#bodyliteracy

[ignantgeek]

😷🤕🤢😭 Reposted from @nicolemjardim (@get_regrann) - We’ve all been told (probably numerous times) that our worst period problems — cramps, PMS, super heavy flow, blood clots, migraines, teenage-like acne, bloating, and exhaustion — are completely normal. Yup, just part of this whole “being a woman” thing.  Well, ladies, we’ve been lied to for a very long time.💯  For years I had most of these symptoms, and every time I saw my doctor, she’d always say my complaints were nothing to worry about. She’d tell me some of her patients were in bed for days, so I should feel lucky that I could pop some ibuprofen and still function.😱  Um, really?! I wasn't exactly living my best life.😒  We now have a more comprehensive understanding of what causes dysmenorrhea, the fancy word for painful periods. However, the solution that most women receive from their doctors is the same as it was when we were all just crazy bitches (aka the 1960's)!  And that solution is the birth control pill or some kind of hardcore painkiller.  Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to resolve your dysmenorrhea without narcotics. It's important to know first what is actually causing your period pain which will determine how you treat your pain. Because...there is no one size fits all approach when it comes to human bodies.  Learn the different causes of period pain and more than 15 solutions through my link in bio.  📷: via @amandalaird #periodgirl . . . . . #loveyourladyparts #periodpositive #periodtips #periodista #menstruation #properiod #periodhealth #periodproblems #pms #pmdd #menstruationmatters #naturalfertility #fixyourperiod #fixmyperiod #periodpain #bodyliteracy #fertilityawareness #feminist #womenswellness #womenshealth #endometriosis #menstrualawareness #knowyourflow #normalizeperiods #girlpower #femalehealth #menstrualequality #menstrualequity #taxfreeperiod  https://www.instagram.com/p/B2yZjqqhIVT/?igshid=gpulla4tj7ij

[liveinyourbody]

#Repost from @v_solesmith with @regram.app ... And here’s the bottom line on the huge gaps in our understanding of menstruation, from my @scientific_american piece in the May 2019 issue. _ Let me also say, quite clearly: I’m part of this experiment. I’ve been suppressing my menstrual cycle for years to keep my endometriosis under control, because other treatments failed and I’m a mom and a journalist and I don’t have time for that sh*t. But it’s bonkers that mainstream medicine can’t offer us real, evidence-based solutions. It’s insane that we still barely understand what menstrual blood is, or why humans are one of only a few species on earth who evolved to do it. It’s infuriating to know how problematic the original studies of birth control were — performed on poor women of color before we had a clear definition for informed consent, with side effects ignored and discounted by white male scientists — because birth control is still arguably the best thing that ever happened to women. (Please don’t take it away.) _ So as with everything I write, my goal here isn’t to make any woman feel worse about her choices or her body. We’re all making the best decisions we can, in a culture that pathologizes what’s normal about our bodies, and ignores the real problems that do need treatment. But we deserve better choices. We deserve true body literacy. We deserve science. _ Read this piece here (it’s free online till tomorrow! Then behind a paywall) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-point-of-a-period/ or link in profile and all over my stories. _ #menstruation #period #periodproblems #bodyliteracy #bodyliteracymatters #womenshealth #reproductivehealth #reproductivejustice #virginiasolesmith #thepointofaperiod #elizabethkissling https://www.instagram.com/p/BwnpEw4ApyQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ogvtbs5i2x66

[vedaadnani]

Why even self-track?

The reason we've always wanted to know ourselves and our bodies better is to heal, to get better, to feel good. We have always had natural, intuitive indicators of wellness or the lack of it. When we are hot we sweat, when we are cold we shiver, when we are thirsty our throat feels dry and when we are warm its because we are running a fever. The human body is a sophisticated machine. It is well designed amidst its complexity, and humans have always been attuned with their bodies, even prior to the creation of wearables with biometric and biosensors. Current wearables project data and prod us to change in unsustainable, pushy and controlling ways. Is that why we designed them in the first place? Why have we lost touch with ourselves, and relegated control to these devices to tell us about how we are be feeling? Why are we relying on external tools and triggers, when we possess them within us? Do data visualizations and charts do a better job of telling us about how we feel, or do our senses do it better?

Am I adding more data to the mix? Making things more complicated? Or is this an opportunity to go back to what we know naturally, understand traditional practices of attuning with our bodies and contemporaries them? This is not a critique of technology, but a critique of the quantified data communication from self-tracking practices. IS this an opportunity to reconsider what this practice should do, slow down, and help us get to know ourselves better (which was a motive for its inception in the first place)

Why are we becoming obsessed with externalizing our bodily data, and the insights from our bodies? Are we looking to instant gratification or validation? Why are we losing interest in these practices so quickly? Can I prototype an approach to help people slow down? How can this data be inspected and interpreted differently?

And lastly, how does the wearer affect the wearable, as opposed to just the other way around?

[finivir-blog]

Using OPKs (Ovulation Predictor Kits) with Sympto-Thermal Method of Fertility Awareness.

I want to do some myth busting around OPKs and what exactly they tell you about ovulation. OPKs test for the level of LH (Luteinising Hormone) in your urine. This is the hormone released when your Ovum/Ova reaches full maturity, it’s purpose is to trigger ovulation when you’re ready. That isn’t always what happens though, sometimes your body might need a few attempts (multiple LH surges) before ovulation actually happens. For this reason an OPK test is very useful in fertility awareness for letting you know that ovulation will likely occur in the next 36 hours, but cannot tell us if ovulation has definitely happened. Only a shift in BBT (basal body temperature), confirmed using the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness or a timely ultra-scan can tell you that for sure. This is because a sustained rise in BBT is usually the result of only one thing - a switch in hormones (progesterone dominance) which only takes place after ovulation has occurred.

If you’re using FAM to avoid pregnancy, OPKs can be a fun extra bit of science to give you confidence in your charts. Or even help clear up a confusing chart. If you are intending to conceive, they can give that same assurance and also help with your timing. A positive OPK is a very good indicator of the optimal time for conception and as long as you have a healthy amount of fertile fluid at this time you’re chances are at their highest. That being said, don’t be alarmed if you’re finding it difficult to catch a positive OPK. To start with, don’t get them confused with pregnancy tests which encourage early morning urine for its high concentration. LH hormone works a bit differently to pregnancy hormones, in pregnancy the levels of hCG are gradually increasing day by day. However LH levels are unique to each day and build up throughout the day, so an afternoon or evening test will be more accurate. You might even need to test multiple times a day to catch that LH surge. For more science behind your cycle: www.naturalshe.co.uk/science https://www.facebook.com/naturalshe.fertility