How understanding my cycle empowered me

For many women their extent of knowledge about their monthly cycle is not much more than, “I bleed once a month... if I’m not pregnant.” That was about as much as I knew once, but over the last five years I’ve learned a lot more about my cycle, and what I’ve discovered has changed my life for the better. This is the story of my cycle self discovery.

At sixteen I was prescribed the birth control pill, and I used it constantly for 10 years. I didn’t question anything about it; it was prescribed by my doctor, everyone I knew used it and it performed its function beautifully. It was easy because I never had to think about it. What I learned in recent years, however, is that not thinking about your cycle is doing yourself an incredible disservice.

After getting involved in feminism in my early twenties, I started to hear about alternative choices for birth control and sanitary products. The first time I stepped outside the Tampax box was when I tried the Diva Cup, which is an alternative to tampons and pads. The Diva Cup is a small silicon cup that you insert into the vagina to collect menstrual blood. The cup is reusable – you simply tip, rinse and reinsert as needed. Prior to using it, I’d never had any cause to take note of what was going on during my period. After using the Cup, I became comfortable inserting and removing it with my fingers and I could see the colour, consistency and amount that was normal to bleed each cycle. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was interesting and exciting for me to gain a better understanding of my period.

The Diva Cup

When I told other people about the Diva Cup I often heard, “Gross! I don’t want to stick my fingers up there and get my hands dirty!” It saddened and frustrated me that women could be so afraid of their own bodily fluids because tampons have allowed us to become so detached from our menstrual blood. I started to realize that women in general are poorly educated about their own cycles and about the variety of menstrual products and birth control methods that are available.

The next big leap for me was when I learned about a natural method of birth control that involves charting your cycle and making observations about your vaginal discharge in order to determine your fertility. I met with a Fertility Management Practitioner and learned how to observe, chart and interpret my menstrual cycle to determine when I’m fertile and infertile.

Prior to this discovery, I had no idea that women’s bodies give them direct and obvious signs when they’re fertile. I was outraged that I’d never been taught that in Sex Education. Learning how to chart and interpret your cycle using the Justisse method is effective, free and incredibly empowering. I won’t deny that in order to chart your cycle you need to be dedicated, organized, and practice charting for about 6 months before you get the hang of it. It’s not easy at first, but it’s so rewarding.

Now I intimately understand every phase of my cycle. I’ve been off hormonal birth control for almost two and a half years and I feel great. Many women are unaware of the potential side effects of hormonal contraceptives, including anxiety, depression, decreased sex drive, weight gain, intense mood swings and more.* Not only do I understand my cycle better, I feel that my sexuality is truly mine because it’s not influenced by external hormones. Since going off hormonal birth control, I’ve felt more confident and open about my own sexuality. It’s good to know what my natural rhythm is, because the more I understand about my body, the more I know what’s healthy and normal for me. Knowledge is power, especially when it relates to our own health.

I’m grateful for the inventions of tampons and The Pill and the many freedoms they have brought women, but we need to be aware of the other options out there. All women deserve bodily autonomy: the choice and resources to have children (or not), to have an abortion (or not), to choose our sexual partners, to choose when to have sex and so much more. In order to make those choices, we should know more about our cycles, but no one is going to spoon feed that information to us. You have to be responsible for your own reproductive health, and although that’s not easy, it’s empowering to take that responsibility into your own hands. I recommend it to everyone – so, what are you waiting for? Get out there and learn about your cycle! It’s probably some of the most useful and practical knowledge you can obtain.

*Reference: Coming off the Pill, the Patch, the Shot and Other Hormonal Contraceptives by M. Lalonde and G. Matus.

Your Birth Control Options
A great little video by Dr. Betty Dodson and Carlin Ross - two very cool feminist sex educators.

Monday's Show - A Menstruation Special!

Join us on Monday evening for our "Menstruation Special" - a discussion about our menstrual cycles, PMS, birth control, ovulation and so much more!

Jennie Thunder interviews Megan Lalonde - a fertility expert and student midwife - who sheds light on our menstrual cycles, which is something that most women know surprisingly little about. For example, did you know that when you're on hormonal birth control (such as the pill, patch or injections), you don't have an actual period? You have a "withdrawal bleed." Learn about this and so much more by tuning in on Monday night from 8:30 to 9:00 pm on CJSW 90.9 fm!

This interview will also be podcasted, so if you miss the live show, be sure to check out our podcast. It should be available by Wednesday January 27 at the latest.

If you are interested in learning more about women's fertility, menstrual cycles and other related things, check out Justisse Healthworks for Women. You can contact Megan or find a Justisse practitioner near you by checking out the Practitioner Directory.

Lap Dancers Make More $$$ When Fertile

Something we discussed last night on our radio program was how women's menstrual cycles and our pheromones affect our sexual attraction to others, and their attraction to us. Studies have shown that when women are ovulating (fertile), men find them more attractive. Naturally, when a woman is on a hormonal contraceptive (such as the birth control pill), it suppresses ovulation and thus does not achieve the same effect.

While cruising the internet today, I came across a study from 2007 that found that lap dancers make more money in tips when they are ovulating. Here's a clip from the study abstract:

...we examined ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by professional lap dancers working in gentlemen's clubs. Eighteen dancers recorded their menstrual periods, work shifts, and tip earnings for 60 days on a study web site. A mixed-model analysis of 296 work shifts (representing about 5300 lap dances) showed an interaction between cycle phase and hormonal contraception use. Normally cycling participants earned about US$335 per 5-h shift during estrus [ovulation/fertile], US$260 per shift during the luteal phase [infertile], and US$185 per shift during menstruation. By contrast, participants using contraceptive pills showed no estrous earnings peak. These results constitute the first direct economic evidence for the existence and importance of estrus in contemporary human females, in a real-world work setting. These results have clear implications for human evolution, sexuality, and economics.

Tonight's Show: Non-Hormonal Birth Control

Tonight we had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Wershler, the executive director of Sexual Health Access Alberta. Laura talked about the barriers women face when attempting to access information about non-hormonal options for birth control.

If you are interested in learning a natural, holistic method of fertility management, I would suggest the Justisse Method. I use this method myself, and have found it to be effective and empowering. In the seven months that I've been off hormonal contraceptives and using this natural method, I have learned so much about my body, gained confidence in my ability to understand my own body, and best of all, I understand my cycle.
(The Catholic version of this method, which Laura briefly mentioned, is the Billings ovulation method.)

Sexual Health Access Alberta wants to hear about your experiences trying to find support in using non-hormonal birth control methods. Send an email to info@sexualhealthaccess.org and use this subject line: "Birth control experiences." Laura is also interested in establishing a focus group to discuss this subject. If you're interested, send an email to the same address.

Woman "Too Young" to have Tubes Tied

A 21-year-old woman in Brampton, Ontario has been told by her obstetrician that she is "too young" to have her tubes tied.

Tarrah Seymour and her husband already have one child and are expecting their second. Together they decided that Tarrah would have her tubes tied after her second child is born. They both feel that limiting themselves to two children will allow them to give the best advantages to those kids - days out at the zoo, college educations, and all that good stuff.

The couple never imagined that their obstetrician would treat them like children who can't make their own decisions. According to the Toronto Sun, the doctor said that a tubal ligation was not open for discussion because Tarrah may become involved with someone else later in life and regret her decision. Because tubal ligation is a permanent sterilization method, the doctor says he won’t consider performing it on any woman under 25.

The couple are understandably upset. “We know what we want in life” said Tarrah. “We want two kids and then we want to start our careers. We had logical reasons behind it. He should have listened and respected that.”

Women need to be able to make their own decisions about family planning. Whether that involves abortion, tube tying, birth control or anything else… we need to trust that women will do what is best for them. If you can’t trust a woman to make her own decisions, how can you trust her with a child?

Good to Know

Did you know that Canadian women can get the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) without a prescription? If you've had unprotected sex, you can take the ECP within 3 days to avoid pregnancy. The ECP works best within 72 hours after sex - the earlier you can take it, the better.

You can get an ECP at any pharmacy and you will receive two high-dose hormonal pills which prevent ovulation or implantation of a fertilized egg. All pharmacists should give you this pill, regardless of their own personal beliefs; if the pharmacist you speak to gives you any hassle, you can report it to the College of Pharmacists.

The ECP is also a really good idea to consider for traveling. If you're going to a foreign country, it could be wise to try and get ECPs before you go - you never know when you might need them.

Janssen-Ortho Settles Lawsuit over Evra Patch

From Canadian Women's Health Network:

Lawsuit over Evra contraception patch settled
February 27 2009
CTV.ca News Staff

Janssen-Ortho Inc. has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit started by Canadian women who claimed they were injured by the Evra contraceptive skin patch.

The women alleged that Janssen-Ortho failed to adequately warn them and their doctors about Evra's association with an increased risk of developing blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, strokes, heart attacks and deep vein thrombosis.

On Friday, Janssen-Ortho agreed to settle the claims on an individual basis, without admitting liability. They are also prepared to settle any other valid claims that are brought forward.


I wasn't even aware that this lawsuit had taken place until now. It just goes to show that no matter how much research is done on hormonal contraceptives, there will virtually always be unforeseen risks. Feel free to check out the full article from CTV for more details.