Women Period

Leading researcher and women’s hormone expert Dr. Sarah E. Hill explains why we feel so universally icky before our periods— and what to do about it. The problem isn’t that women are hormonal; the problem is that the second half of the menstrual cycle—the luteal phase, when the hormone progesterone rises and estrogen decreases—has been systematically ignored by science and medicine.

Menstruation is something half the world does for a week at a time, for months and years on end, yet it remains largely misunderstood. Scientists once thought of an individual’s period as useless and some doctors still believe it’s unsafe for a menstruating person to swim in the ocean wearing a tampon. Period counters the false theories that have long defined the study of the uterus, exposing the eugenic history of gynecology while providing an intersectional feminist perspective on menstruation science.

The average person with periods goes through more than four hundred menstrual cycles in their lifetime–over four hundred cycles of changing hormones that impact mood, energy levels, productivity, appetite, metabolism, sleep, connection, and more. Yet we don’t learn enough about periods. The Period Literacy Handbook is a comprehensive guide to menstrual health that weaves together menstrual biology, naturopathic and conventional medicine, the world's socio-political landscape, advocacy tools, and practical strategies for more peaceful periods.

Author Carol F. Karlsen reveals the social construction of witchcraft in 17th-century New England and illuminates the larger contours of gender relations in that society and attempts to answer the question why some women were vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft and possession.

Most of us know about as much about how the uterus and ovaries function as we do about how the liver works. Add in societal shame around the menstrual cycle and it’s not surprising that misinformation is widespread. But, as women’s health advocate and trusted OB-GYN Dr. Jen Gunter writes, “you don’t have to think about your liver 5 days a month for 30 years, so I’d argue people should know more about the uterus." Enter Blood. In her new book, Dr. Gunter offers a clear, no-nonsense guide to reproductive anatomy and answers all the questions you never knew you had about menstrual bleeding.

Six Women of Salem is the first work to use the lives of a select number of representative women as a microcosm to illuminate the larger crisis of the Salem witch trials. By the end of the trials, beyond the 20 who were executed and the five who perished in prison, 207 individuals had been accused, 74 had been "afflicted", 32 had officially accused their fellow neighbors, and 255 ordinary people had been inexorably drawn into that ruinous and murderous vortex, and this doesn't include the religious, judicial, and governmental leaders.

In Not Just a Period, bestselling author Dr. Hazel Wallace sets out not only how you can have better periods, but also how your menstrual cycle affects your health and wellbeing generally, from immunity and cardiovascular issues to gut function and even the speed of your metabolism. Not Just a Period is a truly pioneering look at seven key aspects of women’s health: nutrition, movement, sleep, mood, libido, body image, and skin and hair, examined for the first time through the lens of the menstrual cycle.

In the summer of 1925, Thelma Morgan arrives at the Paris Ritz still stinging from the heartache and humiliation of her failed marriage. Her twin sister, Gloria, newly and blissfully wedded to Reginald Vanderbilt and with a baby in tow, has invited her to spend the summer - and though romance is the last thing on Thelma’s mind, she can’t deny that Reggie’s friend Duke Furness is as charming and dapper as he is keen to win her affection.

Lady Dwyn Innes feels utterly out of place among the eligible women who’ve descended on Buchanan Keep, vying for the attention of the last unmarried brothers. She isn’t long-legged and slender like her sisters, or flirtatious and wily like other lasses. Since her betrothed died, Dwyn has resigned herself to becoming an old maid. Yet a chance encounter with a stranger in the orchard awakens her to a new world of sensation and possibility....

Hormonal. We all know what it means when we hear it - and feel it. While hormonal shifts are natural throughout women’s lives, too many experience distressing period symptoms, struggle daily with PCOS, endometriosis, a fertility challenge, pain, low sex drive, sleep problems, acne, bloating, hot flashes, and more - all due to hormone-related problems. And too many are unable to get the answers they’re really seeking from their doctors.

Sir Ross Cannon, magistrate and head of the Bow Street Runners, has spent the past few years apprehending the most dangerous criminals in London. He’s driven and disciplined, a man to be feared. His personal needs have been set aside, his days and nights consumed by the determined pursuit of justice. Until Lady Sophia Sydney, a beautiful young woman with a tarnished past, comes to ask for employment. Ross knows a woman like Sophia doesn’t belong in the rough-and-tumble world of Bow Street, but he gives in to temptation and hires her as his assistant.

Most days, Shalene Gupta was the person she’d always aspired to be. She was hardworking, excelled at work, and had a long-term boyfriend who she desperately loved. Then, every month like clockwork, it all came crashing down in fits of rage and inconsolable sorrow. Work became meaningless, and she struggled to get through the day. The lows were subterranean. After years of struggling to get an answer from doctors, Shalene learned she was one of millions who live with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of PMS.

Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for her and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother’s ill health, their brother Alexei’s secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the tsarina has come to rely.

From rowdy Barcelona barrooms to the incandescent streets of turn-of-the-century Paris, Pablo Picasso experiences the sumptuous highs and seedy lows of bohemian life alongside his rebellious poet friend with a shadowy past, Carles Casagemas. Fleeing family misfortune and their parents’ expectations, the two young artists seek their creative outlet while chasing inspiration in drugs, decadence, and the liberated women of Montmartre - creatures far different from the veiled ones back home.

For most women, getting their period sucks. Bloating. Cramps. Acne. Aches. Moodiness. Messiness. No wonder we call it "The Curse"! For many, it's not just an inconvenience - it's a colossal life disruption, forcing them to miss work, school, appointments, or dates. We've been encouraged to medicate away common period problems with birth control and ibuprofen and just survive the mood swings as best we can. But as Nicole Jardim explains, periods aren't a nuisance, they're information.

In the 18th century, Bridgetown, Barbados, was heavily populated by both enslaved and free women. Marisa J. Fuentes creates a portrait of urban Caribbean slavery in this colonial town from the perspective of these women whose stories appear only briefly in historical records. Combining fragmentary sources with interdisciplinary methodologies that include black feminist theory and critical studies of history and slavery, Dispossessed Lives demonstrates how the construction of the archive marked enslaved women's bodies, in life and in death.

During the bleak winter of 1692 in the rigid Puritan community of Salem Village, Massachusetts, a group of young girls began experiencing violent fits, allegedly tormented by Satan and the witches who worshipped him. From the girls' initial denouncing of an Indian slave, the accusations soon multiplied. In less than two years, 19 men and women were hanged, one was pressed to death, and over a hundred others were imprisoned and impoverished. This evenhanded and now-classic history illuminates the horrifying episode with visceral clarity.

Weight gain, insomnia, libido loss, fertility issues and acne are just some of the possible signs that something is not right with your hormones. Consultant endocrinologist Dr Mary Ryan explains how good hormone health is important throughout our lives, not just at menopause, and how, by tackling problems when they arise, we can take control and improve our wellbeing.

In her analysis of the cultural construction of gender in early America, Elizabeth Reis explores the intersection of Puritan theology, Puritan evaluations of womanhood, and the Salem witchcraft episodes. She finds in those intersections the basis for understanding why women were accused of witchcraft more often than men, why they confessed more often, and why they frequently accused other women of being witches.

Women are told the pill is the solution to every hormonal issue, but it's not. From painful periods to fertility struggles, real concerns are too often brushed aside. This empowering guide, written by a functional medicine physician, offers science-backed strategies that align with your menstrual cycle.