Resources on midlife women’s health

Although I don’t agree with all of the viewpoints expressed within these books and websites, I think you’ll find them valuable. More resources are listed at the end of individual articles.

www.acnem.org
Looking for a holistic GP or other practitioner? This is the website of the Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine. Go to Products and Services, then Referrals and see the list of Queensland members.
www.betterbonesbetterbody.com
Excellent site on osteoporosis by Dr Susan Brown.
www.jeanhailes.org.au
A comprehensive site from the Victorian-based Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health. Plenty of fact sheets and podcasts.
www.drnorthrup.com
Dr Christiane Northrup provides a smart, caring, feminine voice in the US medical world. While some women may find her approach a little too ‘new age’ at times, she makes an enormous contribution to women’s health. Dr Northrup is a regular on Oprah and at Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts (see below). Her books include The Wisdom of Menopause (2006), Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom (2006), Mother and Daughter Wisdom (2007) and The Pleasures of Menopause (2008).
www.mamagenas.com
Manhattan’s irrepressible Mama Gena (aka Regena Thomashauer) is the Queen of passion, pleasure, fulfillment, flirtation and fun. We all need a little of what Mama’s about. Graduates of her School of Womanly Arts are called Sister Goddesses, and the photos of her and the Sister Goddesses on the website will make you want to reach for your feather boa! Regena has also written three books: Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts (2002), Mama Gena’s Owner’s and Operator’s Guide to Men (2003) and Mama Gena’s Marriage Manual (2004).
www.relaxationcentreqld.org
The Relaxation Centre of Queensland at 15 South Pine Road, Alderley has a wealth of resources on health including books, CDs and DVDs you can buy from their shop, plus a broad range of courses, talks and film nights. There is also a small library that you can borrow from. By joining the mailing list you can receive a quarterly newsletter outlining upcoming events.
www.strongwomen.com
Dr Miriam Nelson popularized the idea that resistance exercise supports healthy ageing for women. Her Strong Women book series is well known and includes Strong Women, Strong Bones (2000) and Strong Women Stay Young (2000).
www.navigatingmidlife.com
Robyn Vickers-Willis is a Melbourne psychologist and author of Navigating Midlife: women becoming themselves (2002), Men Navigating Midlife (2004) and Navigating the Empty Nest (2008).
www.westonaprice.org
The Weston A. Price Foundation was established in 1999 to disseminate the nutritional research of Dr. Weston Price, who studied the whole food diets of traditional societies around the world in the 1930s. His work is as relevant today as it was then, and this site includes many articles on nutritional issues that provide a welcome alternative to the mainstream.
www.winediva.com.au/books/
“Ah!”, you’re thinking, “finally…….” Yes, it’s a wine site, but I’ve included it because the online bookshop has one of the best selections of books on menopause I’ve seen. To find them, scroll down the long list of health topics at the bottom of the home page and click on ‘women-menopause’. The wine info is impressive too!
www.womhealth.org.au
This is the site for Women’s Health Queensland Wide (WHQW), the women’s health arm of Queensland Health. Like the Jean Hailes Foundation, WHQW has a mainstream/government emphasis, but both sites contain a lot of information. WHQW has a good library at its office at 165 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill, and you can borrow from the collection, even if you live outside Brisbane.
Finally, don’t forget Council libraries, since these can provide cheap access to some great material.

A selection of books, including titles by some of the authors listed above, are available for loan at Fit and Well.

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