The Contemporary Woman

Tag: Women's Health

  • The Phases of the Menstrual Cycle, their Impacts on Women’s Moods and Emotions and How Best to Deal with them.

    May is the menstrual month and as we come to an end, I realize that while some people know about menstruation and the hygienic requirements as well as the pain that comes with it, there isn’t adequate information on the general cycle of menstruation. Did you know the menstrual cycle has four specific stages which are the highest determinants of your moods and general feeling throughout the month? You didn’t? Believe it or not, you are part of the majority.

     Oh, you did? That’s good, but I bet you could use a refresher, and deeper information on these stages while we educate those who did not. In this article, we delve into the four stages of the menstrual cycle and their impact on women’s moods and emotions. By understanding these physiological and psychological changes, women can gain insights into their emotional well-being throughout the month.

    The menstrual cycle is a complex and natural process that occurs in women of reproductive age. It typically lasts for about 28 days, although variations are common. While we are all taught this, we are just but told that during our periods, we will experience mood swings, or that a few days before your menses come, you may find yourself overly emotional and crying from the tiniest of things. But nobody every really explains the hormonal and psychological changes that result in these changes. Fortunately, we are getting more empowered, curious, and ready to remove discuss openly and widely the issues impacting women, including the four distinct phases of menstruation and the exact impact each has. This cycle encompasses four distinct phases, each characterized by unique hormonal fluctuations and physiological changes.

    RELATED POSTS: How Old were You When You When You got Your First Periods? (The Menstrual Month of May)

    1. Menstruation Phase (Day 1-5)

    The menstrual phase marks the beginning of the menstrual cycle. This is the most popular menstrual phase because of the flow which makes is hard to miss, literally.  During this stage, hormone levels, particularly estrogen and progesterone, are at their lowest. This dip in emotions is exactly why you (we) are moody, sad, irritably and or highly sensitive. Menstruation also comes with physical discomfort, such as cramps, bloating, and fatigue, and diarrhea which causes even more irritability.  

    2. Follicular Phase (Day 6-14)

    After the menstrual phase follows the follicular phase. During this phase, the pituitary gland releases follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which triggers the growth of follicles in the ovaries. These follicles produce estrogen, leading to the thickening of the uterine lining. As estrogen levels rise, women often experience a surge in energy, improved concentration, and an overall positive mood. This phase is commonly associated with a sense of renewed vitality and increased sociability. Needless to say, this is my favorite phase, and possibly every women’s favorite phase. Because not only do we have more estrogen levels which boost our moods, but we are also experiencing the joy and relief from the nightmare that is menstruation.

    3. Ovulation (Day 14)

    The third phase of the menstrual cycle, the ovulatory phase, occurs around the 14th of the menstrual cycle. However, this can vary depending with the length of a woman’s entire cycle. During this brief period a mature egg is released from the ovary and travels down the fallopian tube, making it available for fertilization. Estrogen levels reach their peak just before ovulation making women the most fertile during this stage. Additionally, some women may experience a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) during this phase, making it the perfect to try for a baby for the woman who wants one. The best part about this stage is that due to the peak in estrogen levels, many women report being more emotionally stable and feeling more confident, attractive, and sexually aroused during this phase. The only down to this phase and the reason its not my favorite phase is because I belong to the group of women who experience mild ovulation pain.

    4. Luteal Phase (Day 15-28)

    After the high of ovulation, the luteal phase begins. During this phase, the ruptured follicle transforms into the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. Progesterone prepares the uterus for potential pregnancy by thickening the uterine lining. However, if fertilization does not occur during the ovulation phase, hormone levels start to decline. This results in various physical symptoms in women ranging from breast tenderness, bloating, and fatigue. Moreover, the sudden drop in estrogen and progesterone levels results in the worst of mood swings, irritability, and even premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, such as anxiety and depression. As a result, this has to be the worst menstrual phase for most women because while it may not have as much physical pain as the menstrual phase, it has adverse emotional turmoil especially depression, anxiety, self-doubt.

    So how do we deal with these menstrual phases?

    First, it is vital to recognize and acknowledge that women’s moods and emotions are influenced not only by hormonal changes but also by various external factors and personal circumstances. However, these hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle can impact neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine, which play a crucial role in regulating our general mood and emotions and it is out of our control. Therefore, the best we , you can do as a woman is being aware of these cyclical changes which can help you understand each stage or at least bear each stage gracefully knowing that even the deepest emotional pit that could come with the luteal phase will pass. Fortunately, the contemporary woman has this and more information to their disposal such that they (we) know that there is nothing wrong with us, but rather it is our nature. Even best is that we can get multiple support systems from other women and women-oriented communities which make it easier to bear these phases. Above everything else, Self-Care. Protect yourself, love yourself, and give yourself, your body and mind, exactly what it needs to bear each of these stages. This ranges from relaxation, comfort food, meditation, tough love and physical exercise.  

  • How Old were You When You When You got Your First Periods? (The Menstrual Month of May)

    How Old were You When You When You got Your First Periods? (The Menstrual Month of May)

    The Merry Merry month of May has finally come to an end and I hate to break it to you, but having entered June, we are at mid-year and officially headed towards the second half of the year. Shocking I know, I cannot believe it either. Now back to May, my favorite month if I haven’t made it obvious enough. Apart from being my birthday month and the month the world celebrates mothers, there are actually more reasons to love May. In fact, how about we just call it the month of women. Because it is also in May that we have the Global Menstrual Health Day on 28th May. I don’t know about you, but to me, this basically makes it the World’s Menstrual Health Awareness Month.

    Sometime back, probably towards the end of April I saw a post on a Facebook group “Newborns and Beyond,” where mothers, (Established Mothers) were discussing their experiences with their daughters starting their menstruation. Most of these mothers were hoping and praying that their daughters’ periods do not start until they were out of primary school. So that is until they were around 12 years. But, based on their experience, most of their daughters had had their first periods when they were as early as 8 years old!

    To be honest, I was in utter bewilderment! I mean, isn’t an 8-year-old a child anymore? I mean, my Leroy is turning 7 this year and I still consider him a child. Yet, it means that if he were a girl, he probably would be getting his periods next year. WTH! The magnitude of the situation heightens when I remember I got my first my periods when I was 12, and back then, I was considered a rather early maturer. And this was actually the case because most of my friends, who were older than me by a year or two were just having their first periods, while some had not. Still, based on what these ladies were hoping for, I consider my mother lucky because my periods came just when I was about to sit for my KCPE, (27th October 2008. How do I remember the actual date? Beats me too 😂). So, technically, I was already done with primary school.

    Sanitary Pads

    Now that their daughters were getting their periods when they were literally ‘babies,’ what these mothers were mostly concerned about was how they were going to educate their girls on how to deal with periods, what were they, and especially period hygiene, seeing that they were so young. Now this made me think, my mother never taught me any of that. Not that she was a bad mother, but it was just a rather difficult topic to address. And neither was it the norm for mothers to have that talk with their daughters, I mean, I’m certain she never had the talk with her mother either.  In fact, most of my friends who had the courage or any information about the topic while in primary school, apart from what we had learnt in reproduction, were much older and had older sisters. For the rest of us, when we were in class 8, ‘Always’ was still new in the market and in the quest to advertise their products and of course engage in CSR had come to our school, given us a short lesson on how to use their sanitary pads and given us a packet each. Of course, I gave it to my mother for safe keeping. Or was it to hide such that my brother never came across it. Yes, those were the times there was so much shame and embarrassment in menstruation and menstrual products.

    Fast forward to 2022, and I must say I am loving the progress we have made on menstrual health. This May especially, I was awed by the number of organizations, influential persons and the average persons who engaged in activities to spread word on Menstrual Health. The amazing Janet Mbugua even started a podcast, “My First Time Stories” which gives women a space to share their first period experience in a quest to end the stigma on menstruation and spread awareness on the same. While I may not have been able to do much, maybe the least I could do is acknowledge and thank every woman who took part in spreading awareness in menstruation or helping out a girl in need. Creating change doesn’t have to be huge. You can always start by helping your neighbor, a girl in need and while it might just be one person, it has impact. And it creates a ripple effect where women go on helping others and that way we will slowly transform into a fully empowered nation and world in matters regarding menstrual health. And the beauty (and disadvantage) of menstruation is that it never ends, whichever the season, or whatever fire the world is in. Women within the reproductive age still get their periods. Thus, it is never late to help a girl who needs it and make an impact. Also, I feel that with the continuous education, Contemporary Mothers will be empowered enough to have both the knowledge and confidence of having these conversations with their young girls. And for those unfortunate girls who might not have mothers or sisters to hold their hands in the journey, there will be multiple platforms where they can access the information such that they too are not alone.

    ❤❤❤❤

    Nyambura Macharia

  • Is Eating the Placenta the Solution to Postnatal Healing?

    Is Eating the Placenta the Solution to Postnatal Healing?

      Placenta Pills

      There is this you tube couple I have been following for the past one year—Riss & Quan. They have become quite famous, am sure most of my ladies know them. I have specified on the ladies because the main reason I watch them is because of how the guy treats his woman in an almost “dreamy” way (acted or not 🤭😝)— I know y’all ladies can relate. Around two weeks ago, the couple were blessed with a son, and while I was following Rissa’s Instagram Stories, I found quite a long one describing the process of “Placenta Encapsulation.” After watching the video, with a totally disgusted and cringed face, I decided to embark on my own research on the issue.

      First, I conducted an Instagram survey where I asked my followers whether you knew that some women choose to eat their placentas. 62%—including myself—said no, while 38% said Yes. I have to be honest, 38% is quite a large percentage considering I did not know, and neither did I have a clue of such a thing. Fascinated by the results, I embarked on an even deeper research. Why eat the placenta? Does it really have enough benefits to over look the baffling and disgusting idea that it is literally cannibalism?—too harsh of a word? I’m just calling a spade for what it is. Anyway, I believe in cultural relativism so let us keep an open mind people.

      Most non-human mammals eat their placentas after childbirth, but most of us humans do not. However, there are some cultures which have consumed the placenta in the past as a form of traditional medicine. Among the Chinese people, the placenta was consumed by elderly people as a form of non-conventional medicine to treat liver and kidney complications. Among Indians, the placenta was eaten by childless women for they believed it helped with fertility (Out of mere curiosity, I would love to know if that worked). However, over the past decade, the consumption of placentas by the mother after giving birth has been extremely popularised. More and more mothers are choosing to consume their placentas for quite a number of reasons. Those who have the strength and guts simply consume it by blending it into an “after-birth smoothie”. However, for the many new moms and doulas who prefer to consume the placenta in a more, “civilized” way, there is, “Placenta encapsulation.”

      What is Placenta encapsulation you ask? It is a “bourgee” process where the placenta is cooked and turned into a powder form and put into capsule pills for easier ingestion. The placenta pills are “bourgee” because the mother gets to choose the flavours such as strawberry, vanilla, or pineapple. The entire process is also not cheap as it can cost up to $500 in the U.S. Many mothers who consume their placental capsules claim they feel much better after consuming the tablets but could it just be a placebo effect? Because there are other women who claim to feel sick after taking the pills, while others feel nothing.

      The supposed benefits I got from the internet are:

      • Improved mood and energy levels to the mother-reducing chances of Postpartum Depression
      • Increased milk production for healthy baby
      • Pain Relief
      • Prevents anaemia
      • Enhanced bonding between the mother and the baby
      • And reduction of postpartum bleeding
      • Boosting both the mother and baby’s immune system

      Apart from the many alleged benefits, eating the placenta posses various risks both to the mother and the baby.

      • It maybe contaminated with harmful bacteria that may affect both the mother and the child.
      • There is not scientific evidence to support the safety and benefits of its consumption.
      • It may not be handled with “food-safe” practices either when being eaten as a smoothie or during placental encapsulation which might pose risks after consumption.

      Despite there being no scientific evidence to prove the benefits of eating the placenta, the trend of placenta encapsulation is here and many women in the western countries are really embracing the idea. In the spirit of keeping an open-mind I cannot help but wonder, is placenta the “magic” non-conventional treatment that is going to help women make postnatal healing bearable?

      Because if all these benefits are really true, I think the African contemporary woman should take a leap of faith here and embrace the trend because, in “childbirth is rosy but roses have thorns too,” we all agreed on just how excruciating the recovery process is.

      So, could eating the placenta the solution? Ladies are we boarding?🤔 should we hop on the “after birth smoothie,” or the “placental capsules,” train?

      ❤❤❤❤

      Nyambura Macharia

    • These Women Need Compassion, Not Judgement

      Yesterday I went to get my hair done. I have a specific lady who does my hair – let’s call her Jane. Jane has always worked from home since I knew her so go to her home to get my hair done. The reason she worked from home is that she felt like her son was not old enough to be left behind while she went to work. Funny story (horror story depending on who you are), I was almost bitten by her dog while I knocked at her gate. Acting like the typical me, I screamed like a banshee as I grasped for straws that were not there. I could feel my heart pulsating aggressively in my chest as I stood outside the gate panting. Just as I was about to leave, feeling lucky to still have both of my legs, she arrived on a motorbike. Turns out she had recently opened up a salon so she told me to wait for her to get inside and change so we could head over there together. Of course, I waited outside the gate, it’s not like I wanted a second interaction with that bloodthirsty creature!

      As we headed to the salon, she told me that she now felt her son was old enough and she had gotten a sitter. She further explained that she had linked up with another woman and they had rented the stall together. The other lady – let’s call her Sylvia – was selling shoes, while she was running her salon in the same space. I thought that was a rather a subtle approach and I was proud of just how innovative the contemporary woman can get. Now they cost-shared on the rent, and had complementary businesses. I mean, I’ll visit the salon for the hair, but if I see some really nice shoes I will definitely go home with them.

      While I was getting my hair done, the topic of child birth came up (teren teren 😱). You can expect that to be a sensitive topic. Each one of us narrated their individual experiences and we compared the events involved and how they took place. I am becoming more and more surprised on just how often this specific conversation comes up. Somehow, sharing the various traumatic experiences of labour and child birth is just as satisfying as watching crime and murder documentaries – or even better. I also feel like it’s a great way for women to bond because in the instances I have seen the discussion come up, every woman is keen to listen to the other person’s story, and throws in the occasional “Right!” and “me too” in the conversation. In our conversation at the salon yesterday, we all seemed to agree that labour was so excruciating, but there are some women who do not experience the pain at all. Shocking, right?! Anyways, the conversation suddenly pivoted into the topic of miscarriages.

      Sylvia mentioned of how the musician Size 8 Reborn had had a miscarriage and just how unfortunate and sad it was. I then mentioned that around that time another famous lady – Aunty Jemimah – had also lost her child in a stillbirth. The conversation was solemn for a while as Sylvia explained how it was unfortunate that many celebrities had lost their children, and even added the case of Kambua who also lost her child sometime this year. Jane was of the opinion that these celebrity women should keep their pregnancies private because sometimes it is because of some people’s “evil eye” that they lose their pregnancies or babies. Jane went ahead to insinuate that these celebrity women’s pregnancies develop complications after overly-publicised baby showers and pregnancy shoots. But Sylvia jumped right in to correct her that Size 8 had indeed kept her pregnancy secret and had only just revealed she was pregnant when she developed complications and lost the pregnancy. So far nothing too contentious, right? But then Sylvia threw in a claim that left me in bewilderment.

      She argued that most of these celebrities, get miscarriages, still birth, and other pregnancy complications, as well as lose their babies soon after birth because of “the things they use.” At this point I was confused and asked her to explain. She explained that they use special products to prevent pregnancy and monthly periods that subsequently causes their misfortunes. On this front, they agreed with Jane and that confused me even more. I was confused because earlier on in the conversation, the two of them had cited that they were on contraceptives and that they have not gotten their periods since they embarked on them. Are these not some of the “things” the other women used too? Why did they have to be judged? Ooh, right, because they are celebrities.

      Sylvia was not done with her shock bombs. She pointed out that for Kambua’s case, she could not get a child for a long time, because she had waited for long before getting pregnant and trying to get a baby. I mean, but I have seen women get married in their mid-thirties and get pregnant pretty easily. Some young women also struggle to get pregnant. What does not getting a baby early got to do with anything? What is worse is that Kambua’s second baby unfortunately passed on after he was born. It was not about what Kambua possibly did or did not do.

      Sylvia also pointed out that some women get miscarriages because they have had multiple abortions. She explained that for a woman who has terminated many pregnancies, their bodies may understand that after for example 7 weeks, the pregnancy is supposed to be terminated, which causes miscarriages. This part I cannot confirm whether it’s true or not (for now). However, from the whole conversation it became clear to me just how many myths, biases, and stereotypes surround pregnancy and miscarriages. Celebrities are not the only women who lose their pregnancies, get still births, or have their babies die soon after they are born. These cases are more common than you can imagine. It’s just that for celebrities, we find out, and for the other people we do not. From that conversation, based on the two women’s intonations, their gestures and facial expressions, you could smell discrimination from a mile away. And I think that the contemporary woman needs to know that miscarriages are not the woman’s fault. About 10-20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage! You seriously want to tell me that all these women brought it upon themselves?

      Some of the many many causes of miscarriage include: infections, exposure to environmental and workplace hazards such as high levels of radiation or toxic agents, hormonal irregularities, improper implantation of fertilized egg in the uterine lining, maternal age, uterine abnormalities, incompetent cervix, stress, accidents, and other spontaneous cause. I would like to dive into it but I am no medic, and I would not like to mislead anyone. Maybe I could get a doctor to elaborate more then give you all the details.

      The point is, there are so many cases of miscarriages and I feel like it is very unfortunate that these women get to be judged, faulted, and even shamed instead of being comforted. Even if a woman really did terminate their pregnancy, and that were proven (scientifically) to cause miscarriages, do they now deserve to lose all their pregnancies or babies soon after they are born? I think the contemporary woman needs to change their mind-set on miscarriages, stillbirths, and losing children. These women are already suffering from too much heartache to be judged. Let us be compassionate, and support each other.

      ❤️❤️❤️❤️


      Nyambura Macharia

    • October is Offering you a Job: You Should Accept It!

      October is Offering you a Job: You Should Accept It!

      Can you believe it that we are already in October? It was literally just the other day that we started off the year. We were all hopeful after a ratchet 2020 we all wanted to end. 2021 was going to be our do-over year. Everyone expected, or at least I did, that 2021 was the year the Corona Virus would miraculously disappear and we would go back to leading our normal lives — or at least what is left of it. Well, sadly for all of us, that never happened, Covid-19 is still there as all we still have to adhere to all the Covid-19 guidelines from our overlords, including the much hated curfew! But it’s all good, if there is anything this virus has taught me, and most of you I am sure, is to be thankful for life.

      Okay, I am getting off-topic now, this article is about the great month of October, the month my mother was born!

      October is a special month to all women globally because it is the International Breast Cancer Awareness Month — BCAM. I have known this since I was in form 3. I remember there was an organization which came to our school to discuss breast cancer awareness. They also volunteered and gave free check-ups to every student in our school with the promise that they would provide preventive treatment to anyone who had the breast cancer genes 1 or 2 — ( BRCA 1) and ( BRCA 2).

      I was too scared to go get checked so I hid to avoid being forced, if it came to that. But I did examine myself during my hiding as was instructed. When doing a breast self-examination, the idea is to check for any unusual lumps  — you want to look out for any lumps that are inconsistent with the normal feel of your breast tissue and come with discomfort or pain when touched — while laying flat on your back. Of course self examination is not as comprehensive as a professional examination, but if done right, you are good to go sis!

      During the breast examination in school, one girl was actually discovered to have the BRCA gene, although I cannot remember where it was BRCA 1 or 2. All I remember is, the dreadful word spreading around the school was, “a girl from 4 North has a lump.” Everyone was so shocked, it seemed like a death sentence. The worst part was that we knew so little about it that she started getting stigmatized. She was “the girl with a lump” and we all behaved like it was communicable.

      It was not a sad story, even though my narration might make you think it was. In fact, as I see it now, it was a rather positive story for the contemporary woman. A story that reeks of hope that for sure, with early diagnosis, breast cancer is totally curable. As the organization had promised, “the girl with the lump,” — I cannot remember her name by the way, but her face stays forever in my mind because of the incident, plus I always found her to be gorgeous — received help.

      The members of the organization, ( I never got the name, or I just cannot remember. My bets are on the latter) enrolled her in their program. They would come pick her from school and take her for tests. Finally, she had an operation and the lump was successfully removed. What could have been a fatal illness was averted and she was free!

      What is the moral of the story you ask? Breast cancer can be fatal, but if detected early enough, it is very much treatable. The girl in my story got a happy ending because of an early diagnosis, and that is exactly what I am driving towards. Get yourself screened by a professional if your family has a history of either BRCA 1 or BRCA 2. For the rest of my fellow women, perform self examinations occasionally, watch out for any unusual lump, and even the slightest discomfort. Do not ignore anything, visit a physician!

      This is the only way that we can have more happy endings; Together we can fight Breast Cancer!

      ❤❤❤❤

      Nyambura Macharia.