At a time where lies are now considered “alternative facts”, where sex education is not mandated in every state, and previously-trusted health institutions are now being run by people in power who do not believe in bodily autonomy, where can we point younger generations in order to find medically-accurate, fact-based information to make educated and informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health?
Thankfully, we are seeing a number of reproductive health experts and leaders stepping up to share and create resources to ensure young folks do not fall through the cracks of a politicized and biased landscape.
One of these said experts is nurse midwife Dena Moes, whose new book ‘It’s Your Body: The Young Woman’s Guide to Empowered Sexual Health’ (Countryman Press, 2024) was created to fill the gap and share her knowledge. The book empowers young women and girls growing up in post-Roe America with unbiased, matter-of-fact info on reproductive health topics. The book was also recently awarded the American College Of Nurse-Midwives awarded Moes the National Media Award for authorship of this important book.
“With diminishing access to reproductive healthcare and an internet rife with misinformation, my hope is that this accurate and encouraging guide gets into the hands of those that need it the most – our daughters, nieces, students, and friends” said Dena Moes, RN, CNM, a registered nurse, midwife, and reproductive health expert with 28 years of experience in a press release.
Filled with clear medical explanations, practical advice, and reflection prompts, ‘It’s Your Body’ helps young people make informed decisions about their bodies, birth control, and sexual health. At a time when social media distorts health information and comprehensive sex education is under attack in many states, this book offers a reliable, stigma-free resource that won’t disappear.
Below is an excerpt from chapter 1 so that young people, parents, educators and health professionals can se a glimpse of what to expect from the book.
Welcome to It’s Your Body. This book is written just for you, young women, folks who menstruate, and the people who care about them. It is a guidebook to your body, birth control, safe sex, and what to do if you get pregnant. This book is titled “It’s Your Body” because when it comes to your life, your health, your decisions, it starts there. With your body. Yours. Relationships and romantic partners will come and go throughout your life, but your relationship with yourself is going to last a lifetime.
The transition from child to adult happens in the few short years of adolescence—a whirlwind of life and body changes. A few years ago you were a kid, and now you are suddenly inhabiting a mature body. Interest in romance, intimacy, and sex may arise for you. Sex as a young person can be playful and pleasurable, but it can also have serious adult consequences.
Social media, movies, and the internet send so many confusing messages about female bodies and sex, it’s hard to know how best to approach sex in order to have safe and positive experiences. On top of that, your access to reproductive health care options may be limited now because of where you live. On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, which was the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that guaranteed the right to abortion for people in the United States.
Until then, abortion had been a guaranteed constitutional right in this country. Since the overturn, the laws regarding access to birth control and abortion are changing around the country, state by state. It is confusing for everybody—young people like you, doctors, health care providers, activists, and policymakers.
No matter where in the world you live, I want you to take an empowered approach to your sex life so you are not derailed by unintended consequences and can live to your full potential. I am going to give you the facts about your period, birth control, and the health issues around sex so you can make your own choices. No matter what is going on with politics or social media, your body is your business. How you take care of it now will affect your entire life. My purpose here is to give you tools to do that well.
My name is Dena, and my pronouns are she/her. I am a registered nurse (RN) and certified nurse-midwife (advanced practice nurse). I have a master’s degree in nursing from Yale University, and I am an expert in women’s health. My career began in my early 20s, when I became a nurse-midwife because I wanted to be of service to the women of the world. Midwife means “with woman,” and midwives aim to provide health care in which women are listened to, respected, and have agency over their own bodies.
Midwives’ care focuses on education and empowerment, with the core values of equity, justice, and respect for human dignity. I trained at Yale and in hospitals in the Bronx, New York, then worked in reproductive health care in California for 25 years. Early in my career, I worked in several different hospitals, and then, for over a decade, I cared for pregnant mothers and delivered hundreds of babies in my own home birth service.
For the past six years, I’ve worked in a free/low-cost feminist health clinic, where I have helped thousands of teens and young people with birth control, STIs, and other reproductive health issues, including unintended pregnancy.
I thought about writing this book for a long time because I share the same information to one person at a time in my clinic, day after day, year in and year out. I have often thought that I should just put this all in a book instead. With the changes happening around the country after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the time to arm young people with knowledge and smart decision-making is now.
The purpose of this book is to help people make informed choices about their sexual health. It is written from a feminist perspective, grounded in the principles of equity and dignity for all people. I believe that girls, women, and people who menstruate have the right to a dignified, fulfilled life with the same opportunities and autonomy as boys and men.
And I am well acquainted with the reality that there are social, economic, and political structures in place that favor men and boys over women and girls. Laws that block access to abortion care and contraception perpetuate that inequality because they negatively impact women and girls. The task of feminism is to make things more equal among people regardless of gender, gender identity, sex, and sexual orientation.
I am an intersectional feminist, meaning I am aware that race and racism in America impacts people’s lives and opportunities as well. This book is feminist because when girls and women control their fertility, they have increased agency in all aspects of life, such as sports, arts, education, career, travel, and, when you are ready, have children too.
Dena Moes, RN, CNM, is an award winning author, certified nurse-midwife, and reproductive health expert. She holds a Master of Science from Yale University and has worked extensively in feminist health clinics, hospitals, and home birth settings. Her books and social media presence have already helped thousands of people, and reflect her vision of a world where all people live in dignity and freedom. Visit her website, buy the book HERE, and follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
