FemmeFocus Junction

  Heritage Day is a public holiday that is celebrated on the 24 th of September every year. It is a day that celebrates the diverse cultural heritage of South Africa, including its languages, traditions, customs, and history. My favourite part of Heritage Month is people with various cultures wearing their traditional attire and sharing their traditional food. Other activities during this month are different music and dance festivals, food markets, more art and museum visits, and most importantly family and friends getting together and braaiing! At work, we planned to celebrate Heritage Day and organize a farewell party for one of our colleagues on Friday the 27 th . It was a beautiful day with everyone wearing their traditional clothes to work and bringing a signature dish to share with everyone else. I am from the Middle East and was wondering what food item to bring. The traditional rice dishes are difficult to share. I thought about making chicken kebabs and flatbread, or sm...

  I am a fan of women who have contributed to making a change in society. Michelle Obama was the first woman of colour to become the first lady of the United States of America. She carried out her duties gracefully. I enjoyed her first book “Becoming”. It was a small glimpse into her childhood, adult life, college, meeting Barak, having kids and the election campaign, and finally settling in the White House. I came across her other book "The Light We Carry" in the library and grabbed it excitedly. I read it in less than a month with my full-time job and a toddler at home. It was indeed a very good read. She touched on the Covid-19 Pandmic. The times of fear and uncertainty and of course lockdown. I was fascinated when Michelle pointed out her knitting journey to battle with stress. “ I am not sure if I would have gotten there without the period of enforced stillness and the steadiness I found inside of knitting. I’d have to go small to think big again. Shaken by the enormit...

  It was my birthday on the first of September! It is also the first day of spring in South Africa. I have never been a fan of big birthday parties since childhood. In fact, I don’t think I had any major birthday celebration since the age of five. Sweet sixteen, eighteen, twenty, and thirty went by without much of a fuss. This time we had balloons and some friends over and we all celebrated. It was a beautiful day full of laughter, and positive energy! This is my new year, and it is the time for me to sit back and reflect on my life. I have lived quite a life and this part of the journey will determine what the rest of my life will look like in the future. In this reflection, I am going to look at various departments such as health, family, career, and finances. Being a healthcare professional I appreciate the gift of health every day. Being able to get yourself out of your bed, take a shower, eat, and get into your car to work is an amazing thing. Dealing with patients who rel...

 Conversations regarding weight loss are  prevalent in the OBGYN consulting rooms. We encounter many females with obesity who have irregular menstruation and fertility struggles, and they are desperately looking for a quick fix to regulate their hormones. They do not want to hear the advice regarding healthy eating and regular exercise. I recently consulted a girl who managed to regulate her menses by losing 20 kg and came for her viability ultrasound and she was 8 weeks pregnant. She was still obese and we consider this a high-risk pregnancy, but without weight loss, we do not see the desired results. I have also met several patients who were turned away from fertility clinics to do weight loss surgery and then start fertility treatment. Another category of patients is women in the postpartum period who are trying to lose pregnancy weight. This period has it is own unique challenges. A busy and sleep-deprived mother can hardly find the time and energy to exercise. A lot of ...