Join Karinda, a naturopath and fertility educator, in this episode of Oh My Menses where she explores the recent Australian government initiative on women's health, questioning the focus on hormonal medications and lack of educational programs.

Karinda emphasizes the importance of understanding the menstrual cycle, the side effects of hormonal contraceptives, and the need for holistic approaches to women's health. She shares her thoughts on the broader impacts of these health measures and calls for more genuine investments in women's education regarding reproductive health.

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Karinda: Welcome to Oh My Menses, a digital space dedicated to all things menstruality, periods, hormones, and cycle informed living. Join me, Karinda, naturopath and fertility educator, as we explore topics that we probably don't hear about enough. From stories of menarche, birth control, and common period problems, to menstrual shame.

[00:00:21] Sex, fertility, and the moon. If it's about the human female experience, I probably talk about it. This is a place of sharing, remembering, learning, and unknown, where we come together and reclaim our cyclical power. So sit back, relax, let's all connect with our wombs and remember our brilliant cyclical nature.

[00:00:44] Hello. It's been a while. Welcome back to another episode of Oh My Menses. And my goodness gracious, I got a little bit fired up to record another episode because of things that I have been hearing on the news as of late. [00:01:00] And when I say hearing on the news, I should say overhearing because I choose not to watch the news or read the news or listen to the news.

[00:01:09] Um, so if I do hear something that's on the mainstream news, it's an accident or it's, it's incidental. I happen to live in a house at the moment where there's news playing pretty loudly every evening, every weekday evening at least, and what I want to talk about today is the recent Labor government initiative, um, and I'm talking about Australian politics because that's my current context, the initiative and the investment that is going to be made into quote unquote women's health.

[00:01:43] And so, the other night, I was in the kitchen preparing my dinner, and I'm in very clear earshot of the news, and my mum's a bit deaf, so it's playing very, very loud, and they're talking about however much money is going to be, [00:02:00] um, invested into this women's health plan, and I do have some articles that I can reference as I'm talking.

[00:02:05] Um, Is it, it's like, yeah, 573 million government package aimed at supporting women's health. And my first thought was, oh yeah, this will be interesting to see what they define as supporting women's health. And the next sentence of the journalist was like, Including access to a new and more effective oral contraceptive pill and intrauterine devices.

[00:02:37] Um, and I think they also mentioned, and I've since confirmed from looking up articles about it, Uh, there's also an investment into supporting women with menopause, um, through, uh, other hormonal, Medications, essentially. Um, so, Prometrium, Estrogel, um, and Estrogel Pro. [00:03:00] They're also talking about endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics, and, and I guess, look.

[00:03:11] What is the purpose of me wanting to share what I'm about to share? And how can I, how can I balance it out so I don't seem like a totally unreasonable person who is just, must be so anti women to be questioning and complaining about a government initiative that's all about women's health and health care and you know they've been ignored for so long and now we're finally going to invest in them.

[00:03:39] And I guess where I take issue is No, no, no. Before No, hang on. Before I talk about where I take issue, let's shout it out. Great. You're focusing on women after decades and decades and decades of [00:04:00] a growing number of symptoms and diseases and complaints that are related to the female reproductive system and female bodies.

[00:04:11] Um, without even going into any statistics because There's just not even a need. If you're a female, you know how challenging it can be going to the doctors and feeling heard, for starters, like how you, you almost have to like convince the doctor that there's something actually wrong with you. They're so ready to dismiss, they're so ready to condescend, or put you down, or make you feel like you're crazy, or that the symptoms, um, aren't indicative of any major disease or concern, and essentially it's just how periods are.

[00:04:49] For example, uh, go home, take some panadol, take some naprogezic, take some ibuprofen. Um, so we know that historically, in [00:05:00] Western society, the medical system for females is something, almost feels like an obstacle to be navigated. So. Yes, let's shout out the government for pledging, pledging to focus more on women's health and health care.

[00:05:21] And I get like, look, I don't know exactly what's going to be involved, but like. I'm reading here, opening 11 new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics that treat more conditions with all 33 clinics staffed to provide specialist support for menopause. I mean, that sounds great. Um, we're talking about, um, discounted, more affordable contraception.

[00:05:41] Um, Um, uh, the PBS So Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme listing of new oral contraceptive pills. Um, bulk billing for more intrauterine devices, insertions, and birth control implants. And they're saying things like, you know, saving around 300, 000 [00:06:00] women a year up to 400 in out of pocket expenses. Um, so, uh, great intentions.

[00:06:13] And I wanna, I don't wanna bypass that. Where I take issue is the use of Of the term, women's health, and that it's almost like thrown around so casually that it's actually lost its meaning. Because women's health is being used in the context of prescribing hormone based medications to women, who we can only hope, only to women who actually want them.

[00:06:52] Let's not get into the women who are maybe, hm, coercively prescribed, uh, contraception as a [00:07:00] means of this is the only treatment for your endo, for your pelvic inflammatory disease, for your premenstrual dysphoric disorder, for your XYZ PCOS, oh, PCOS, how could I forget PCOS? Let's, let's exclude those cases, but actually let's not because they are valid stories and that is a very real phenomenon that happens.

[00:07:24] So we see, we live in a society that views women's health as women having better access to these medications. Where is the focus on what these medications Whether it's hormone replacement therapy for menopause, whether it's oral con hormonal oral contraceptive pills for actual contraception or anything else, whether it's intrauterine devices, whether it's birth control implants, where is the focus on what these devices and medicines do [00:08:00] to women's bodies?

[00:08:03] Because I unless I'm mistaken, I would assume that women's health comes back to what's occurring in women's bodies. Now, I might be a thumb fuck, and I might not know what I'm talking about. But I just, I just thought what's happening in women's bodies would be linked to what's happening with their health and supporting their health.

[00:08:32] And so you could imagine, if you're familiar with Any of my work, or any of the shitposting that I've once upon a time done on social media, or in this podcast, or on the Nuance to Naturopaths podcast, hearing this on the news felt like a dagger in my heart. Because I have been initiated onto a path. [00:09:00] I have been shown a path where I can no longer look at the Western medical model and how it deals with female health issues and go, Oh, yeah, they're doing their best.

[00:09:15] Yeah, they're trying their best, you know. Oh, maybe some women do feel better on the pill and, you know, it makes them believe that their cycles are more regular, you know, whatever it is. I can no longer just look at that. From a place of good faith and go, Yeah, yeah, I trust they believe they're doing the right thing, and, You know.

[00:09:38] No.

[00:09:41] It's fucking with us. It's fucking with our bodies. And the place that it starts from is a lack of education. Because if people truly understood [00:10:00] If people deeply in their bones understood, one, the power of the menstrual cycle, and two, what these devices and what these medications do to said menstrual cycle, there would be a lot more people annoyed, at the very least, that this is the, this is the main path when it comes to women's health.

[00:10:27] And they talk about wanting to support women over all the periods of life they go in. There was a quote from, um, there was a quote from some lady. What did she say? Well, actually, finance and women minister, interesting name. Katie Gallagher said, Women have asked the government to take their health care seriously and we have listened.

[00:10:50] Um. Our investment of more than half a billion dollars will deliver more choice, lower costs, and better health care for women at all stages of their lives. [00:11:00] These changes could save women and their families thousands of dollars across their lifetimes. Whether it's saving hundreds of dollars on contraceptives, opening more endo and pelvic pain clinics, or ensuring more reliable support for women going through menopause, this comprehensive package will deliver for millions of women and their families.

[00:11:18] And I read that, and I, I just thought it's so funny that they view each stage of a woman's life cycle from her first period through to menopause, it's just being viewed as something to be managed. So, if she's anywhere from having her first period and up to before, any time before menopause, The goal is, uh, contraception, and how, what, what, what best, what best, um, contraceptive method, um, can we put you on?

[00:11:58] What will suit you the best? Is it the [00:12:00] IUD? Is it the pill? You don't want kids now? Then you should be on hormonal birth control. Or can we put the implant in you? Like, that's the focus. And if birth control isn't the focus, it's then like, ooh. You got painful periods? Or you got heavy periods? Or you got irregular periods?

[00:12:15] Okay, well, we can put you on this pill, and it will regulate all that for you, and it should lighten your periods, and, uh, Bob's your uncle. There you go. And then through to menopause, more reliable support for women going through menopause, what, the subtext of that is putting menopausal women on hormonal medication.

[00:12:37] Now, I care about it, but I don't talk about it as much because it's not true. It's not the area, it's not the area or the era of women, of women's life that is most relevant to me at this point. But I'm very passionate about menopause. It is a rite of passage. It's not a time, it's not a disease where it's like, Oh, the female body is running out of hormones, quick, let's put some [00:13:00] synthetic hormones in it.

[00:13:01] To make it act like a younger woman's body. Quick, let's get rid of these symptoms. You know, there's As I approach everything when it comes to health in general, in any body, it's, there's usually a reason the body's doing something. It's not just about taking something to dampen and, you know, get rid of the symptoms.

[00:13:21] That's just putting a band aid on it, hey. So I found that funny. Um, that, that's their view of women's health across the lifespan. Do you need birth control or do you need synthetic hormonal medication for another reason? And so, gathering my thoughts, I've got no notes, this is just, this is just a stream of consciousness, stream of energy coming out of my mouth.

[00:13:55] Coming back to what I said about education. Oh my [00:14:00] god, if this amount of money was invested in education, that, that would feel like a genuine investment in women's health. Because for all their focusing on the issues with menopause, the rising rates of endometriosis and pelvic pain condition, pelvic pain conditions being diagnosed, and, or any other condition that requires, you know, that hormonal contraception gets prescribed for, Of all they're saying, they're focusing on that and focusing on treatments for that.

[00:14:36] They are missing out on education around the causes of all reproductive related symptoms. Of all cycle and period related symptoms. What's causing them? Could it be how we're living? Could it be what we're eating? Could it be how we relate to our bodies? Could it be our mental health and our emotional health?

[00:14:59] Could it [00:15:00] be our belief systems and what we believe about ourselves? Could it be how we, how we think about ourselves, how we see ourselves? Could it be about our spirituality and our higher purpose? And how we're, how we're living in or out of alignment with that?

[00:15:18] So let's focus on what cause, what causes these issues in the first place. They're not, they're not happening for no reason. Hate to, hate to break it to anyone, we're not just getting sicker and there's not just a rising rate of these horrendous diagnoses for no reason. Women aren't experiencing more pain for no reason.

[00:15:39] Women aren't experiencing more painful periods, more distressing periods, or more irregular cycles because women's bodies are just weird and don't know what they're doing. No, there's reasons. Could it be the light that we're exposed to? Could it be that we're on a myriad of devices [00:16:00] exposed to, uh, intense fluorescent lighting throughout the day, wherever we were work or live.

[00:16:09] And that is impacting our circadian rhythm. And that is having a major effect on our hormonal system. Could it be we're stressed because we're meant to meet these demands of like, working however much we need to work to make X amount of money to meet a high cost of living, but also to be able to save money for like, the things that we want, and to be able to have enough money for like, emergency expenses, and then also to have enough money to like, go out and enjoy our lives, um, and then we're dealing with social pressures, and oh, raise a family as well, ooh, and make sure you get married by this age, and duh, duh, duh, duh.

[00:16:44] Duh. Oh, maybe that pressure is putting a load on your nervous system and your brain is telling your ovaries that we're not in a safe environment and so your hormonal pattern becomes [00:17:00] disrupted and symptoms present.

[00:17:06] This is coming back to the intelligence of our bodies. Our bodies aren't doing anything to inconvenience us. For no reason. Our bodies are responders. They are responding to our environment. They are responding to our thoughts. They are responding to what we put inside ourselves. They are responding to what we expose ourselves to.

[00:17:42] If we choose this path, our bodies are like the greatest well of wisdom. That we will ever, ever have access to.

[00:17:57] And it shits [00:18:00] me. Because the answers from mainstream, from the mainstream medical model for women, pretty much does everything to suppress the body's wisdom. Dismiss, ignore, suppress the body's wisdom. Ah! There you go. No more symptoms. You're all better.

[00:18:23] That's That's not how it works. And I hope you are getting a sense of the why behind I, behind why I feel so, um, passionate about this. That I genuinely, like when I think of what fills my heart, when I think of a vision of the collective future, that absolutely warms my heart. And fills my womb with just hope and goodness and goldenness.[00:19:00] 

[00:19:00] It's, it's a vision of women who are connected to their bodies. It's a vision of women who understand their menstrual cycle, who understand the different phases. Who listen to symptoms, rather than yell at them or try to push them down.

[00:19:23] So let's remember. That hormonal contraception isn't just a walk in the park to put our bodies through, to expose our bodies to. Let's remember that hormonal contraception, in most cases, shuts down ovulation, which is the main event of any given menstrual cycle. And ovulation is our biggest source of hormone production.

[00:19:55] It's when our oestrogen reaches its highest peak, and it is what [00:20:00] allows our bodies to produce progesterone. There is now no denying that oestrogen and progesterone, as a result of regular ovulation, not as a result of taking hormonal medications,

[00:20:19] conveys numerous health benefits to our physical bodies. Whether it's preventing osteoporosis, supporting bone density, whether it's supporting neuroplasticity and our brain health and development, whether it's supporting our mood and our focus and our motivation, whether it's protecting us against cardiovascular disease, both progesterone, play a major role in supporting our bodies as we age.

[00:20:59] Teenagers who are [00:21:00] being prescribed hormonal birth control, as I was, are at a higher risk of experiencing osteoporosis because that hormonal birth control and the lack of ovulation that they'll experience for however many years they're taking that birth control is inhibiting them from reaching their optimal maximum bone density.

[00:21:25] It is messing with the calcium deposition in our bones.

[00:21:33] And then when we look to decades ahead of our teenage years, when we look to women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, what's one of the biggest, um, risk assessments that's focused on for women that age? Other than menopausal related things, it's osteoporosis. It's bone density. But we're out here willy nilly prescribing hormonal contraceptives to young women.

[00:21:56] Who haven't, who have, who are in development [00:22:00] and we're prescribing something that there is evidence to show that that blocks that development. Why are we doing that? Why do we think that's a bit, why are we settling for that as the best option? And also, another point about education and the amount of money that's being invested into this.

[00:22:18] What if this amount of money, or less, Imagine if any amount of money Went into developing educational programs for primary school and secondary school that thoroughly taught females and males, quite frankly, about the menstrual cycle and about fertility awareness. I recently did a podcast with Sophie Kate on her optimized podcast where I spoke all about the fertility awareness method and natural birth control.

[00:22:53] And we were both really excited to have that conversation because this is still, this is something that [00:23:00] it's, it is not common knowledge that there is a method of natural birth control that you can use. Yeah, it requires you to learn about your body, and you need to learn some things, you need to connect with your body, and you need to interpret what your body is telling you.

[00:23:16] It's not as easy as popping a pill every day or getting an IUD inserted, but it's an option. And it's an option that would be viable for so, so, so many females. Compared to the amount of females who are currently using it, or even aware of it. Imagine if there was an investment into that kind of education.

[00:23:42] I wish I had it. I wish I had it when I was a teenager. I wish I understood more about the menstrual cycle when I was a teenager. So that I didn't feel pressured to go on the pill. So that I didn't feel desperate to want to go on the pill. For for acne. For mild acne. What a fucking joke.[00:24:00] 

[00:24:03] What a fucking joke.

[00:24:08] We also know that hormonal contraception can impact nutrient status. Um, in our bodies, it can like, deplete stored nutrients, or it can just use up more nutrients. Um, as part of the metabolis the metabolism process that's required for the medication to be metabolised in our mostly in our liver. Also, a little bit in our kidneys, a little bit in our bowels.

[00:24:34] Um, those those detoxification processes use nutrients. So, whenever we take a medication, we know Um, oral contraceptives, um, do fall into this category, but a lot of med different medications will do this as well. They will, uh, chew through our nutrient stores faster. Um, nutrient deficiencies can cause some issues.

[00:24:59] [00:25:00] Nutrient deficiencies in and of themselves can cause symptoms. And then it makes me think about it the other way. How many Women are being prescribed hormonal birth control when the root of the issue could come down to nutrition and a nutritional deficiency. But there's no education there. Those conversations aren't happening in the doctor's office.

[00:25:28] The most a doctor has ever spoken to me about nutrition, once when I was a kid, and I was constipated, and he said, Do you eat broccoli? And I said, No. My brain probably said, fuck no. Because I was a fucking fussy eater, and that's another story. And he said, I've never met a child who doesn't like green vegetables.

[00:25:49] And I thought, fuck you, you lying piece of shit. I would have been like nine, so give me a break, guys. And the second time was a [00:26:00] doctor mentioning fibre. I was looking for answers for my IBS. I was looking to get more investigations. I was an entropathy student at uni at the time. The doctor said fibre can be important.

[00:26:14] And in fact she said, if my bowel movements are too loose, that I should be focusing on reducing my fibre. Which is absolutely not what you want to do. Um, certainly not in the long term. Nope. Opposite. Opposite advice of what she should have told me. So these important conversations about nutrition aren't happening.

[00:26:41] I mean, okay, I'm gonna challenge myself. Let's quickfire some conditions that we know affect females and let me run off at least two nutrients that should be focused on. To at least start to help improve symptoms. [00:27:00] Period pain. Omega 3 fatty acids. Magnesium. PMS. Vitamin B6. Vitamin B12. Magnesium. Zinc.

[00:27:10] Calcium. Polycystic ovarian syndrome. Chromium. Also magnesium because hashtag magnesium for everything. Like. Iodine.

[00:27:29] Oh my goodness gracious. And that's like, let me, like, that was just me messing around with myself and putting my brain on the spot. But that is like skimming the surface of the possibility of the possibilities, the treatment possibilities that you can explore. For any of those conditions, or symptoms related to those conditions.

[00:27:52] Like, there is, there is a, there is a well of wisdom to be explored within the realm of [00:28:00] natural health. That can support all of those conditions, and all of those related symptoms, without having to turn to This kind of medication that has side effects here. I am talking about nutrient deficiencies and like our bone density being affected.

[00:28:17] How about just the gosh, I want to say millions of anecdotes from women who recall a time in their life where they were on some kind of hormonal contraceptive, whether it was the implanon or a hormonal IUD or the pill. And they recall that as being the time in their life where they felt most psychotic, most unlike themselves, totally out of sorts,

[00:28:49] you know, uh, mental health impacted, sex drive impacted, personality impacted. We're settling for women feeling crazy [00:29:00] because, oh, because you don't want kids right now? Oh, because you might have PCOS, and this is the best way to regulate your cycles? F off, bro! Fuck me. We can do so much better. And I think, I think that's what I want to be the take home message of, of this podcast.

[00:29:28] Don't settle for these nude news headlines. Celebrate a bit, if you want. If it genuinely feels good, go ahead. But I invite you to go deeper. It's all well and good that on the surface it sounds nice. Half a billion dollars towards women's health. My goodness, oh my god, yeah, great, that sounds so nice. Ask yourself, what does health mean to you?

[00:29:59] [00:30:00] What does it look like and feel like to you? Does it come down to being on hormonal birth control or not? Does it come down to having access to synthetic hormones when you get into menopause later in life? Is that what, is that what health really comes down to? Think about your most vital, vibrant, thriving self.

[00:30:24] What does she look like? Who is she? How is she living her life?

[00:30:32] And what does your life look like now compared to that most vital self and the life that she's living? And what can you do differently?

[00:30:47] And if you start to think about your health and wellness from that angle, maybe you can hear these news headlines, read these news articles, and laugh with me as well. [00:31:00] Because, the more I think about it, the more it just feels like a fucking joke.

[00:31:08] Anyway, that's me done! If

[00:31:15] If you like how I approach things You can reach out to me, you can book in for a connection call. If you would like to have my eyes and ears and brain Working with you, looking at your symptoms, looking at your health history, looking at how you want your life to look, and how you want to feel in your body.

[00:31:40] And you're listening to me yap on, and you're like, Mm, yeah, yeah, I'm kind of interested in what she has to say about my body. And what advice or guidance she has for me. Let's chat! Book in for a free connection call, it's 15 minute chat, totally obligation free, I talk about how I think I might help you, you tell me a little bit about what's going on for you.

[00:31:59] I tell you what my plan [00:32:00] would be to, uh, to dive in and to get things shifting in a better direction for you and you can say yay or nay.

[00:32:09] Other than that, let me know what you reckon about this news stuff because I'm happy to stand alone. I'm happy to die on this hill, but by golly, if anyone is out there going like, yeah. I thought that was a bit messed up actually. I, I would love to hear that I'm not alone. Peace and love. Look after you and I will catch you in the next episode, whenever that may be.

[00:32:41] Thank you for joining me for another episode of Oh My Menses. If you have a special request of something you'd like to hear me talk about, or you have any questions that you want to ask me, please drop me a line at hello @ Karinda Wholistix. I would like to acknowledge the land and country on which I live, work and create.

[00:32:59] [00:33:00] That of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I honour their connection to land, sea, flora and fauna across this country. I pay my respects to the elders of these communities, past, present and forthcoming.