Learning about menstrual cycles and periods, finding a good OBGYN, advocating for yourself at the doctor’s office, navigating birth control options, figuring out what the heck a pelvic floor is…

Here’s the thing: women experience the world differently than men do. This isn’t about hating on men or saying that being a women means your life is going to perpetually suck. What I am saying, however, is that women have an experience that is unique, complex, and vastly kept in the dark.

Between the menstrual cycle & periods, birth control, and all the weird social norms we’ve created around female anatomy, we often leave young women left to Google how their own bodies work at the age of 25 (if they’re lucky enough to figure it out that early).

It wasn’t until I was 16 that I learned how to use a tampon.
I was 21 when I found out my hormones don’t just change during my period.
I was 20 when I knew that menstrual cups & discs existed.
I was 22 when I finally learned what the pelvic floor was (and that I had a lot of complications with mine).

I could go on…and on…about all the things I wish I would’ve known & learned about my own body & health sooner.

It’s weird, isn’t it? I think we fix this and help each other by talking. So let’s talk about 6 things we should be teaching girls.

1. Some doctors & healthcare professionals are going to be dismissive of concerns you bring up simply because you’re female- you’re allowed to advocate for yourself & find a new doctor if you want to.

This is, unfortunately, a hard truth. This study from Academic Emergency Medicine found that women that presented severe stomach pain in an emergency room had to wait for almost 33% longer than men with the same symptoms. This study represents the fact that women (and also minorities) are often prescribed less pain medication than men because their symptoms are taken less seriously.

This are just a few examples representing how women may be treated differently in healthcare settings.

Unfortunately, it’s simply not all that uncommon to have a healthcare provider (male or female) be dismissive of concerns, particularly about pain. But it’s YOUR healthcare and YOU are in charge. Yes, they may know more than you about the world of medicine, but you are the expert on you. And that gives you the power back to advocate for yourself and find a new doctor who will work WITH you.

2- A lot more women have pelvic floor health struggles than you think. And as with issues like this, the more open we are about them, the easier they are to handle.

The pelvic floor essentially is the bottom of the basket of your abdomen. You can see in this picture what I mean, and that both men and women have a pelvic floor.

The pelvic floor isn’t a single muscle, but a series- layers, almost – of intertwined muscles that altogether create that “basket bottom.” You can see this a bit better in the picture below- but why does this matter?

It matters because 1 in 3 women will experience some sort of pelvic floor issue during their lifetime- which can look like incontinence, painful sex, constipation, and a plethora of other issues. These are issues for all women, but even more so for those who’ve been pregnant before….

Yet few of us really know what the pelvic floor is. So what do we do about it?
We talk about it. We ask questions. We stop making it weird. And slowly, we’ll find more connections and hopefully find more answers and better treatment, too.

Oh, and there are pelvic floor therapists that specialize in this stuff! Which leads me into number 3…

3- There are gynecologists out there that can make you feel comfortable & safe – it’s not supposed to be a scary, uncomfortable, or unpleasant experience. If it is, find a new gynecologist.

A lot of women have not-so-great experiences with gynecologists. Whether it’s being uncomfortable during exams or lacking education about procedures and options (like, ahem, all the IUD insertion horror stories I’ve heard), it’s not always perfect care provided.

BUT- there are so many GREAT OBGYN’s out there, too. Some of you might need trauma-informed care. Some of you might need specifically a woman OBGYN. Some of you might need a specialized OB. Honestly, my advice is to search for OBGYN reviews for your local area on Reddit. You’ll get honest, word-of-mouth recommendations there that you may not be able to find elsewhere.

4- There are a LOT of forms of birth control, and hormonal types aren’t “regulating” our cycles. They aren’t inherently bad, but can cause a lot of bad side effects for a lot of women. We need more education around it!

Here’s the thing, contraception is a bit complicated. And our lack of education around it makes it seem even-more-so confusing. And so, we tend to go with the first option we’re offered (or the one that’s covered by insurance, right?).

First, let’s get a quick overview of all the general types of birth control with our handy-dandy little chart here.

We’re often told it will help “regulate your hormones” or “regulate your cycle,” specifically when we’re talking about hormonal BC (like those on the left side of our chart). And from a symptom standpoint, there can definitely be some truth to this. But the ultimate truth is that hormonal birth control doesn’t regulate your hormones or cycle itself – it replaces hormones with synthetic versions in order to stop ovulation.

(PS…ovulation is the release of an egg from your ovaries and into your uterus, which happens about two weeks before your period. Without ovulation, you can’t get pregnant, which is why hormonal BC prevent pregnancy around 91% of the time).

Let me be clear, here: synthetic is not synonymous with “bad.” It just means it’s not the exact form created in your body. For example, progesterone, a hormone produced by your body that peaks right before your period (when you bleed), is replaced in most hormonal BC’s by a synthetic form called progestin. It mimics it in a way that tells your body to down-regulate production of progesterone (the form naturally created). Since your body essentially stops producing it (along with some other hormones), the period that you get isn’t really a period – it’s called a “withdrawal bleed.”

Do your research and talk to a good OBGYN about what other options may be available to you if what you use or want to use isn’t working for you.

5- Super low carb and super low fat diets can SUPER be harmful to our hormones & reproductive cycles. Our bodies aren’t fragile or delicate, but they are complex. They have needs that includes an unsexy balanced diet that doesn’t have a fancy label.

Nutrition is hard, but can be easy. Complex, but can be simple. Confusing, but can be straightforward.

Your body is constantly doing a lot of really cool things without you even thinking about it- even being able to read this requires the action of thousands of neurons to be firing to see the words, transfer them into language, comprehend the meaning, continue breathing, digest whatever meal you had earlier, create cells, regulate your hormones…so many things.

The bottom line?
Your body needs fuel to do all of them.
Especially as a women, your body NEEDS all 3 macros – carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Low fat diets and low carb diets usually don’t work long-term, because a) they’re not sustainable, and b) your brain & body & hormones simply need all of those to function properly & optimally.

So next time Aunt Susie tells you to go keto, you might want to rethink it for the sake of your body.

6. Your hormones fluctuate during your WHOLE cycle- not just when you have your “period.”

Menstrual cycle = the whole shindig. Typically 28-35 days.

Period or “menstruation” = the time you are actually bleeding. Usually 2-7 days.

The average menstrual cycle is 28-35 days long, from the first day of your most recent period (when you start bleeding) to the first day of your next period. If you don’t know it yet, your uterus is shedding its internal lining during this time to make the environment as hospitable as possible for a potential fetus.

But in between those periods, your body has a whole lot more going on than you might think. Your hormones are changing the entireeeeee time. Shifting up & down throughout the 28-35 days, like the graph below shows us.

The four major hormones playing a role here are your pituitary hormones: follicular-stimulating hormones, or FSH, and luteinizing hormone, or LH. The other two are considered your sex hormones, progesterone and estrogen.

And they affect a lot.

Your mood, your body image, your strength, your speed, your focus…in little tiny ways that may (or may not) be noticeable across your cycle. So if you feel like you don’t have “stability,” it makes sense.
Check out this episode Kelsey and I did awhile back, Flo: Women & Weights for more on this!

The reality is…

there’s a lot that we probably should’ve been taught in school considering we live in our bodies every single day. But if we didn’t learn it then, what better time than now to learn ourselves? And what better time than now to start teaching the girls and young women in our lives?

Check out our podcast HERE for more on women’s health and share this post with a girl in your life who needs to know it.

• Coach Leah