What Every Woman Needs To Know
to Have Healthy, Effortless, Drug-Free Fertility and Menstruation

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American health care is failing to serve the needs of women. A woman’s health is so much about her relationship with herself and her understanding of her own cycles and rhythms. Medical treatments and practices that are commonly available may seem counter-intuitive to most women: these practices subtly masculinize and disempower women.

Imagine you are a woman suffering from a hormonal imbalance. Your health concerns may include irregular and painful periods, PMS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, low libido, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or pelvic inflammatory disease. Imagine that the place you go for treatment is a warm home environment, and you are greeted with a welcoming smile or embrace at the door. Your health care provider gives you a comfortable seat and offers you a cup of delicious tea. For a full hour you speak with her about your health concerns, family, work, relationships, food, exercise, rest, creativity, and pleasure. You discuss what strategies are working for you and where you need support for your health. At the end of your session, she recommends medicinal foods and self-care practices to help you heal your body in the coming weeks. Then she gives you a relaxing shoulder massage and invites you to a women’s health community event that will include nutritional information, meditation, massage, and a cooking class. You leave feeling relaxed, empowered, and optimistic.

Sadly, women, who are the nurturers of our culture, do not receive this kind of nurture from the present health care system. When a woman walks into a doctor’s office, she will see a professional for approximately 15 minutes. 90% of the time she will not understand the treatments or tests she is given.ⁱ The treatments offered (usually pills or surgery) are aimed at masking, or removing altogether, a woman’s natural hormonal function, instead of nurturing and healing it. Little attention is paid to diet, lifestyle, or emotional and environmental shifts in her life, and no attempts are made to bring the woman into a deeper understanding of herself, or even into the decision-making process.

• Hysterectomy (the removal of the uterus and sometimes the cervix and ovaries) is the second most common surgical procedure performed on women in the U.S.ⁱⁱ
• In a study of 500 women who had hysterectomies, 76% of them may have had the procedure unnecessarily.ⁱⁱⁱ
• The rate of artificially induced births doubled in the U.S. between 1989 (one woman in ten) and 2001 (one woman in five).^iv
• Many decisions to induce artificially induce or force progression of labor are based on the convenience of the delivering doctor.
• Oral contraceptives are no longer prescribed just for birth control, but also for irregular menstrual periods, menstrual cramps, acne, and PMS; it artificially induces a cycle that is considered normal by the medical establishment.
• The pill is prescribed to adolescent girls as young as 13 or 14, interfering with the development of their own natural hormonal cycles.
• Girls whose ovaries are not producing enough estrogen because of anorexia nervosa or excessive exercise often take oral contraceptive pills to replace estrogen.
• Seasonale, a new oral contraceptive, allows woman to menstruate only four times a year; the ads for this drug highlight cleanliness and purity as attributes of not experiencing monthly cycles.
• Studies on pheromones and sexual attraction show that women who are on the pill, and thus do not ovulate, are less sensitive to pheromones excreted by potential sex partners and therefore may be impaired in selection of their partners.
• The antidepressant Prozac, under the name Sarafem, is now widely prescribed for treatment of PMS, as well as body image issues and eating disorders.
• Prozac is prescribed for depression and hormonal mood fluctuations in teens but teenage girls may not need drug regulation. They may simply need more sleep. ^v

Where will women turn for alternatives to this kind of care? More and more women are turning to the fields of alternative medicine for more satisfying solutions. Laughing Sage Wellness offers a revolutionary new model of hormonal health support for women. Our holistic health counseling center pairs clients with insightful and compassionate counselors who are trained experts in holistic nutrition and the medicinal use of food to heal hormonal health issues. Rather than masking or eliminating the hormonal system, Laughing Sage uses food medicinally to gently heal, nurture, and balance hormonal health. Women are empowered to connect with and become knowledgeable about their own bodies and to take charge of their own healing processes. Clients of Laughing Sage Wellness have successfully eliminated symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome, PMS, irritable bowel syndrome, low libido, adrenal fatigue, and more. They experience reduced stress, happier and more stable moods, improved digestion, clearer skin, and easier periods.

Women meet their counselors in a comfortable home environment and in each session receive the time and attention they need to safely explore all aspects of their life and how it impacts their health. Clients learn about hormonal function, the biochemical impact of food on the body, and the energetic issues associated with women’s health problems. In addition to receiving individually tailored diet recommendations, clients are coached on improving relationships, creativity, exercise, and spirituality as a means of creating more support and nurturing energy in their lives. Laughing Sage Wellness also runs workshops on nutrition and intimacy, meditation classes, and cooking classes.

Laughing Sage Wellness seeks to help women wake up to the ways in which our society, including the medical establishment, is disempowering them by disconnecting them from the wisdom of their own bodies. As the modern system of hospitals and insurance becomes more and more unwieldy, we hope to see more women stand up for a more humane, nurturing, and empowering approach to women’s health care.

ⁱ Journal of the American Medical Association
ⁱⁱ According to the WebMD Medical News Archive
ⁱⁱⁱ February 2000 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology
^iv Coalition for Improving Maternity Services: http://www.dona.org/PDF/CIMSinduct-fact-sheet.pdf (PDF file)
^iv Studies by the American Psychology Association and Stanford University; http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.html; http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/adolescent.html

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