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Natural Health Care for Women
A different perspective.
Jane Tara Cicchetti, RSHom(NA), CCH,
Today, with a large section of our
population being made up of women in their late forties, much is being written
about the treatment of menopause.
Articles and books on the subject of self-help for menopause and the
pros and cons of estrogen replacement abound. I applaud this.
The more information women have about their health and the more they
communicate with one another about these important times in their lives the
better. I do, however, have one
problem with much of this information.
That is...menopause is not a disease.....it is not something to be treated, rather,
something to be celebrated as an
important transition in a woman’s life.
The attitude, that menopause,
childbirth and even menstruation are diseases is at the core of the problem
with women’s health care. We are
told that we must be hospitalized to give birth, x-ray our breasts, use vaginal
deodorants and take estrogen for menopause under the fear of dire consequences. And we believe this!!
I
believe that women have lost touch with the tradition of the wise elder woman,
the midwifes and herbalists who once helped to pass knowledge on women's health
from mother to daughter. We now
often turn to doctors to help us become balanced and healthy and are
disappointed. Yet women go to
doctors more often than men.
Why? Because when we
are even slightly out of balance it shows up in the cycles and transitions in
our lives. This is an advantage. It allows us to be more in touch with
our health, to re-balance before something goes wrong. Women's lives are naturally full
of transitions and cycles; menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause
are a part of a healthy woman's life so there are many opportunities for our
bodies and minds to display the symptoms of general imbalance.
We
expect doctors to help us get back into balance and health and they cannot help
us because they are not trained in this area. Doctors do what they are trained to do - treat
disease. They can be very helpful
in this. What they cannot do is
help us to be healthy and balanced.
This is our responsibility and our right.
What
can we do? First and
foremost- live a healthy natural life style. Eat natural foods, get some exercise, and avoid processed
foods, caffeine, sugar, tobacco and excess alcohol. Next, explore tried and true methods of balancing the body
and mind like yoga, massage, and
homeopathy. These have been used
for hundreds of years to create balance and awareness that open the mind, free the spirit and
enhance vitality. Educate ourselves about all the
possibilities that are open to us for health care and discuss these with other
women. Form a woman's group to
rekindle the tradition of sharing knowledge with other women and celebrating
the cycles of our lives. Lastly,
enjoy life. Dance, sing, paint,
and celebrate being a woman.
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