November 12, 2005

By Mileyda Menéndez
 

A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann

 

Offensive against the “bad days”

 

Women today menstruate more than our grandmothers. Health- and even economics-related factors have motivated the specialists to develop an extended method of oral contraceptives that can reduce the number of cycles per year.

 

A little over a century ago, women used to have between 40 and 160 menstrual cycles during their lifetime, whereas nowadays we have up to a worldwide average 450 cycles.

 

Such substantial increase is due to several factors, one being a sharp falloff in the number of births in the last few decades (mainly in the western countries), and therefore our average duration of pregnancy is much shorter.

 

Moreover, menarche (or first menstruation) is taking place at earlier ages, when we are between 10 and 12 years old, while menopause now tends to hold up until even beyond 50 years of age in many cases, so we are enjoying a much higher number of fertile years, according to official statistics given by WHO (World Health Organization).

 

Women’s higher life expectancy as a result of a noticeable reduction in maternal mortality rates, a success originating in the institutional care of gestation and delivery in many nations.

Add to all this the widespread campaign for using oral contraceptives, which in general bring down to only 25 the number of days per cycle and increase yearly menstruations up to 13 or more in women who take the pill.

 

In view of these facts, it is hardly surprising that some countries report economic losses for women’s absenteeism during those “critical days”, together with a significant rise in the consumption of painkillers and personal hygiene products, so in just a few decades the cyclic bleeding stopped being an “intimate” concern and became a social, and even a commercial, issue. 

 

CALENDAR disruptions

 

According to experiments conducted by several western laboratories, an average menstruation entails the loss of 50 to 175 cm3 of blood and tissue (between one-fourth and three-fourths of a cup).

 

However, every woman keeps her own count and knows very well whether her condition is above and beyond ‘’normality” in conformity with her usual parameters, whether she is bleeding before schedule, or whether the said bleeding looks very different. If disruptions continue, she must consult a gynecologist to rule out any possible organic injury.

 

While some women worry about abundant menses, others do about their absence or frequent delay (amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea). These are rather common events in puberty, but if they take too long before normalizing a doctor must be consulted.

 

One third of women suffer from dysmenorrhea or severely painful menstruation. The pain is similar to, although stronger than, stomach cramps. Affected women usually self-medicate or follow other women’s advice, which could be a mistake. Dysmenorrhea is not always the result of harmless causes, so they must be examined by a specialist in order to avoid future complications.

 

TODAY OF ALL DAYS!

 

Under certain circumstances menstruation, be it unexpected or otherwise, becomes a nuisance that we would like to postpone for some days.

 

Such is the case of women planning to take part in sports competitions or artistic performances, not to mention ‘honeymoon’ trips or vacation projects.

 

Today that wish may come true with the so-called extended contraception method (ECC) that allows to lengthen the no-discharge period up to over two months, a desirable solution as well for disabled women who depend on other people to attend to them in those days.

 

According to prestigious Cuban gynecologist Héctor Machado, ECC can be achieved under medical prescriptions, with either the same pills generally indicated as oral contraceptives or others made in specific combinations for that purpose.

 

“Since the method has existed for only a short time, its disadvantages are yet to be known, but it is said to require a high degree of stability and it can initially cause bleeding in between menstruations,” adds Dr. Machado. “Besides, it increases both the exposure to hormones (which long-term effects are still to be ascertained, especially regarding fertility) and the cost of the treatment, higher than usual because more pills are needed than for the common cycles.

 

“Worth noticing as well is that certain chronic diseases are incompatible with these measures, thus no patient must decide on its use by herself without thinking of its effects on her general health.” 

 

As with every new breakthrough ECC has supporters and critics, both among physicians and patients, for discussions are focused on whether or not it is natural to have fewer menstrual cycles, which has been partially answered with this work’s initial data.

 

Some women have reservations about or altogether refuse to try the method, since to them a menstruation is either ironclad evidence that they are not pregnant or even a badge or their femininity. Others, in turn, have eagerly welcomed it even if it is still insufficiently documented, for they rejoice in reducing the malaise that comes along with their ‘bad days’, namely, lower abdomen pain, swelling, migraine, acne, unpleasant odor, nausea, tampon-induced allergies, and limitations to have sex.

 

For the time being it is a choice to lower the yearly number of menstrual cycles and perhaps for a longer part of life, although the standards of our grandmas will most likely remain unmatched.

 

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Sexo sentido
Ofensiva contra los "días malos"
Las mujeres actuales menstruamos más que nuestras abuelas.
Factores de salud, y hasta económicos, han motivado a los
especialistas a crear un método extendido de anticonceptivos
orales que puede disminuir los ciclos por año
http://www.jrebelde.cu/2005/octubre-diciembre/nov-12/index.html

 

 

 

 

  November 12, 2005

 

 

ASK UPFRONT

 

N.O: On June 17 you recommended a married mother to consider the pleasure of going back to her first love, and you told her without taking into account that her current husband is a good man and that breaking up in favor of uncertain happiness could be traumatic for her children. You are only appraising eroticism as a function of sex, and pay no attention whatsoever to the feelings of filial love that would thus be truncated. I am frankly disappointed at your reply, since you showed no sensitivity. On the other hand, I don’t think one needs a Master’s Degree to give such a wrong, cold answer. I beg you to use my letter as a means of analysis and help.

 

ASK UPFRONT tries to provide guidance to whoever asks for professional help. While we offer necessary information, we stress on the fact that we are not mere victims of fate. Our actions define in some way the consequences of our life. Instead of an attitude to take, we suggest a process of analysis that helps the person be aware of his/her truth and discover his/her preferences, without urging anyone to violate inalienable human rights just to be gratified.

 

If you read again the answer you are talking about, you will see that no decision is being favored over another. There are pros and cons to every choice we make, but everyone must be responsible for accepting what’s best for them. For the woman in this case it is a matter of taking into account her husband and children as much as her eroticism, and make a choice thereon. If we rule out a possibility beforehand we contribute to the person’s alienation and therefore become insensitive beings who know nothing about the complex subjective dynamics. Living with a certain degree of satisfaction entails self-commitment and dedication to a life on a par with our personal conditions.

 

Obviously, our work too has no universal effects, just like not all divorces bring along trauma to children. It is always possible to find assessments such as yours, worthy of respect because they point to your subjective singularity. The mistake would be to pretend that your truth must be so to everyone. Such bias is to be avoided, at least when it comes to help another person, and mainly if everything is done from the professional position of a psychologist. 

 

MSc. Mariela Rodríguez Méndez, Clinical Psychologist and STI/AIDS Counselor.

 

 

 

 

 

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