncommon, especially if delivery was difficult. Good postpartum washing is key to prevention.

Here’s what you need to know

1. These infections are bacterial, and they begin when bacteria on your body (or on delivery doctors) begin to...

We all have a sexual soul—or more accurately, a piece of our soul is reflected deeply in our sexuality. This intimate space within us, residing in the most profound corners of our consciousness, is one of the most meaningful ways we come to know ourselves. This space is truly a garden, rich with potential and mystery. Yet, the metaphor of our sexuality as a garden is far more intricate than the simple judgments tied to the bite of an apple. Tending to your unique garden of sexual delights is a powerful path to self-discovery, self-expression, and arguably, the very essence of our soul’s ability to keep our lives creatively and pro-creatively inspired.

I began my career in women’s health out of a deep need for solutions. After giving birth for the fourth time I needed help badly. Healing myself and keeping my marriage vital was my first motivation to start Good Clean Love in my kitchen. Like so many other women I would go looking for answers at my doctor’s office about my persistent pain and recurring infections without much satisfaction. Not only short on answers to my questions but always offering the same solutions to every problem I presented with was discouraging. Back then, I didn’t know how common my pain was. I also couldn’t have told you that the standard of care in women’s health medicine had not changed in decades. I couldn’t have told you that two out of three infections that women go to the doctor for are misdiagnosed. I couldn’t even have told you that it was my vaginal microbiome that played a crucial role in all of my symptoms.

Vaginal discharge often sparks curiosity and concern, particularly as women navigate different life stages. You've likely become attuned to your body's unique patterns and signals over time, which helps you identify when something seems off. However, as you approach menopause, the boundaries of what’s familiar can shift, potentially leading to uncertainty.

Vaginal discharge is vital for maintaining vaginal health. It is a blend of cells, bacteria, mucus, and other fluids produced by the vagina and cervix to keep tissues lubricated and protect against infections. With the natural decrease in estrogen levels during menopause, the production of vaginal discharge diminishes, resulting in noticeable changes in its nature and volume.

As we journey through life, our bodies undergo remarkable transformations that mark different phases of our health and well-being. Perimenopause and menopause are two such stages, often arriving with a mix of emotions and physical changes. Typically occurring in our forties and fifties, these stages signal the end of our reproductive years—a time of transition and renewal.

It is important to understand that perimenopause and menopause are natural life phases, not ailments or diseases. Perimenopause is the transitional phase leading up to menopause, characterized by hormonal fluctuations and a decline in progesterone. This stage can last several years and varies for each woman. Menopause is technically one day on the calendar, reached after twelve consecutive months without a menstrual period. It marks the end of ovulation, reproduction, and menstruation, signaling a decrease in hormone production. Postmenopause, which begins the day after menopause and continues for the rest of a woman's life, is marked by further declines in progesterone and a steep decline in estrogen.

As you transition into menopause, you might be noticing the changes that come with this significant life shift. Alongside the emotional ups and downs, mood swings, hot flashes, and disrupted sleep, you may also be experiencing vaginal pain and dryness, which can make sex feel unexpectedly uncomfortable.

If you haven’t explored the world of personal lubricants before, now might be the perfect time. A high-quality lubricant can make a world of difference, alleviating discomfort and helping you rediscover the pleasure and intimacy that menopause may have temporarily put on hold.

“What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” Alfred Mercier

In our culture, so focused on instant gratification, it is easy to lose sight of what creates a long-lasting and deeply healing experience of pleasure. While instant gratification does feed our brains with a dopamine response, making us constantly want more, the deep experience of true pleasure resets the chemical balances in the brain and body towards centeredness. Sadly, many of the things we use to get instant satisfaction, whether drugs, alcohol or food can be harmful on repeat—but true pleasure does not cause harm. More profoundly, real pleasure is an act of forgiveness both internally and in our relationships—it heals the past in the present, releasing us into a new way of seeing ourselves and the potential in our life.

The arousal response is your body’s natural mechanism for accessing pleasure. Although often confused with the genital swelling that accompanies our arousal response, the ignition for our arousal lives in the sexiest organ of our body—our brain. Specifically, in the limbic area of the brain, which processes memory and emotion and is conveniently co-located with our olfactory bulb, our sense of smell invigorates our emotional process, our access to memories, and our feeling of being turned on. Truly, your orgasmic potential begins with your ability to cultivate your arousal mechanism.

The ability to orgasm remains one of the most coveted and yet misunderstood human experiences. We often believe it is solely a genital experience, but our ability to climax reverberates throughout the body and initiates deep in the brain. Below is an easy-to-use guide that, with a unique blend of practice and letting go, will help move you from arousal to orgasm.

This is the textbook for what sex was made for. Centuries old, Tantric practices are part of a much larger Hindu/Vedic tradition of which sexuality is only part. The full practice is a life long spiritual quest which demonstrates the interconnectedness of everything and includes yoga, meditation, breath work as well as sexual techniques.

I have often referred to Good Clean Love as my fifth child, the one that was born a few years after my youngest daughter, when I was desperately searching for a way back into my body and my sex life. Good Clean Love became the answer to how to sustain a sex life with my husband of then 20 years despite the complications from 4 live births over the previous decade. This was the child that I tended late at night when all the others were finally asleep and was in many ways a way into my finding myself- and my own purpose and meaning beyond the roles of mother and wife that I loved, but knew that there was something more for me.