Vanessa & Debby – image copyright Sean Molin 2011

Please introduce yourselves! Who are you?

We consider ourselves to be researchers, teachers, authors and advocates for the vulva. However—because that title is a bit long—our business cards say that we are researcher scientists at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University. We come from different disciplines but have both focused our research on understanding how women think and feel about their vulva/vaginas. In fact, we both did our dissertations on the vulva/vagina. We met at a conference in 2008 and were thrilled to be able to work together. We have since conducted a variety of research projects that we are very excited about. However, this book has been one of our proudest moments as it has allowed us to reach a more diverse audience. In short, we strive to be revulvationaries (we just made this word up but we like it)!

Tell us a little about Read My Lips:

The book still feels a little like a dream. When Vanessa first came to Indiana University, Debby and Vanessa sat down to create a ‘dream list’ of projects that they wanted to work on together. This book was at the top of the list. We are thankful that our publisher (Rowman & Littlefield) took a chance on us and we are so grateful. We think that Read My Lips represents our eclectic, quirky backgrounds. In addition to science-backed sex and health information, there are stories, quotes, quizzes and crafts (yes—we said crafts!) As researchers, we are proud to say that all the research is empirically-validated (and sometimes conducted within our own labs). However, while based on science, we wrote Read My Lips envisioning we were talking to our very best girlfriends. In a certain way, those who read RML are just that—dear friends through a love/appreciation/interest in the vulva.

What inspired you to write this book?

We have talked with A LOT of people over the past several years about vulvas/vaginas including colleagues, students, friends and family. While some are uncomfortable talking about it, most have been thankful for the opportunity to discuss/ask questions about a topic that is too often ignored. So, we wanted to write a book to give people accurate information and open conversations about the vulva/vagina. We wanted to write a book that would have something for every generation of women (and those who love/came from them).

Who should read this book and why?

We like to say that this book is for “anyone who has a vulva, loves someone with a vulva or has come from a vagina.” In other words, we are hopeful that it has a little something for everyone. Unfortunately, the vulva/vagina remains a topic that few people feel comfortable discussing. So, a lot of the information out there may not be accurate. However, the reason we wrote Read My Lips was not only to correct misperceptions (although we are certainly happy when it does); it was to provide readers a guide that would help them celebrate and learn to love their own and/or their partners’ bodies a little more.

What surprising facts did you discover when writing the book?

How much we had to say about vulvas! We talk about vulvas all day long but we nervous that we wouldn’t have enough to say to fill 300 pages. We were (very) wrong. It turns out we actually had to edit down the book once we were finished. Also, we interviewed 1000 men and women before we wrote the book. We weren’t necessarily surprised—but we were delighted—about how those responses helped us to continuously change our thoughts, feelings and beliefs about vulvas. We learn something new every time we talk to someone about their experiences such as how some women have come to love their vulvas and vaginas, sometimes in the face of very difficult situations.

Anything else?

We are thrilled to be able to donate a book in partnership with GladRags as we share the belief that women should care for and celebrate their bodies in ways that make them happy and healthy!

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The modern day woman has lost touch with her womb. She fills her body with toxins, has a poor diet, gets no rest, and is ashamed of her body. Growing up in a patriarchal society has taught us that we should be ashamed of our bodies, needs, and desires, but the truth is that women are strong and a dynamic force. Our womb is what makes us divinely feminine. When we re-awaken ourselves to our divine right, we empower ourselves as women. The evolved feminine walks the path of beauty. She regards herself and all life as sacred. She is sovereign unto herself and relies upon her intuition and wisdom.

As the daughter and priestess of Ix Chel, I felt that I had to include this for all the women who have forgotten the phrase “Thou art Goddess”. I know from experience what its like to suffer from a menses full of pain and my body behaving out of control.Until one day I said, “No more!” If I am a part of the Goddess, and the Goddess resides in me, then I should treat my body with love and respect. I should honor the vessel I have been given by the Goddess to walk around in this world. The womb is sacred, all powerful, and the seat of creativity to a woman.

Ix Chel is the great Mayan Goddess of the moon, water, healing, childbirth, fertility, creativity, and rebirth. She is known as the Great Mother to my people, but can be found in three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. It is She that causes the blood to gather so that it may flow with the passage of each month. She gave us the gifts of creativity, knowledge of healing, and the easing of childbirth. She takes care of the women of the Earth, especially those who are on their moon (menstruating), pregnant, or nursing. She is the type of Goddess who hears the pleas of her daughters and aids them when they are in need.

Ix Chel has much wisdom to teach us, but what we’ll be focusing on is loving your womb. Our womb is ruled by the sacral chakra. It is a place of sexuality and creativity. When it becomes unbalanced, you will start to notice that your emotions can run wild, inspiration will be blocked, fertility is impaired, and relationships will begin to form problems. Our womb is a holy container. It produces the moon blood that represents both life and death. Our blood can teach us a lot about our own health and warn you of illness. When was the last time you looked at your own blood? You should not shy away from it, or from looking at your own yoni; explore it.

It is our natural cycle that mimics the moon, which is why its known as a woman’s moon cycle in many native cultures. Ix Chel teaches us that our womb is sacred. Think about the immense power and strength that it holds, the potential for life that is strictly ours, the wonders of pleasure that we receive from it, and the fact that we can bleed for days and not die. Our body naturally cleanses itself and starts anew. You can use this period to cleanse yourself and your womb of any negativity.

Before I became pregnant, I would partake in a woman’s moon cycle ritual every month on the first night of my menses. On those nights, I would call on the Goddess and thank her for my fertility. I would ask that she ease my pain and restore me in her healing waters, and in return I offered her the blood I shed. During this ritual, I would focus healing energy onto my womb and I would chant and meditate on the twenty-five womb chants. They are:

1. My womb is sacred, and so is my life.
2. My womb is precious, and so is my life.
3. My womb is divine, and so is my life.
4. My womb is love, and so is my life.
5. My womb is whole and so is my life.
6. My womb is free, and so is my life.
7. My womb is radiant, and so is my life.
8. My womb is light, and so is my life.
9. My womb is great, and so is my life.
10. My womb is celestial, and so is my life.
11. My womb is peace, and so is my life.
12. My womb is bliss, and so is my life.
13. My womb is bright, and so is my life.
14. My womb is natural, and so is my life.
15. My womb is liberated, and so is my life.
16. My womb is full of energy, and so is my life.
17. My womb is pure, and so is my life.
18. My womb is in tune, and so is my life.
19. My womb is all powerful, and so is my life.
20. My womb is the seat of my creativity, and so is my life.
21. My womb is full, and so is my life.
22. My womb is filled with prayer, and so is my life.
23. My womb is a dynamic force, and so is my life.
24. My womb is holy, and so is my life.
25. My womb is the gateway to heaven here on earth, and so is my life.

I would hold my hands over my womb and envision each line of the chant as if it was manifesting right before me. I honored my womb and all of its radiant energy. I would notice at once that any pains I had would subside and I would be filled with a sense of peace. My moontime was never a struggle when I did the ritual and took time to honor my womb and its natural ebb and flow. Sometimes we can become so busy with life and we don’t pay attention when our body says to slow down; then out of nowhere, we will crash, both emotionally and physically. The great thing is that our body naturally cleanses itself each month, giving us a chance to regenerate.

If you haven’t already done so, you should set up a sacred womb altar. It should contain images, symbols, and items that are spiritual to you and represents the womb and the divine feminine. It doesn’t have to be large or contain anything fancy. It can be as simple as a small statue and a few shells or crystals. It’s what holds the most importance to what you hope to achieve. Allow yourself to let go when you’re bleeding. Honor your emotions and express them. Create your own moon temple and put up a flag or wear a blessed piece of jewelry to let others know that you are on your moon and to respect it.

Next we must reconnect with our womb through meditation. We must listen closely to the voice of the womb. Your womb will tell you how she wants to be healed. She misses nothing, and knows all. Take a relaxing bath, eat chocolate, and do things that bring you sensual pleasure. When your womb is happy, you will be happy.
Another thing to consider is the use of sustainable menstrual products. While healing your womb, one important thing to change is your feminine products and the way you care for your yoni. First thing’s first: You do NOT need to wash out your vulva or vagina with anything other than some natural glycerin-free soap and water. Never douche because it will only end up killing off all the good bacteria and all you will have left is a killer yeast infection.

Secondly, you should really switch to cotton underwear, if you haven’t already. Sure lacey undies and thongs can make you feel sexy and all, but your vagina NEEDS to breath. So do it a favor and go commando when you can, like at home or in bed, and every other time use cotton.

Third, menstrual products play a big role in a woman’s life. There are tampons, pads, sponges, cups, and cloth pads. It’s all so confusing and overwhelming- what do you do? Well, you stop using tampons and disposable pads for one. They contain bleach and other chemicals that are shown to contribute to cervical cancer and other abnormalities. Bleach is made from chlorine and chlorine is super toxic! Not only that, tampons are known for causing Toxic Shock Syndrome. They also produce massive amounts of waste that takes hundreds of years to decompose. No good for you or the environment.

Now cloth pads and cups are where it’s at! Cloth pads are re-usable (no more running out to the store because you ran out), made in fun patterns, and easy to use and clean up. I find that I enjoy my moon a lot more when I use these body & earth friendly options.

The more you honor your womb, the easier your menses will be. The release of blood brings forth the opportunity to make a powerful offering to the divine feminine. Our womb will teach us many things, if we let it. We must promise to honor it and its wondrous and magical mystery. We cannot allow outside influences to stop the flow of divine femininity. The Great Goddess Ix Chel can and will help you heal your womb and if you choose to listen closely, she will help empower you.

Monica Divane currently lives in NYC and is happily married and expecting her first child. She is of Mayan descent and works as a Pagan Priestess.

Tell us a little about yourself! What do you want customers to know about you?

First, I have to say, thank you for asking! I would like customers to know that my product and the passion I have for it is thoroughly genuine and reflective of who I am. The message of self-acceptance and the joy of finding a product that actually works on blood stains and makes life easier is what I truly hope for women. I want women and girls to find Ruby’s Red Wash a practical, happy and encouraging part of their world, even though it may merely be a product they use once or twice a month. To me, Ruby’s Red Wash is a movement: an appreciation of female being and some liberation in a bottle. Anything I say and do regarding Ruby’s Red Wash is very personal to me and, frankly, just like something you’d find in my diary.

What inspired you to create Ruby’s Red Wash? What was the process like?

I was conducting research for my Ph.D. dissertation and it was on the phenomenology of Menstruation. I compared women’s concrete experiences of menstruation to an extensive analysis of the meanings of menstruation found in and produced by the culture. The title turned out to be ‘The Bloody Truth: A Psychological and Cultural Study of Menstruation as Lived and Experienced by Women.’ It took about six years to conduct and in the end it was long and really two dissertations.

The review of the cultural meanings of menstruation became very depressing to analyze and write about. It was essentially a review of the history of oppression of women– and, the most deflating part was that these oppressive, damning messages to women are still present in the culture, only they are still invisible to women.

Women have taken on or internalized the notions that they have a ‘dirty secret’ because of menstruation and this dirty secret makes them irrational compared to men and also inferior. Even women who grew up in a fairly progressive and accepting household demonstrated that they were not immune to the (patriarchal) messages about menstruation delivered by the culture. That was and still is depressing to me.

I started thinking about how to help the greatest number of women to address this basic misunderstanding about their being. It was my contention all along that the fact that menstruation is still a secret in the culture demonstrates that women are still second class citizens. As long as the topic remains taboo and ‘inappropriate,’ then women and girls still do not share the same status as men and boys, and female being remains not fully embraced by the culture.

What do you find most exciting about your career?

Every now and then I realize that this is thoroughly mine and I am, for once, fully in charge. I can say anything I want on my blog, I can run a special if I want, and I can work with the people with whom I want to collaborate. It’s also very scary for those same reasons. Sometimes it is terrifying because mistakes are completely my own, too.

But, the best part is imagining all those women and girls out there who already have their own bottle of Ruby’s. Every time they use it, and even when it is just sitting on their shelves, all of these people are holding my message of self-acceptance. Every one of them has accepted that it is possible to be honored with a product which respects the unique qualities and functions of their body.

On my website, I call Ruby’s Red Wash my ‘gift’ to women and girls, and I honestly feel that joy of gift-giving through the creation of this product. I am still hand-bottling and with every bottle I fill and label and ship, I actively imagine and hope for a certain kind of relief and peace for the recipient. Although I don’t want to curse myself, I have said that if the business crashes tomorrow, I will still consider it a success, given that I have already reached so many women and girls.

Your blog frequently discusses the messages women receive about menstruation and their bodies. What is your goal regarding the conversations we have with each other and in the media about women’s bodies?

My goal is to have women at least stop and question what is being fed to them by the media (and their friends, family and co-workers). One of my girlfriends recently told me about an exchange she witnessed between some of her friends, two of whom happened to be lesbian. There was some discussion going on about reproductive rights and one woman made a joke, ‘What do you care? It doesn’t apply to you.’ My friend made the point that just because you don’t plan on having children and that your sexual preference doesn’t create the circumstances for pregnancy and childbirth doesn’t mean that reproductive rights doesn’t apply to you. It is a human issue. The argument that lesbians “don’t use” their reproductive organs parallels the old, sexist idea that women are only as valuable as long as they can produce children. Countless hysterectomies have been performed over the years because women “aren’t using” their uteruses for childbearing anymore. Until my friend spoke up, her friend didn’t understand the invalidating idea which she was perpetuating. Those are the kinds of dialogs I hope to create.

Do you use reusable menstrual products? If so, what do you use and what prompted you to make the switch?

For the last 10 years, since my research and discovering dioxins, I have been using organic tampons and some pads. I order a year’s supply and stash them in every bathroom in the house and in my purses. That has been a luxury for me- to have an ample supply, something I didn’t know about or give myself as a teenager or when I was in my twenties. However, I have been planning on trying a menstrual cup, because I think that would be perfect alternative to tampons for me.

What do you wish you had known as a young woman experiencing menarche? How has your perspective on menstruation changed since then?

I had a mother who did her best but who was terrified about all kinds of things in life including sexuality and a father who was downright disgusted about all things related to menstruation and wasn’t afraid to show it. When I started my period, I called my mother to the bathroom. She came in and then went back out. When she came back in, she handed me a box of tampons with a smile, albeit a very forced smile, and said ‘good luck.’ Even though her smile was forced,she was trying to tell me that what was happening to me was okay and that life would be okay.

My mother died the next year and I was pretty much left to my own devices regarding everything. I had to deal with periods in total secrecy and thought that’s just what being a woman means. I could have used all kinds of help then, but I would have given anything if someone had given me a period starter kit or a lovely period pack of sorts. The message that those send would have really helped me to counter all the crap I heard about female being. Something like that would have helped me feel better about being, in general.

Do you think it’s possible for women to celebrate their cycle rather than viewing it as a “curse”? How could this be accomplished?

I think it’s possible to view your menstrual cycle as any other part of yourself. Do I always love the way I react in the world? Do I always love the way I write? Do I always love my hair? The answer is ‘no’ to all of those questions. But I do, however, always try to be appreciative of my attempt to handle things, my attempt at writing, the mere presence of my hair. By the same token, I do not always love my period. I think the message that women need to always love and celebrate their menstruation is a terrible burden to place on women. Sometimes it’s just damn annoying to have cramps or to have flooded your pants or to have buy menstrual gear. I do not ‘celebrate’ my menstrual cycle by pretending that cramps are glorious and that the expense for menstrual supplies is a great and wonderful thing. I am, however, respectful of my body that it needs to cramp to menstruate. And I make sure I honor myself and my cycle by having enough supplies on hand or resting when I need to and recognizing that some of my emotionality during my period may be extreme but that it also provides me insight into aspects of my life that I might otherwise ignore. Like the women in my study, even the ones who declared that they hated their menstrual cycle, I have a relationship to my period, it is a part of me, and I will miss its presence when it is gone.

We’re excited to announce our new partnership with Empower Women in Africa! Together, we hope to bring educational and economic opportunities to girls and women in rural Africa. And you can help: by purchasing an Empower Kit to be given to a girl in need, you can help her complete her education and achieve her dreams!

Here’s Lori, founder of EWA, to share with you the successes of their first year:

“Empower Women in Africa was founded in February 2011 with the vision of providing a pathway to education for girls throughout rural Africa. To accomplish this, we provide scholarships to girls living in poverty and showing promise in the classroom, and by providing reusable cloth menstrual pads so there is not a struggle every month to find sanitary products with limited funds.

In our first year, we have been able to provide scholarships to five girls at Andara Combined School in Namibia. These scholarships cover every cost that comes along with their education from their school fees, school uniform and even a food stipend for their families when good grades are achieved to encourage the family to take an interest in their daughter’s education.

We have also been instrumental in getting over 2200 cloth menstrual pads to girls in Namibia and Uganda. The recipients have ranged from an orphanage with Show Mercy International, schools, conferences and after school clubs. Thanks to GladRags, Days for Girls and a growing population of volunteers for getting all of the pads sewn.

In 2012, we’re excited to be working with GladRags to be their exclusive pad donation partner. Because of their commitment to our cause, our pad program is expected to at least double in our second year! This also opens up more time to focus on our scholarship program and we already have five more girls selected for sponsorship!”

Society’s views toward women have become more open and less prudish in many ways in the centuries leading up to the present. Where women were once expected to wear long skirts and uncomfortable undergarments, it doesn’t take a master’s degree in history to see that many now elect to go braless, to wear pants, and sometimes to choose menswear over more feminine attire. Career opportunities continue to become more egalitarian, and women’s rights are constantly evolving.

But our views toward certain aspects of femininity have taken a step backward in recent years. Menstruation was once looked at as a rite of passage, a sacred time that represented fertility and a girl’s transition to womanhood.

Not all antiquated attitudes toward menstruation have been positive. Pliny the Elder and Isidore of Seville claimed that menstruating women were dangerous and that they polluted the Earth. Some early Christians believed that menstruating women and the men who slept with them were unclean. Ideas about the impurities of menstruation persisted throughout the Middle Ages, when women could not visit a church while on their period or after giving birth.

But even though menstrual blood was widely regarded as dangerous and magical for humans and the environment during the seventeenth century, it seems that negative attitudes toward the process of menstruation itself were often rejected—this is especially noteworthy because religion was a central part of life during this time period. Many societies viewed menstruation as a natural, beautiful part of being a woman.

Menstruation today is often considered one of women’s weaknesses, but this has not always been the case. In Elizabethan England, phlebotomy was an oft-performed remedy for a variety of ailments, since an excess of blood was seen as a detriment to the health of the body. Menstruation was viewed as a form of natural phlebotomy. Another belief during the Elizabethan period was that menstrual blood provided nutrition to the fetus and a heated environment for semen.

We think of menstruation as a monthly phenomenon, but periods are a more common occurrence for women now than they once were. Ovulation and menstruation make physical demands on a woman’s body. They require energy and health. In centuries past, many women suffered from malnutrition, exhaustion, and low body weight, none of which supported menstruation. And before a wide variety of contraceptives became available, women were either pregnant or breastfeeding for much of their reproductive life, which kept their periods at bay. Menstruation is much more commonplace now. It is less special and more of a hassle. Today’s woman simply looks for tools to live around her period instead of appreciating the significance of this physical process.

Perhaps the newfound control that women have taken over their bodies and their lives has caused society to lose appreciation for life’s natural processes. But even as technological offerings increase as we move into the second decade of the twenty-first century, many are beginning to favor more natural approaches to everyday life. Perhaps our attitudes toward menstruation will become more positive as well, just as they were for centuries.

Emily Matthews is currently applying to masters degree programs across the U.S., and loves to read about new research into health care, gender issues, and literature. She lives and writes in Seattle, Washington.

We last heard from Becky when she reported on how Moon Cups were changing the lives of Ethiopian women. Here is her latest update from the Trampled Rose.

Hello!

The best part of being at the Trampled Rose is seeing the transformation of the women in our program. They arrive almost unable to hold their heads up and then they graduate full of confidence, hope, and new direction for their future. The part I like the least is writing reports and project proposals.

Unfortunately for me, I have spent the last few weeks writing reports about our past activities and proposals for the future. There are so many good things coming and I promise to keep you informed as more details are worked out. For now, it’s been almost six years since we first opened our gate to do our best to help. Thank you for all your encouragement and help over these years. Can you believe that we’ve helped over 1500 women?

I thought you might like to read the story of Maeza I just wrote for one of those reports I was complaining about. I attached her photo. You can see her when she arrived.

Love,

Becky Kiser
Trampled Rose, Inc.
www.trampledrose.org

These are the grateful words of Maeza herself : “This is the best time in my life! I started to be human again. I know how to write and calculate money. I am happy. I never imagined getting such a chance in my life.” Her husband said “I am so happy and thankful! The trampled Rose helped us financially because my wife knows how to get additional income to change our life. Thank you!”

But Maesa’s life has not always been so happy. When Maeza Miskir arrived at the Trampled Rose her life had already been a hard one. She was born twenty eight years before in the Amhara region in the northern part of Ethiopia to a sustenance farming family. She has four other sisters and two brothers. When she was young there was no school in her area and her parents didn’t consider education important for a girl. They wanted her to get married and be safe instead.

Although Maeza was only seven years old and had no desire to get married she was given to her husband to begin the duties of a wife. This was a terrifying experience for her so as soon as she had the chance she ran away from the man she hardly knew. Because of her illiteracy life was difficult and she married again.

In her second marriage she became pregnant with her first child. In the area where she lived there were very scarce medical services available so most of the women give birth in their own homes or the home of their in laws with a traditional birth attendant. These birth attendants have limited knowledge about difficult child birth deliveries. Maeza was in labor for five full days. At the end of her labor the baby was stillborn.

The pressure on her birth canal had caused a lack of blood flow to her bladder and she developed a vescovaginal fistula. She began to leak urine uncontrollably.. Her husband was offended by her condition and especially her smell. He asked her to leave so he could marry another woman who could have children and he wanted to be free of Maeza.

Maeza’s second husband returned her to her family home. She lived with them for two years when she heard about surgery at a Fistula Hospital near her region. But her depression and bad luck increased when she underwent her surgery only to discover that she seemed to be incurable. The leaking continued. She lived for one more year in hopelessness until she met a new educated man. He loved her and told her that he was willing to marry her because you never know what can happen in the future.

By this time Maeza had been leaking urine down her legs for more than seven years.

One day she was approached by the Amhara development association who was contacting women in their area with fistula on behalf of the Trampled Rose, Inc. Maeza and her husband jumped at the chance for Maeza to learn to read and write and begin a business of her own. Because the problem of fistula is so prevalent in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, Maeza’s sister in law also suffered from fistula. They decided to travel together with the transportation service provided by the Trampled Rose to the city of Addis Ababa.

Maeza was frightened, hungry, tried and dirty when she arrived at the gates of the Trampled Rose. During her orientation she was taught about the causes and cures for fistula. She was especially relieved to learn that fistula is not a curse from God but only a medical condition caused by her prolonged labor. As part of her orientation she was taken to a hospital to be checked for other diseases that could make her studies difficult. She was also examined by an expert fistula surgeon to make sure that her fistula was indeed curable. Her pleasure was immeasurable when she discovered that she did indeed have a chance to be cured by surgery.

Maeza began her literacy class during her first week. She was taught the alphabet by using small stones and sticks to make letters. She could read 180 words in her first week. This quick process gave her courage to try more. In fact, Maeza was the outstanding student in her graduation from the Trampled Rose. She also enjoyed the social atmosphere of being with twenty seven other women with her same problems.

After Maeza could read and write she began her business training of Sambusa making, ironing, traditional bread baking , and jewelry making. She also learned how to manage money and how to make a business plan. She even enjoyed a field trip to a bank to learn how to open her own account. She was surprised because she thought that banks were only for rich people.

Maeza’s surgery was indeed successful and she returned to her happy husband to open her own small shop selling Sambusa, traditional beer, tea, and taking in ironing with the startup capital she received from the Trampled Rose.

Ladies, are you up to date? Know your health status with an annual checkup!

Most women know that visiting your doctor yearly is crucial for early detection of female-related illnesses. The annual exam can help identify cancerous changes on the cervix, breast, uterus and ovaries, and typically includes a PAP smear, breast exam, and pelvic exam. In addition, the doctor will also assess your heart, blood pressure, and general health.

The PAP smear, a sample of cells taken from a woman’s cervix, is the standard method for detecting changes to the cervix associated with cervical disease and cancer. Often the PAP test is coupled with a DNA test for the Human Papilloma virus which is known to cause cervical cancer. Both tests together are the best way to detect cervical disease and are 99% sure to detect changes in cervical health.

Human Papilloma virus, or HPV, is a sexually transmitted virus that can infect the cells of the cervix, leading to cellular changes that predispose a woman to cervical cancer. There are different types of the virus, some more harmful than others. In most women, a healthy and strong immune system can overcome the virus with no future cancer development. 90% of all HPV infections resolve on their own within 2 years, especially with naturopathic treatment. Cancerous changes, or dysplasia, are more likely in women who cannot effectively fight a more harmful strain of the virus. Immune support, a healthy diet and lifestyle, and healthy sexual habits help support cervical health. Ask your naturopathic doctor for details.

Women over 21 or those who are sexually active should begin receiving annual exams, with a PAP done every 1-3 years depending on sexual history and health history. Women over the age of 30 require both the PAP and DNA test for the best screening measures.
By detecting changes in your cervix caused by Human Papilloma virus, these tests are the key for early detection of cancers. A breast and pelvic exam complete the preventative screening for cancer.

Dr. Bonville is a licensed Naturopathic Physician who practices primary and family medicine. She has a passion for naturopathic medicine and its capacity to optimize your health.  Dr. Bonville believes that naturopathic medicine can help you feel great, look wonderful, and have the energy you need to enjoy life.

While she enjoys all aspects of family healthcare, Dr. Bonville hold special interest in women’s health issues, hormone imbalances, and holistic cancer care.  She specializes in general gynecology, menstrual disorders, menopause, infertility and pre-pregnancy counseling.  She offers a full scope of women’s health care needs including annual exams, breast exams, hormone testing, and nutritional screening. She is committed to providing an integrative experience, combining traditional medicine with naturopathic philosophy.

Follow Dr. Bonville on Twitter for health tips and inspiring suggestions, and visit the Grain Integrative Health website for more information on her practice.

October is National Breast Health Awareness Month, and in preparation we bring you this guest post by Maria Davis. What actions will you take to help end breast cancer?

Photo by Courtney Robinson

Would you walk 60 miles to cure breast cancer? Millions of people do just that every year as part of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure. The walk covers approximately 60 miles over a period of three days, and is held in numerous cities across the United States, and in many countries around the world. In 2010, the 3-Day was held in 15 U.S. cities, and raised over $87 million.

The 3-Day walk is being held in 14 cities across the United States in 2011. Events began in July, and are running through mid-November, so you still have several opportunities to join in. Participating is easy if a 3-Day is held in or near your city. But how can you get there if the city where you want to walk is far away? If you need to travel to get there, here’s how you can save some money while you’re raising it for a good cause.

Recruit a Sponsor

It can sometimes be difficult to ask people for money, and you must meet a minimum fundraising amount of $2,300 in order to participate in the 3-Day walk. But rather than asking friends, family, and coworkers to contribute extra to get you there, try to find a sponsor. Talk to local businesses you frequent, and ask if they’re willing to donate money toward your travel expenses. Offer them something in return, such as wearing a T-shirt with their business name on it at the event. You can also talk to local radio and TV stations about interviewing you, and mention your sponsor business on the air.

Look For Travel Deals

Most of the online travel sites usually offer deals on airfare for holidays and other events throughout the year. But if the 3-Day walk you want to participate in is taking place outside those time frames, it can be difficult to find affordable fares. The best solution in this case is to find an online discount code. For example, a Travelocity promo code or Orbitz promo codes can save you specific dollar amounts or percentages off your airfare to the walk location. Be sure to do a little searching before you give up on attending because of budget constraints.

Photo by Leah Jones

Save Up

Walking 60 miles over three days is quite a challenge for anyone, even those in the best of shape. You need time to train before taking on the 3-Day, so if you’re not quite ready either financially or physically, start planning for 2012 now.

Next year, the walk will again be held in 14 U.S. cities starting in July, from Boston to San Francisco, Chicago to Dallas/Fort Worth. Choose the city where you want to participate now, and start saving money to cover your travel expenses. This will also give you plenty of time to work up to being able to walk 20 miles a day, not to mention more time to raise money for the event, and get well beyond the minimum required. Saving and waiting can be challenging themselves, but you’ll gain a much greater sense of satisfaction if you’re able to finish the event without injury, and if you’re able to raise more money for such an important cause.

Everyone’s lives are touched by cancer at some point. It may be a family member, a close friend, a coworker, or a friend of a friend. It may even be you. Consider doing something to support finding a cure, whether it’s the 3-Day walk, or any local event near you.

Rebekah K., founder of The Trampled Rose recently contacted us about the struggles of women in Ethiopia suffering from obstetric fistula. We are so moved by how something as simple as a menstrual cup could completely change a woman’s life that we had to share the story with everyone. Read her story below.

I am the founder of the Trampled Rose, Inc.  We work in Ethiopia helping those women who have suffered from Obstetric Fistula learn to read and write, find a way to earn money to make them valued members of their societies, and give them hope for the future.

Obstetric Fistula most often occurs in  women who were married as young as five years old.  They then become pregnant in their early cycles.  Because of their small physical structure and the lack of medical assistance they often are in prolonged labor for many days.  Their baby dies and as the fetus presses on the bladder and/or rectum it causes a hole.  the women then leak urine and/or feces for the rest of their lives.  Some are curable with surgery but many are not.

Their societies most often reject them and believe that their condition is caused by a curse from God.  We began using your Moon Cups with our incurable women a few months ago.  It stopped the leaking!!

One woman in particular began sobbing as she rode on a public bus for the first time in ten years.  She told us that she was never allowed to ride after her Fistula because the urine leaked uncontrollably and the other passengers threw her off.

I know it is difficult for us to imagine such a thing but women all over the world are suffering.  Our dream is to take back many of the cups and bring at least some relief to the women that need our help.

Thank you for your part.

Rebekah Kiser
Founder
Trampled Rose, Inc.
www.trampledrose.org

Leslie of Cycle Technologies joins us for a guest post with answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about CycleBeads. We love this all-natural family planning method, and hope you’ll consider giving CycleBeads a try!

What are CycleBeads? When were they invented?

CycleBeads (www.CycleBeads.com) is a visual tool that helps a woman plan or prevent pregnancy naturally. Specifically, CycleBeads is a color-coded string of beads that represents the days of a woman’s menstrual cycle. It helps a woman track her cycle and know if she is on a day when pregnancy is likely or not. CycleBeads and the family planning method on which it is based, the Standard Days Method , were invented by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University (irh.org). The Institute tested the Standard Days Method using CycleBeads in large-scale clinical trials and found CycleBeads to be more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy and very easy to use.

My company, Cycle Technologies, launched CycleBeads in late 2002 once the efficacy results were published.

How do you use CycleBeads?

A nice thing about CycleBeads is that it is very visual. In fact it might be easier to just show you a picture than to try and explain it in detail.

As you can see it’s a lot of information when you try to explain it someone. I think that’s one of the reasons why CycleBeads is such a cool tool – it provides a wealth of information in a very simple way so you don’t have to keep track of a lot of numbers or do any calculations.

I should note that to use CycleBeads a woman’s cycles must be between 26 and 32 days long. This is the one medical criteria for using this family planning option. Most women’s cycles are in this range, but it’s important to know this before using CycleBeads especially if you are using them to prevent pregnancy. Of course, if you are unsure if your cycles are in this range, CycleBeads can also be used to help you figure this out.

Why would someone choose to use CycleBeads?

Most women tell us that they choose to use CycleBeads because they don’t like the side effects of hormonal contraception. A lot of women just like the simplicity of it. It’s a very intuitive family planning tool. It’s also useful both to plan and prevent pregnancy so many women like to use it as birth control and then switch over to using it to help them get pregnant when the time comes. Most importantly is the fact that it’s a natural family planning method that is highly effective. CycleBeads is more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy which puts it on par with or better than other user-directed family planning options such as condoms in terms of effectiveness.

What are the benefits of using CycleBeads?

Well the primary benefit is that it’s an easy way to use an effective natural family planning method. As a natural family planning method there are no side effects, it helps a woman get in touch with her body, and it’s inexpensive. And since it’s easy, it means a woman will actually use it correctly.

You recently launched iCycleBeads, a smartphone app. How does it differ from other fertility/period tracking apps on the market?

Right now iCycleBeads is available on iPhone and Android devices and we plan to make it available through other interactive technologies soon. iCycleBeads differs from other fertility/period tracking apps on the market in a number of ways.

While there are a number of fertility and period tracking apps on the market, there are only a handful of apps that help a woman plan AND prevent pregnancy by tracking her cycle. Most of the apps that claim to identify the fertile days based on just your period dates are unclear about their methodology and cannot be used to prevent pregnancy. iCycleBeads is the only app based on the Standard Days Method of family planning so it’s methodology is very clear and well researched; it has been designed to be used as birth control as well as to plan a pregnancy..

There are also apps that are based on FAM or the symptothermal method of family planning. These apps can be quite effective at planning and preventing pregnancy. However, they require a woman to track a lot of information about fertility signs such as cervical mucus and temperature. If a woman already knows how to use these methods and is comfortable doing so, these apps can be very useful. But for women not familiar with these methods, they can be challenging to use.

One feature of theiCycleBeads app that I also really like and differentiates it from a lot of apps is that it proactively sends you alerts when you are key days in your cycle. So even if a woman doesn’t open the app and check it every day, she’ll get a message letting her know when her fertile window starts, when it ends, and when a new cycle is likely to come. It also proactively alerts a woman if she has had a cycle out of range and reminds her to input her cycle data if she forgets.

Tell me about your efforts to make family planning tools accessible to women in developing countries.

We are really proud of the impact that CycleBeads has had in the developing world and we work hard to make this family planning tool available to all kinds of health programs in developing countries at an extremely low cost. CycleBeads is being used in many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia and has been made available in over 50 countries total.

CycleBeads is a good fit for developing countries because it addresses a lot of issues. Issues that are particularly acute in developing countries which CycleBeads help address include:

1) concerns about side effects – many women in developing countries, like women in the US, are concerned about side effects and unwilling to use a family planning method that they perceive might cause health concerns,

2) costs – CycleBeads are low cost and can be used indefinitely – one study showed that CycleBeads is the most economical family planning option for programs to offer, and given that they are one time purchase, we know that they are extremely economical to the end user,

3 ) ease of use – because CycleBeads is visual and intuitive, it can be used by women who have very little education,

4) access – CycleBeads can be offered in a variety of settings such as retailers and through local programs; it doesn’t require a highly skilled health practitioner to offer it. Also, unlike most other family planning options, it doesn’t require re-supply, break down over time, or need special storage so it’s easy for a program to keep them in stock and make them available. And since a woman only needs to learn about it one time, she doesn’t need to constantly go back to her health provider for refills.

5) couple communication – in many developing countries, couples may not be able to talk openly with each other about family planning or a woman’s cycle. CycleBeads have been shown to be a great tool for helping couples communicate.

We also donate a portion of proceeds to programs that help expand women’s family planning options and to empowerment programs for women.