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 to interpret it. It’s not that it’s very complicated, but a woman does need to be taught.”
Emily talked with Natural Womanhood board member Jackie Aguilar and Natural Womanhood CEO Gerard Migeon about her mission to empower young women to understand the language of their fertility, and to appreciate the beauty of their bodies.
“Our girls today are being bombarded with images” remarked Emily, such as those found in popular music videos displaying graphic images of sexual abuse. She sees the language of fertility as a powerful tool for combating harmful messages our culture broadcasts to girls and young women via every media platform. Emily also offered resources and practical tips to parents of young daughters for protecting their innocence, physical health, and emotional wellbeing, and how fertility awareness goes hand-in-hand with these goals.
If you haven’t already watched the full video, you can replay Emily Sedestrand’s talk here.
And if you are as passionate as we are about sharing this important information with others, we invite you to join the mission of Natural Womanhood in empowering teenage girls, women, and couples to learn the language of their bodies. As Gerard Migeon shared at the end of the discussion: “Natural Womanhood’s vision is that hopefully in the not-too-far future, charting for young women is just a basic health practice. It’s not something that is this mysterious activity; it’s something that all young women should know and should be taught. That’s our vision, and that’s how, I think, we can change the world.”
Resources for teen fertility awareness education
The Couple to Couple League realizes that mothers are in a special position to engage their daughters about the gift of their fertility. Their Mother / Daughter program lets you choose the resources you feel would be the best to communicate with your daughter about fertility awareness.
Teen STAR is a developmental curriculum founded by Hanna Klaus, MD (Sr. Miriam Paul , MMS) that helps adolescents and young adults to come to terms with their emerging sexuality and fertility and assist them in making responsible decisions.
The Cycle Show is an educational, interactive, multi-media, fertility awareness workshop for young girls.
The FEMM App helps girls understand their reproductive health in all its physical and emotional complexity.
Additional reading:
3 Myths About Teaching Teens About Fertility Awareness
Who will teach fertility awareness to my daughters?
What’s a normal menstrual cycle for my teenager daughter?
How to Talk About Cycles with Your Kids
Additional viewing:
How Charting My Cycles with Fertility Awareness Saved My Life
