VCU Institute for Women's Health and Duramed Pharmaceuticals present national women's health expert Dr. Laura Berman

By Michael Ford
University News Services

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, a National Center of Excellence, and Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. are sponsoring a forum called For Women Only! featuring nationally recognized women’s health expert and best-selling author Laura Berman, L.C.S.W., Ph.D., to discuss the impact of contraception options that are reshaping women’s lives.

The For Women Only! Forum is part of the third annual Women & Girls Wellness Expo on Saturday, April 3 at the Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 W. Broad St. The free Women & Girls Wellness Expo is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Thalhimer Pavilion at the Science Museum and includes over 50 exhibitors, free health screenings, health and fitness demonstrations, wellness information and other entertainment. 

Free and open to women age 18 and older, For Women Only!, featuring Laura Berman, starts at 11 a.m. in the forum room. VCU Medical Center’s section chief in general obstetrics and gynecology, Ellen L. Brock, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the VCU School of Medicine, and an expert in women’s health, will join Dr. Berman to discuss several new contraceptive innovations and answer questions from the audience during the forum. Minors may attend the forum if accompanied by a parent.

Among the questions expected to be discussed during the 90-minute forum: What is considered a “normal” menstrual cycle?  Do birth control pills affect fertility?  Is it safe to skip a period?

“It’s the dawn of a new era in women’s health with important new developments happening almost daily,” Dr. Brock said.  “All of this information however, can be somewhat challenging to navigate.  Dr. Berman and I are excited to offer women in the Richmond area the opportunity to join us for a lively discussion on contraceptive options – a subject that is sure to spark great interest.  At the For Women Only! Forum we will cover it all and answer questions on birth control and other reproductive health topics.”

Some new innovations are not only effective as contraceptives; they also help women by minimizing menstrual-related symptoms, including taking the “month” out of monthly cycle. 

“Women are starting to embrace all the options out there and the many benefits of contraception beyond pregnancy prevention,” Dr. Berman said.  “The most recently approved product reduces a woman’s period from 13 to just four times a year.”  

Dr. Laura Berman has been working as a sex educator and therapist for more than a decade.  She is a clinical assistant professor of OB/GYN and psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University.  Dr. Berman is a best-selling author of “For Women Only” and co-host of “Berman and Berman,” a cable-TV talk show on Discovery Health Channel, which explores relevant women’s health issues in an open forum setting. She also is a health correspondent for ABC’s “Good Morning America” news program.  

Over the past decade, VCU has invested faculty and clinical expertise, funds, and facilities to both consolidate and expand a range of existing women’s health care, research, and education programs. Most significantly, the VCU Institute for Women’s Health was established in 1999 to improve the health of women through health education, research, clinical care, and leadership development. At the heart of the Institute is the VCU Women’s Health Center at Stony Point, a nationally recognized multidisciplinary “one-stop shopping” health care facility for women, which opened in 1993.

The VCU Institute for Women’s Health is one of 19 national Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health designated by the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. VCU was awarded this designation in October 2003. The national centers integrate women’s health research, medical training, clinical care, public health education, community outreach, and the promotion of women in academic medicine toward a common mission – improving the mental and physical health of diverse women across the life span.

For pre-registration to the event, contact VCU-CoE (804) 327-8834. For more information about the VCU National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, please contact Dr. Susan Kornstein, executive director, or Janett Forte, coordinator, at (804) 327-8843.