Our Menstrual Cycle Tells Us How Healthy We Are
Recently, I’ve been listening to a podcast called Fertility Friday with Lisa Hendrickson-Jack, a Canadian fertility awareness specialist. In the podcast and her book, The Fifth Vital Sign: Master your Cycles and Optimize your Fertility, Lisa teaches individuals how and why to chart their own menstrual cycles. In her educated opinion, if your cycles are regular, it is a sign of health; if they are not, it is likely a sign of something out of sync, either a temporary stress or life change or a deeper health issue. Your body is giving you a message.
What would it be for women to really understand their cycles? What if we could confirm when we are ovulating or, on the other hand, not fertile? What if our intimate knowledge of our cycles gave us the confidence to prevent pregnancy or, on the other hand, promote it? Hendrickson-Jack argues that our menstrual cycle changes if we are not eating enough, if we are stressed, if we are exercising too little or too much. In a deeper way, our “monthly moon” – or the irregularities in it - can alert us to thyroid issues or hormone imbalances.
Charting our cycles is a daily practice, a ritual that requires observation and documentation. Hendrickson-Jack emphasizes the importance of a consistent process and guidance from a professional to trouble-shoot through the irregularities that might appear. She offers an online course: https://www.fertility-friday.com/fertility-awareness-mastery-online-self-study-program.
Yes, it takes time and commitment. But, as you may know yourself, the modern alternative can take way more time, money, and energy. I cannot tell you how many friends, family members and clients of mine have spent years dealing with the side effects of hormonal contraception (weight gain, headaches, mood, decreased libido, acne, nausea, pain) or trying to recover their fertility after stopping it.
On the other hand, many of my homebirth clients successfully follow their charts to determine a family planning strategy. Awareness of these cycles also helps them to identify a variety of health issues that may not be apparent otherwise.
The Springfield area is blessed to have a fertility counselor of its own in Chicopee: Kayla Chatterton, @wombmanswellness. Just last week, Kayla gave an inspiring presentation at our birth circle. As I listened to her, I thought, what would be for each of us to teach this to our daughters? Charting is as important and useful as any other skill we teach them! As a New Year’s Resolution: Talk to your daughters (or yourself) and get The Fifth Vital Sign, or make an appointment with Kayla and start on an empowering journey of body literacy!