Let's cut to the chase: Any form of bladder and vajayjay infection is the absolute worst, right? Even just your random, run-of-the-mill urinary tract infection (UTI) is a total pain -- literally. In fact, they can cause excruciating pain that has you wondering how the hell you got cursed with the "honeymoon cystitis" (great spin, huh? Making it sound real cute! Ha!). Well, don't necessarily chalk it up to lots of rollin' around in the hay. That UTI may have more to do with what you're chowing down on ... as in, chicken. Yum!!

A new report in the March issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases links the E. coli that causes UTIs to E. coli from chicken. Apparently, the infections probably came directly from the chickens, not from contamination during food processing. However, that doesn't mean we humans aren't at fault.

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Roe v. Wade ensures American women at the federal level with the right to a safe and legal abortion, but that is by no means stopping states from attempting to chip away at -- or in this most recent case, take a chainsaw to -- that right. The most recent offending state: Virginia, where the GOP supermajority "muscled [through] two of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in years," according to the AP. 

The first, like many that have been floated and gone back and forth in other southern states, would require that doctors give women a transvaginal ultrasound (which, if you're not familiar, involves insertion of a condom-covered probe into the vagina to obtain an image during the very early stages of a pregnancy) before they can have an abortion. The second -- also familiar -- basically asserts that a person's rights should begin from the moment the sperm meets the egg. INSANE.

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For what seems like always, that ubiquitous pink ribbon has meant one thing: Breast cancer awareness. And it's popped up on just about any product you can think of, from hair dryers to lipstick to clothing and U.S. postage stamps. You figure you can safely assume that by buying said product, part of the proceeds will go to help fund breast cancer research. Personally, when faced with a "pink" purchase, I'd think, "Oh yeah, I'm donating to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Cool." And I wouldn't bat an eyelash about making a donation in that direction. Until now.

Ever since Komen announced their split from Planned Parenthood -- initially due to a "disqualifying federal investigation," then because they supposedly were "looking to back groups that offer direct breast health services, like mammograms" -- that little pink ribbon will never be the same. Not even now that Komen has apologized, backtracked, and said they'll restore funding to the family planning clinics.

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Nothing short of a total firestorm has arisen from the news that the Susan G. Komen Foundation is cutting their funding to Planned Parenthood. Uber-conservatives have been acting like it's their very own New Year's Eve, turning the Susan G. Komen Facebook page into their celebratory HQ. And anyone who cares at all about women's well-being has had a perpetual scowl painted across their face for the past 48 hours. But I'm here to tell you that those of us here on the sane side of the road mustn't mourn any longer, because there's a sweet upshot to all of this! No, really.

Donors who were totally P.O.'ed by the Komen decision have donated $650+K to Planned Parenthood over the past day or so, which is nearly enough to replace last year's Komen funding, say PP execs. Amaaaaaazing! 

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Most of us ladies at some point have suffered from excruciatingly painful periods (or, in docs' and researchers' lingo, dysmenorrhea). If you've ever gone to your OB/GYN for help, you've probably heard him or her sing the praises of what they consider the #1 "cure" for this problem: The birth control pill. Docs have prescribed it for years off-label as a fix for cramps and heavy bleeding.

Now, there's a new study confirming this long-held belief. The findings, which are published in the journal Human Reproduction, show that women who used a combo estrogen-progestin pill (which is pretty much every mainstream pill these days) suffered less severe pain than women who did not use it. That's fabulous and all, but no one's talking about WHY this is the case?? And that's the most important part!

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If anti-abortion activists are to be believed, women who get abortions are setting themselves up for a world of emotional pain and mental illness. They've argued for years that terminating a pregnancy leads to trauma and depression. Now, a large study commissioned by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and funded by the U.K. Department of Health is setting the record straight: Women who have abortions are at no greater risk for mental illness than women who give birth.

The one caveat is when women already have a history of mental health issues and when they've been pressured by their partner to terminate the pregnancy. Duh. Otherwise, the research -- which assessed 44 studies from 1990-2011, examining data on hundreds of thousands of women at least 90 days after an abortion -- concludes definitively that having an abortion isn't going to automatically make a woman lose her mind. Whodathunk?!

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For most women, that annual visit to the OB/GYN is pretty much the opposite of raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. In other words, it's NOT among one of our favorite things. If you're lucky enough to have a good doctor, your pap smear might not be something you particularly dread. But even then, the drill we go through can range from annoying to cringe-worthy to downright upsetting.

I'm not surprised a big part of the problem is now being attributed to some physicians' total lack of warm bedside manner. At least that's what researchers in the UK say in a study published in the journal Family Practice. They found women feel like they're not always treated with the kindness and sensitivity that they would like by their docs, who can often appear detached and distanced. Yeah, I can relate!

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We all know this country has a serious problem when it comes to health insurance. But did you know that women are bearing the brunt of the problem to a significantly higher degree? Consider the issue of health coverage gender bias, by the numbers, according to a new report from Prevention magazine:

In 37 states, it's legal to deny us health insurance because we're women. 95 percent of insurance companies that sell individual health care plans practice something called "gender rating," or gender-related denials. Women end up paying 84 percent more than men for coverage.

In other words, we're being royally screwed and discriminated against by health insurance companies, and until the Affordable Health Care Act goes into effect in 2014, these glaring inequalities will be perfectly legal. Shocked? Enraged? You should be!

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