Bubble Baths and Rollercoasters

My Saúde Integral da mulher  course started in September. So, before it started, I decided to start with some light reading. I read "Bad Feminist" by Roxanne Gay - Which wasn't really about being a feminist, or even directly about the theme - Still, I thought it was really interesting to see different topics discussed from the point of view of a woman who is also an amazing African-American writer.  My first "women-related" read had nothing to do with women’s health (or so it seemed), it was Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men .  This is an incredible, important book that all women (and not only) should read. It’s a book about the world we live in, information on data bias regarding women, the female body, the absence of a woman’s point of view and how it's affecting every single aspect of our lives and society — backed by data and scientific studies. It's not an easy, light read. It's disconcerting and at t...

This is a part of a series of blog posts about women, women's health and other related subjects. The information is coming from a one year course called "Saúde integral da Mulher", or "Women's Holistic Health".  This is an initial post which can get quite technical and heavy. So, if you don't know anything about this topic, don't panic! You can skim through the first part about hormones and cycles and go right to the part where you can see how your own cycle is, and then come back to which hormones have an active part on our menstrual cycle; Or you can even go to another post and see if it makes more sense, or is less confusing for you.  There's also a video which may help you visualising some of the technicalities. The next post, about endocrine disruptors, talks about specific steps and small changes you can do in order to actively minimize your day-to-day hormonal disruption.  This post is  a gathering of questions you maybe have had at some ...

Não tenho escrito os meus tradicionais posts de reflexão de final de ano - Talvez por falta de tempo, ou talvez por um certo receio de olhar para trás neste ano tão atípico. Mas este ano de 2020 merece o seu recap  e sobretudo, fechar com uma visão positiva. Acho que coisas positivas merecemos (e precisamos) todos. Primeiro, tenho de dizer, tenho saudades terríveis de cinema e teatro, e de estar com amigos sem preocupações e hora de ir para casa. Tenho saudades de abraços e de concertos. De estar com os meus pais sem medos. De ter não medo constantemente, por tudo e por nada. Mas tudo isso parecem "queixas" irrisórias, e até ridículas, comparando com tanto que tantas pessoas estão a passar neste momento. Com o facto de estar bem de saúde, e com a minha família inteira do meu lado. Na verdade, este ano, apesar de tudo o que aconteceu à nossa volta, e o mundo estar de braços com uma pandemia, foi cheio de momentos calmos, de reavaliação, de redescoberta, e de levar as coisas c...

During this year, I had my share of deep personal female encounters. They mostly mentioned, in one way or another, abortion, pregnancy or childbirth troubles, and not really understanding their own bodies. These were heartbreaking conversations and I was left speechless every single time. I wanted to answer something wise and that helped any of these women, but I couldn't. In fact, I couldn't even answer most of my own questions.  I started thinking about having kids, and suddenly froze with the possibility of having a girl. What would I talk to her about? How would I teach her about the female body, not being comfortable or knowledgeable about my own? How would you? Also during this year, and being in a happy relationship, I decided it was time to stop taking the pill - Not to start family planning, but mostly to make sure everything would be OK and I could deal with possible fertility issues or cycle irregularities before I actually wanted to have a baby.  The female gyneco...