Author: Eve Agee, PhD

What it’s all about: The uterus!  In many cultures it’s considered the center of the body and a source of power, but in Western medicine the uterus is often ignored or considered a “polluting factor for women’s health” (remember hysteria?).  The author, a medical anthropologist and holistic healer, encourages you to celebrate your uterus and offers in-depth guidance for optimal uterine health.

Who it’s for: If you have a uterus, this book is for you!  You’ll learn how to maintain uterine health through cognitive restructuring and visualization, nutrition, posture, and bodywork.  Women with uterine health conditions such as menstrual cramps, endometriosis, and fibroids, will find detailed chapters on holistic approaches to improving their well-being.  Each section is chock-full of useful information presented in a positive, empowering way.

Why you should check it out: With full chapters on menstruation, fertility, and menopause, this book makes a great reference for all stages of life.  Plus, the author draws from a unique base of experience and knowledge: she was born in the Ozarks, conducted women’s health research in the United States and Africa, served in the Clinton Administration, and is a certified Spiritual Life Coach.

Take a look:  Alex recently attended a discussion led by the author at In Other Words, a feminist bookstore just down the block from GladRags HQ.  The reading and discussion were great!  Agee lead the all-woman group in an open and honest way, and created a safe conversation space where we could say what was on our minds.  The ease of the discussion really mirrored the book’s friendly and informative approach.

We’re giving away a copy of The Uterine Health Companion to one lucky blog reader!  To enter, leave a comment on this entry by August 6th at 12 pm.  We’ll pick a winner using a random number generator. Make sure to include your email address so we can contact you if you win!

The Uterine Health Companion: A Holistic Guide to Lifelong Wellness by Eve Agee

• Sewing blogger SlipStiches brings us a great article on making your own cloth pads out of scraps that you probably have around the house.
• The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) will be airing a documentary about menstruation called “Seeing Red: A Cultural History of Menstruation” on June 14th & 21st.  Hopefully we can find a way to watch it here in the States!
• CNN has a very fair-handed article about period-eliminating contraception titled Periods — Who needs them anyway? Women have mixed feelings.
• Endometriosis blogger EndoFriendo brings us two great article about why she loves the Keeper and GladRags!
• A short and sweet article from Today’s Natural Living on how Conventional Menstrual Products Get Revamped.
• This great, funny, interesting article, The Strangest Ads for Menstrual Products, from Rabbit Write is a must read!  See the ad to the right for a teaser.
  
• Excellent article and lots of discussion from University of York’s student newspaper, Nouse: Increasing our understanding of women’s natural cycles is essential.

Avid GladRags enthusiast Jenny Rose shares with us the story of the rag bag and her personal account of struggling with endometriosis (and a cyst named Janice) and the relief that she has found in GladRags.  Read on for some great takes on the ‘Rag ~ Diana

My grandma Lucy, knitter and canner extraordinaire, sometimes mentioned the “rag bag” that she and her sisters shared.  In a household of women, it was a known secret – kept under the bed and well-stocked in a family of many teenagers close in age.  I don’t know if she and her sisters designed and sewed their own snapping pads or if the bag really was filled with rags as its name indicates (she died when I was 12), but I do know that she liked the quiet community it created in her childhood home.  While no one fought over cleaning the rags, she and her sisters did work together to find the best and most absorbent fabrics and argued over who got to use those rags when her period came around.

In my life, GladRags have been a savior.  I have endometriosis (and an ovarian cyst that I’ve carried for a year and a half and named Janice).  For me, this disease means really hard-to-control periods, near-constant bloating and pain.  Sometimes this pain translates to early-morning cowering on the bathroom floor – where my uterus seems to want to jump ship.  Disposables make me uncomfortable and self-conscious (and also wasteful), and other reusable devices are too invasive and sometimes painful.  When I discovered GladRags, well, I immediately saw a difference in my body.  Not only did I feel less self-conscious and “crinkly,” I also saw a marked reduction in pain.  Perhaps grandma was really onto something when she, too, sought out soft and cozy fabrics for her own monthly visitor!

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