uterine health Archives - Hormones Matter

When Should Teens Go to the Gynecologist?

Published on April 16, 2015

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When should girls start going to the gynecologist? The general consensus from the medical community and public health education is that a girl need not see a gynecologist until she becomes sexually active..I disagree.

Reproductive Care Should Begin with the First Period

Consider this; the average age of menarche in the United States is a little above 12 years of age. The average age a woman loses her virginity in the United States is 17. Based on what is taught in health class, that leaves 5 years of no reproductive care for the average American female. Although the average teenager may not need annual visits to the gynecologist, reproductive care should not be ignored. This means pediatricians must be better informed about gynecological care.

Just because a young girl is not sexually active does not mean her reproductive system does not exist. Amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and menorrhagia are all terms (or concepts) that young girls of reproductive age should be familiar with; and yet a majority of girls of reproductive age would not be able to identify any of these terms.

Abnormal Periods are a Sign of Trouble

Young girls should be taught that abnormal periods, painful periods (dysmenorrhea), an absence of periods (amenorrhea), or extremely heavy periods (menorrhagia) are not normal and should be evaluated by a doctor. In many cases, finding the causes of abnormalities in menstruation early on, could prevent further complications down the road.

Most women who have uterine or menstrual abnormalities do not get a diagnosis or proper treatment until they discover they cannot conceive. That is because by the time these women go to the gynecologist for the first time they have been lead to believe that abnormal is their normal.

My Story

When I was twelve I was getting my period every other week and I was told that was normal and that every girls’ period takes some time to regulate – which is true. However, it wasn’t true for me. I had endometriosis and uterine didelphys (two uteri) which required surgery, but because I was young, it was two and a half years before my painful periods were taken seriously. This is an all-too-common experience. Many women report suffering for decades.

In the case where a young girl’s menstrual problems are impacting her daily life – isn’t it better to be safe, rather than sorry? Read my full health story here.

The Need for Pediatric Gynecologists

Pediatricians and family doctors alike need to sit down with their female patients and have a detailed discussion about menstruation. No one should assume that health education in secondary schools is adequate to teach a young girl to stand up for her own reproductive care. The stigma of being too young (or not yet sexually active) to go see the gynecologist should be disregarded. Regardless of age, if any other part of the body wasn’t working one would go to the doctor to get it looked at; the same should go for the reproductive system.

How old were you at your first gynecologist appointment? When did your menstrual problems begin?

The Uterus:The Next Great Threat to Humankind

by Chandler Marrs, PhD

Published on August 27, 2012

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One would have to be living in the outback not to have noticed the flurry of policy and politics surrounding all things women’s health. The Guttmacher Institute reports that there have been over 1100 provisions introduced and 135 laws passed at the state level, this year alone. This is compared to 32 in 2005 and fewer than 20 in 1985.

Not to be outdone by the locals, the US House of Representatives has spent a whopping 38 of the 46 weeks (from January 2011 through July 2012) in session gesticulating about women’s health, at a cost of approximately $249.6 million dollars. So much for reducing government or governmental waste.

The Great Uterine Threat

And it is not the health of the woman per se that is of such great concern to these fine, older men. No, these paramounts of paramour don’t care much about a woman’s heart, lungs, kidneys, liver or even really that other female touchstone, the breasts, no sir. All they care about is her uterus. I would venture a guess that no other human organ faces as much regulatory devotion as the uterus.

This irrepressible and dangerous internal human organ of approximately the size of a fist has 100s of laws associated with it. Indeed the female uterus might be more regulated than guns, toxic waste, food safety and probably even taxes combined. At least with taxes and toxic waste there are loopholes to avoid regulation, not so for the formidable uterine threat.

The Secret Juices of the Omnipotent Uterus

Why has the female uterus spurned such consternation from our nation’s mostly-male leaders? Aside from the obvious as a repository of male fantasy, the demon uterus has the power to induce fear and loathing, especially now that we understand that it can think itself pregnant or not pregnant by emitting its super-secret, all powerful, anti-pregnancy juices. That power must be contained at all costs. Indeed, for such an overt and dangerous threat $249 million is just the beginning. We must spend more money and more time battling the omnipotent uterus.

Let’s Regulate Thoughts Too

But I must say Senator Akin, you have it all wrong. You must regulate a woman’s thoughts too and not just her uterus. Because if you do not and more women learn about the true power that they wield, there would be no more unwanted pregnancies, no need for birth control or abortion, no need for fertility treatment –entire industries would collapse and your PAC money would disappear. If more women knew about those secret juices that we control – entire nations built upon male hegemony- would crumble. I bet once we master the ability to think ourselves pregnant or not, it’s only a matter of time that we learn how to master having only female children or progressive males. Just think how we might trim the gene pool once we learn to control our untamed uterine powers. And then Senator Akin, what will you and the other beacons of reproductive wisdom have left to regulate?