(Courtesy of JOWMA) The Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association (JOWMA) is proud to launch its new Teen Health committee, committed to educating teen girls and helping their families navigate adolescence. Course content will cover topics ranging from pubertal changes, substance use, mental and reproductive health to body image and eating disorders. It will also serve as a guide for parents on ways to speak to teens during this time, engaging experts in the field and incorporating the highest standards of evidence-based medicine.

Teen Health’s upcoming two-part webinar series will take place on two Sundays, October 31 and November 7. Part 1, “Your Daughter’s Changing Body,” will educate parents, health care professionals and mentors of young women on puberty, and address the hormonal changes associated with pubertal development. Part 2 is for teenage women and their guardians and will incorporate the same content covered in Part 1. Registration for Part 1 is mandatory in order to attend Part 2.

Panelists for both webinars include reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Bat-Sheva Lerner Maslow and pediatrician Dr. Yardaena Osband, with OB-GYN Dr. Elissa Hellman (@theconfidentkallah) moderating Part 1, and adolescent medicine fellow and co-chair of the Teen Health Committee Dr. Gail Gutman moderating Part 2. Introductory remarks will also be given by the executive director of Shalom Task Force, Dr. Shana Frydman.

“Growing up in the frum sector, the topic of pubertal development was oftentimes taboo,” said Dr. Mira Hellmann-Ostrov, gynecologic oncologist at Hackensack University Medical Center and JOWMA board secretary and teen health advisory member. “This resulted in a severe vacuum of knowledge, leading to significant misinformation. As a gynecologist, and equally important, a mother of girls, I feel it is our mission at JOWMA to arm teenagers and their guardians alike with accurate scientific information that will nurture proper adolescent development.”

Teen Health joins JOWMA’s robust lineup of medical committees including Pre-Med, Wellness, Women’s Health, Grand Rounds and its COVID-19 Task Force. For more information and registration, visit https://www.jowma.org/teen-health.

JOWMA is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing health education to the Jewish community and supporting current and future Orthodox female physicians. JOWMA’s webinars and events have reached thousands of community members nationwide.