A Natural & Regular Menstrual Cycle- Why does it matter?

Understanding the menstrual cycle

The menstrual (hormonal) cycle regulates 150 essential functions in womens bodies, and is an essential indicator of women’s health and wellbeing. The female cycle is known by the American Committee of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to be the fifth vital sign of health for women. Just like your heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, your menstrual cycle is a central part of a healthy well-functioning body.

Unfortunately, many healthcare practitioners today don’t believe it’s necessary for a woman to have a natural cycle or regular periods. It is often assumed that because women in hunter-gatherer societies had fewer menstrual cycles (due to more frequent pregnancies, shorter life expectancies, and/or more frequent illness/famine) it is beneficial for modern women to have fewer periods as well.

In our modern world, most women do not wish be pregnant for the majority of their childbearing years. And so, practitioners are advocating for menstrual suppression through continuous use of hormonal contraceptives.

Understanding hormonal contraceptives

Today, HC’s have become so common that  most women do not even consider them a drug. But did you know that hormonal contraceptives were the first ever drug created to suppress a completely normal and healthy function in the body? Hormonal Contraceptives are created with synthetic versions of your sex hormones, which cause varying degrees of endocrine disruption. The hormones in HCs are also molecularly completely different from the estrogen and progesterone naturally produced in the body.

Hormonal contraceptives are, as we know, created to prevent conception and pregnancy from occurring. It does so by stopping the natural process of ovulation. Meaning that whether or not you experience bleeding when you are on the pill, you do not have an actual period. You may have heard that the pill regulates your cycle or that it tricks your body into thinking you’re pregnant, but neither statement is accurate.

When the pill was first released, it did not follow the typical 28-day cycle and women would not bleed at all. However, as women began asking questions regarding the consequences of not having a Cycle and a bleed, a fake menstrual bleed was added to the design of the pill so it would seem more natural. 

Hormonal contraceptives work to prevent pregnancies in different ways; they stop ovulation from happening, they interfere with implantation, and they prevent the cervix from producing the fertile-quality cervical mucus (which is essential for a sperm cell to survive long enough in the vagina to be able to travel to the egg to fertilise it). 

The downside to hormonal contraceptives

Hormonal contraceptives do not come without side-effects. HC’s increase a woman’s risk of blood clotting, and both stroke and deep-vein thrombosis. They cause a drastic decrease in natural testosterone production, leading to lower libido levels. Furthermore, hormonal contraceptives have been shown to shrink the clitoris and surrounding vulvar tissues, leading to an increased risk of painful sex and decreased sensitivity and pleasure from sex. 

Hormonal contraceptives are also closely associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety and the risk of developing nutrient deficiencies by disrupting the normal balance of vitamins and minerals in the body. Long-term use of hormonal contraceptives are also linked to increased risk of certain cancer types. 

Informed decision making

There are times when the pill, and other hormonal contraceptive are useful and needed. However, most women on the pill today are unaware of its many side effects.

The pill is not a “fix-it-all”, and does not treat issues such as missing periods, irregular cycles, PCOS or PMS. It masks the symptoms. Natural, drug- and hormone free alternatives to contraception are available, such as the Billings Method and The Fertility Awareness Method.

“Reintegrating a truly feminist, woman-honoring perspective on menstruation means turning a whole system of thought upside down. It means saying that a cyclical change in feelings and body sensations is valuable and interesting; it means saying that the emotions women experience premenstrually carry useful information and should be paid attention to; it means acknowledging that a menstruating woman has access to sacred energy, and that if she wishes, she should have space and time to explore this dimension of experience.”

-From the book ‘Her Blood is Gold’