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How antidepressants affect women’s fertility
Roughly one in ten Americans age 12 and older takes an antidepressant medication, according to the CDC. Notably, adult women are 2.5 times more likely to take antidepressant drugs than adult men. While well-intentioned doctors prescribe these medications to help patients, little attention is paid to how antidepressants can affect a woman’s fertility and overall health. It is crucial to informed consent that women understand the impact psychiatric […]
Cycle mindfulness: What happens when you teach fertility awareness to teen girls
In the 1980s, Leslie Carol Botha taught basic fertility awareness charting to teen girls (13-17 year-olds) at eight different restorative care homes for at-risk girls. A typical girl in the program had been a victim of sexual assault, ran away from home, used drugs and alcohol and ended up in jail. In working with these girls, […]
Menstrual Migraines and Hormonal Headaches: How understanding your cycle can help
Jessica, who asked that her name be changed, suffered from menstrual migraines. Jessica’s migraine always came at very inconvenient times—right before a busy day of dentist appointments for her children, during a date night with her husband, or in the middle of a trip to the park (really, though, is there EVER a convenient time to get a migraine?). […]
Three Simple Tips to Limit Endocrine Disruptors and Balance Hormones Naturally
“How can I balance my hormones?” is about the same thing as asking, “How many stars are in the night sky?” Yet it’s one of the most common questions I get asked as a fertility awareness instructor. In particular, women are often concerned with achieving an ideal balance between the hormones estrogen and progesterone (the […]
Can birth control cause infertility? Yes… and no
Some women who have struggled with getting pregnant wonder if their past use of birth control might have caused their infertility. While there are assurances all over the internet that the birth control pill does not cause infertility, the answer is a bit more nuanced than that. Let’s say you are 33 years old and […]
Empowering Teenage Girls to Know Their Bodies: A conversation with Emily Sederstrand
On Thursday, September 24, Natural Womanhood hosted Emily Sederstrand in a virtual conversation about empowering teenage girls to know and understand their bodies. “I love foreign languages,” said Emily, “and so it was a great revelation to me to learn that fertility is like a language. But if you haven’t been taught, you don’t know […]
How Fertility Awareness and Gentle Nutrition can Assist in Eating Disorder Recovery—and Maybe Infertility, Too
Many girls are taught in their middle- or high-school health education classes that eating disorders look one of two ways: Either someone depriving themselves almost entirely of food (anorexia), or someone bingeing and purging (bulimia nervosa). While these two disorders are real and present, diet culture has muddied the waters between “healthy eating,” and “unhealthy […]
“When does postpartum depression start?” and other questions, answered: A Natural Womanhood PPD FAQ
What is postpartum depression? Like depression, postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious mental health issue requiring medical attention. PPD is specifically depression that follows the birth of a child. While approximately 70% of women experience “the baby blues” after giving birth, the feelings of sadness and anxiety associated with the baby blues typically only last […]
12 Relatable Instagram Accounts for New Moms to Follow
My evening essentials for the first few blurry weeks of being a new mom have included enormous glasses of water, muslins for midnight burpings, emergency granola bars for marathon nursing sessions, and my smartphone. With a baby inclined toward reflux, I often spend the early hours of the morning holding him upright in one hand […]
“Can I get copper toxicity from the copper IUD?” and other questions: A Natural Womanhood Copper IUD FAQ
IUDs are some of the most effective forms of contraception available on the market, with pregnancy prevention rates over 99%. Although it is a small, t-shaped plastic device like other IUDs, the copper IUD is wrapped in copper wire, and is free from the synthetic hormones emitted by other IUDs. Despite being hormone-free, the copper […]
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