Our multicultural island community is unique in that many young mothers live in multigenerational households. In this qualitative study, we examined the factors that influenced young mothers' infant-feeding practices in Hilo, a small rural town in the Hawaiian Islands. The study participants consisted of young mothers, health care professionals, and educators. Our findings suggest that both the young mother's mother and her partner are very influential in the infant-feeding decision. Many young women in our study bottle fed to obtain assistance in caretaking, and to facilitate public breastfeeding. Additionally, we explored young mother's views of sexuality and breastfeeding, and their health promotion implications.

Patterns of eating, exercise, sleep and health were investigated across 180 menstrual cycles of 89 women who engaged in sex with a male (n = 45; cycles = 85), a female (n = 21; cycles = 37) or abstained from sex (n = 33; cycles = 58) from January 2005 to December 2007 (10 contributed to 2 groups). Cycles were divided into 5 phases based on their luteinizing hormone surges. Daily questionnaires and saliva for IgA and cortisol analyses were obtained. Women indicated that they ate more (p < .008) and did not sleep as well (p = .02) during their luteal and premenstrual phases. Participants were less likely to experience food cravings and did not satisfy their cravings when they were ovulatory (p < .001). Additionally, a greater proportion of lesbians skipped breakfast (p = .01) and exercised less than heterosexuals (p = .05). Sexually active women had lower cortisol and IgA levels than abstinent women (p = .02). Our study discovered, and confirmed, systematic differences in eating, sleeping and health patterns across women's menstrual cycles. Keywordslesbian; IgA; cortisol; alcohol; food cravings and abstinence Substantial research has been conducted on changes in women's sexuality across their menstrual cycles (Bullivant et al., 2004), but considerably fewer studies have been conducted on how other behaviors such as eating, exercise, sleep and health vary across the cycle. Additionally, little is known about how women who engage in sex with other women across a menstrual cycle might differ in their health patterns from women who abstain from or engage in sex with men.Fessler (2003) theorized that women ate less and exercised more at ovulation because their behavior was directed towards mating at this time. In contrast, he argued that women increased their feeding behavior during their luteal phases when implantation was likely. His review of the literature supported his theory. Independent research also found that women ate more (Bryant et al., 2006) and reported more food cravings, especially for chocolate (Michener et al., 1999) and carbohydrates (Cohen et al., 1987) during the luteal phase of their cycles, although the chocolate craving may have a cultural origin (Zellner et al., 2004). Sternfeld et al. (2002) found that moderate levels of physical activity were positively correlated with cycle length. However, most research on exercise and the menstrual cycle has been conducted on women athletes (Goodman & Warren, 2005) and is therefore difficult to generalize to other women. As far as we know, comparable research into eating and exercise has not been conducted on lesbians across their menstrual cycles. Some studies of lesbian health behavior have reported that lesbians have a higher body mass index (BMI) (Case et al., 2004) and higher frequencies of obesity (Boehmer et al., 2007) and substance abuse (Ridner et al., 2006) than heterosexuals. Other studies have found the opposite (Heffernan, 1998) or mixed results (Heffernan, 1996).Objectification and stigmatization theories have been used to explain th...

The results, based on self-reporting of menopausal symptoms, indicate that Japanese-American women report fewer hot flashes and night sweats than European-American women. Japanese-American women reported a higher intake of soy, but soy intake was not associated with fewer vasomotor symptoms.

Objective-Many studies have found a significantly lower frequency of reported hot flashes (HFs) in Japanese and Japanese American (JA) populations, leading to speculation about possible dietary, genetic, or cultural differences. These studies have relied upon subjective reports of HFs. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to compare both reported and objective HFs measured by sternal and nuchal skin conductance among JA and European American (EA) women.Design-Two surveys of hot flash frequencies were carried out among women of either EA or JA ethnicity, aged 45-55, living in Hilo, Hawaii, and not using exogenous hormones. The first was a postal questionnaire (N=325), the second was carried out during a clinical study of hot flashes (N=134). Women in the second group underwent 24-hour ambulatory and 3-hour laboratory monitoring for objective HFs measured through skin conductance at sternal and nuchal sites. Subjective HFs were recorded on the monitor, or in a diary.Results-JAs were significantly less likely to report having had HFs in the previous two weeks compared with EAs (postal sample: JAs: 30.9%, EAs: 43.9%, χ 2 =6.9, p < .01; monitored sample: JAs: 26.1%, EAs: 46.6%, χ 2 =5.3, p < 0.05). JAs were also significantly less likely to report experiencing other symptoms (15 out of 30 in the postal sample; 6 of 30 in the monitored sample) than EAs. However, JAs did not significantly differ in likelihood of reporting subjective HFs during the 24-hour ambulatory period (JAs: 51.1%, EAs: 55.8%, χ 2 =0.3, ns), nor in percentage of individuals displaying one or more objective HFs as measured by the skin conductance monitor (JAs: 77.8%, EAs: 72.1%, χ 2 =0.5, ns). JAs also did not have a significantly fewer number of objective HFs (t=0.2, ns) nor of subjective HFs (t = 0.8, ns) during the monitoring period, and these results were unchanged when analyses controlled for menopausal status and BMI.Conclusions-The common finding of fewer reported HFs in people of Japanese ancestry may be a consequence of reporting bias: JAs report fewer symptoms of many conditions compared to people from other ethnic groups. This is likely due to cultural conceptions of what is appropriate to report.

Thailand is in the midst of a social and sexual transition that is affecting gender roles, sexual behavior, and, hence, risk for HIV. The continuation of past traditions, such as men having sex with commercial sex workers, coupled with an increasing acceptance of noncommercial premarital sex among young people, is fueling the AIDS epidemic. To examine young people's potential risk for HIV, the author investigated their perspectives on sexual behavior and sexual networking, the continued acceptance of premarital sex with commercial sex workers, and perception of risk for HIV in Chiang Mai. This study suggests that a changing social environment and the response to the AIDS epidemic have resulted in new patterns of sexual behavior that might trigger the dissemination of HIV into a broader network.