Dear friend,
Achieving and maintaining good hormonal health should be a lifelong goal, yet as women, we tend to focus on having well-balanced hormones only when trying to conceive (and, even then, perhaps only if we’re having trouble getting or staying pregnant). But as Cassondra Moriarty writes for us this week in a piece focused on perimenopause:
“Hormonal health is continuous and connected. You cannot isolate a hormonal event in a woman’s life from other hormonal events. Puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding, perimenopause, and, yes, menopause are all intertwined.”
That’s why, in addition to covering the topic of perimenopause (and, specifically, why hormonal contraception is not the answer for perimenopausal symptoms), we’re also covering the topic of the corpus luteum this week, in a brand-new installment in our ongoing FAM Basics series. Anne Marie Williams covers the incredible importance of this microscopic, temporary, hormone-producing body, the health of which is essential to regular, healthy cycles and good fertility, now—and later!
Pairing these two seemingly disparate topics together makes perfect sense when we consider how investing in good hormonal health during the earlier phases of fertility (such as puberty, the childbearing years, pregnancy, and postpartum) pays dividends for our overall health when fertility starts to wain during the perimenopause years.
All the best,
Grace Emily Stark
Editor
Natural Womanhood
| FAM Basics: What is the Corpus Luteum? Without a healthy corpus luteum, also known as having a luteal phase defect, you won’t have adequate progesterone levels during your luteal phase. Low progesterone is connected to many reproductive health problems, ranging from premenstrual syndrome to infertility to miscarriage. Click here to read the full article. |
| The top 3 reasons to avoid hormonal contraception during perimenopause If you are on hormonal contraception during perimenopause, you may not be experiencing the irregular or sometimes heavy periods that typically accompany this phase of fertility (and, no, the Pill is not “regulating your cycle,” because the bleeding episode you have while on it is not a true period), but then you’ll have no visible or physical gauge of what your hormonal balance (or lack thereof) is. Click here to read the full article. |
| From the NW Archives: The natural survival kit for perimenopause Charting helps you understand your body and can help you gracefully pass through “the change” without increasing the chances of conception. By virtue of it not being the Pill, it may also improve your sex life by eliminating the risk of increased vaginal dryness. Click here to read the full article. |