Womens Moon Wisdom Podcast - Rebecca Rankin (00:01):
Stories, teachings and guidance. Welcome to the Women's Moon Wisdom podcast with your host, Rebecca Rankin.
Rebecca Rankin (00:18):
Welcome back to women's wisdom. In this episode, I wanna touch a bit on what might be a little, maybe controversial, maybe even just like more of a sensitive topic. The use of hormonal birth controls to regulate our hormones. I just wanna bring this topic up just to peak a bit of self inquiry on your why. We're not gonna go super deep on this. This is more of just a little peeking your interest or peeking your intentions on your why. So let me put just a little backstory as to why I'm bringing this up. So just this morning I was checking my email and I received an email that honestly just put me into this heightened state of stress. Like my, my physical reaction was just like my heart rate increased. It was pounding my butterflies in my stomach and sweaty palms and just put me into this heightened stress state.
Rebecca Rankin (01:17):
And that was enough of a warning signs to remind myself, to pause, to breathe and not to immediately react. So I'll just quote a, a small portion of the email. So the email said, 'why not do birth control pills and then hormone replacement therapy when you hit menopause, which is not that far away, when you hit your forties, they eliminate the ups and downs pains, hot flashes, and all the hormonal storms. Better living through science, not woo woo'. So honestly, the beginning part of the, the email portion that I read to you, it was, I had no issues with that. It was really just that last statement that kind of hit me hard. It, it just showed me that this email was meant to kind of dismiss the idea that what I'm sharing is science and science based. And honestly, I, I, I'm just gonna be vulnerable here, it really hurt.
Rebecca Rankin (02:05):
Like I do feel that knowing our own female biochemistry and what's happening within us, is science. So we have to remember that not every woman believes that her body is inherently in need of fixing. Not every woman believes that we need to be on pharmaceuticals to govern our hormones, right. And I am all for science and I'm all for understanding female biochemistry better. And because of this, I actually don't believe our bodies are broken and I don't believe that they should be feared. What I believe is we just need better education on our hormonal cycles so that we can keep them in better and then avoid the quote 'ups and downs pains, hot flashes, and all the hormonal storms.' And there are many roads to the same destination and that destination for all of us women, what we want is less pain and discomfort for us, right?
Rebecca Rankin (02:59):
And there's many paths, many journeys to that destination. Unfortunately, there there's many women, in a way like generations of women, who are led to like fear our bodies - kind of fear the changes in our bodies. And in a way, not even trust that our bodies are capable of having this natural blueprint for wellbeing. There's a lot of fear that's wrapped up in the natural processes of our bodies as, as females. Hence the use of hormonal birth controls just as a quick fix for teenage acne or painful cramps or headaches or migraines, et cetera. Instead of getting to kind of the root cause of the initial disruption, right? In a way we're made to believe that cramps are normal and that weight gain and perimenopause is normal and all these things are normal. While these things can be common, they actually don't have to be a part of your experience.
Rebecca Rankin (03:53):
That fear can lessen when we know more about what's happening on the inside. Especially if you learn more about your inner workings and how to shift your daily habits and lifestyles. So you aren't experiencing life disrupting symptoms. When we understand the fluctuations of hormones that are at play and how to, let's say exercise with your hormonal cycle, how to eat in a way that support your hormones and it supports your cycle. And even just understanding the brain chemistry shifts that affect cognition and mood, then things like hormone replacement and the use of hormonal birth control in terms of hormonal regulation, isn't necessary. Honestly, in fact, the, the use of hormonal birth control in terms of a hormonal regulator, isn't really actually regulating a cycle at all. Like in fact, the pill doesn't regulate a cycle. It actually just stops it by blocking ovulation. So just a quick note here, the bleed that happens is just a withdrawal bleed and not actually your period at all.
Rebecca Rankin (05:00):
So it's just caused by the lack of hormones when you take those placebo pills. Whereas a period is the result of a full month of amazing biological processes, mainly the main ingredient ovulation. And as far as taking the pill, it's just something to do a little bit of, of self inquiry around. Ask yourself and just go a bit deeper. Like if, if you're trying to avoid endocrine disruptors or excess environment to hormonal exposure, like in your foods, your water, your skin care products, your makeup, your household products, then do you really want to be intentionally taking them each day when there are other options out there. And I do believe it's really important for women to be educated on the importance of just the biological function of ovulation for overall health. So the importance of ovulation affects like your mental, your physical and neurological aspects of yourself, right?
Rebecca Rankin (06:00):
The years of ovulation are actually really important. And it's not just for baby making, like having years of ovulatory cycles have actually been shown to help prevent osteoporosis, stroke, dementia, heart disease, breast cancer, to name a few and your cycle keeps everything in balance. So when women naturally ovulate and naturally menstruate, the women's brains are actually enabled to mature, improve and maintain cognitive function and even helps protect their future neuroplasticity. And when you take hormonal birth control for the majority of your adult menstrual years, you're actually inhibiting that important hormone function. You're stopping an integral part of just the interconnected ecosystem of your heart health, your bone health, immune system health and brain health. And I do wanna be clear here. I am all for women having the choice to take a hormonal contraceptive. And I also feel that women should be educated on what is happening on a hormonal level and then make those educated decisions about their overall health.
Rebecca Rankin (07:09):
So they know that even just something as simple as through lifestyle choices can also live a pain and discomfort free life without being on the pill. And the pill has been around since 1960 and was honestly like a huge breakthrough for women. Like it gave us more control of our reproduction. And four out of five women who are sexually active, have been on the pill at some point or another, and many of them for 10 years or more. It's also good for women to know that if you're taking the pill for reasons other than preventing pregnancy, if you're taking it for symptoms within your cycle, there's some risk factors to be aware of, right? The pill can increase the risk of depression. It can cause weight gain and metabolic syndrome. It can decrease your sex drive. It may even lower your thyroid hormone levels. And honestly, even studies have shown that it may even, may even shrink your ovaries and inhibit fertility.
Rebecca Rankin (08:05):
There's nothing 'woo woo' about understanding your female biochemistry and working with it to minimize and avoid intense symptoms that are not a necessary part of your natural perimenopausal process. And I just wanna leave you with this excerpt from Dr. Aviva Romm's book, 'Hormone Intelligence', I found it incredibly inspiring. So she's writing about hormonal wisdom and says it starts quote "and truly, deeply, profoundly, unwaveringly trusting instincts. That deep yes or no we feel in our bones and allowing ourselves to give less of a fuck about what anyone else thinks about us. When we lose trust in our bodies, we lose trust in ourselves. We have been led to believe our weaknesses, the ebbs and flows of our hormones, our cycles, our moods, our in fact strengths that give us deepened intuition, creative reserves, the ability to connect with others and tremendous social advantages."
Rebecca Rankin (09:19):
Once again, that's from Dr. Aviva Romm's book, 'Hormone Intelligence'. So just something to think about, to take with you, asking yourself your why, and just being more intentional with all that we do to live just a more purposeful, meaningful, mindful life. And if you're interested in learning a bit more about cyclical living, or just honestly, how to just work with your cycle in mindful manner - head to the show notes and there's a link in there that will lead you to my free cyclical living workshop. Check it out, it's a great tool to help you live in sync with your cycle and to give you just some tools to work with. All right. That's all I have for today. Enjoy, and I will talk to you guys all soon.
