Nexus - 0304 - New Times Magazine-pages

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collapsed egg follicle which develops into the corpus luteum. Menopausal women have the opportunity to enter this phase of All the hormones released during the menstrual cycle are secret- _ life empowered in their wisdom and creativity as never before. ed not in a constant, steady way but at dramatically different rates | They have access to profound inner-knowing. The renowned soci- during different parts of the 28-day cycle. ologist Margaret Mead said, "There is nothing more powerful than For the first eight to 11 days of the menstrual cycle, a woman's a menopausal woman with zest!" In many cultures around the ovaries make lots of oestrogen. Oestrogen prepares the follicles | world, menopause is a transition and an initiation into the fulfil- for the release of one of the eggs. It is oestrogen which prolifer- ment of a woman's power, totally symptom-free. She is held in ates the changes that take place at puberty: the growth of breasts, the highest regard in her community as a wise, respected elder. the development of the reproductive system and the shape of a woman's body. The Myth of Oestrogen and Synthetic Progestins The rate of oestrogen secretion begins to fall off on about day The earlier research that led to the synthesis of oestrogen made 13, one day before ovulation occurs. As oestrogen falls, proges- possible the development of the oral contraceptive by 1960. With terone begins to rise, stimulating very rapid growth of the follicle. | consent of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Pill Beginning with this secretion of progesterone, ovulation occurs | was widely marketed as an effective, convenient method of birth too. After the egg has been released from the follicle (known as control. True sexual liberation for women was at hand at last. the luteal stage of a woman's cycle), the follicle begins to change, However, the entire basis for the FDA's consent was the result enlarging and becoming a unique organ known as the corpus _ of clinical studies conducted on 132 Puerto Rican women who had luteum. Progesterone is secreted from the corpus luteum, this tiny _ taken the Pill for one year or longer.’ (Never mind the fact that organ with a huge capacity for hormone production. The surge of there were five women who died during the study without any progesterone at the time of ovulation is the source of libido—not investigation into the cause of their deaths.) oestrogen, as is commonly believed. By the mid-1970s the death toll of women from heart attacks After 10 or 12 days, if fertilisation s and strokes began to attract pub- does not occur, ovarian production : : @ lic notice. A newer, supposedly of progesterone falls dramatically. In many cultures around the world, | #@ safer Pill was then created with a It is this sudden decline in proges- lower dose of oestrogen. But, in terone levels that triggers the shed- menopause is a transition and an fact, there has never been any ding of the secretory endometrium initiation into the fulfilment of a valid scientific proof that the Pill (the menses), leading to a renewal of @ is safe—nor, for that matter, that the entire menstrual cycle. woman's power, totally symptom- any of the other forms of contra- Ovarian oestrogen and proges- |free, She is held in the highest regard § ception presently available are terone stimulate the growth of the h safe. Women are only now dis- endometrium, or lining of the uterus, in ner community as a wise, covering the price they have been in preparation for fertilisation. respected elder. paying for their sexual freedom: Oestrogen proliferates the growth of @ by altering their hormonal bal- endometrial tissue, and progesterone ance, many varied and devastat- facilitates the secretory lining of the ing emotional and physiological uterus so the fertilised egg can implant successfully. Adequate dysfunctions have been created. progesterone, therefore, is the hormone most essential to the sur- It is now 35 years on from the introduction of oral contraception vival of the fertilised egg and the foetus. and there are presently about 60 million women worldwide who At around 40 years of age, the interaction between hormones are, in effect, ‘trialling’ the Pill. Its safety and long-term effects alters, eventually leading to menopause. It is still not clear how. _ have still not been established conclusively. It is interesting to Menopause may start with changes in the hypothalamus and the _ note, however, that it has produced a wide assortment of adverse pituitary gland rather than in the ovaries. Scientists have con- effects and side-effects and has a significant link to breast cancer, ducted experiments where young mice have had their ovaries _ high blood-pressure and, in particular, cardiovascular disease—the replaced with those from aged animals no longer capable of repro- major cause of female deaths in Australia. In 1992, 27,833 ducing. The young mice can mate and give birth. This shows that | women died from heart disease and strokes, compared to 2,438 old ovaries placed in a young environment are capable of re- _ from breast cancer.’ Is this merely a coincidence, or do these sta- sponding. On the other hand, when young ovaries are put into old __ tistics indicate, perhaps, the harmful side-effects of tampering with mice, these mice cannot reproduce.’ hormones? Whatever the mechanism triggering menopause, as fewer egg While proclaimed also as the primary missing ingredient for the follicles are stimulated, the amount of oestrogen and progesterone menopausal woman, oestrogen is strongly recommended by the being produced by the ovaries declines although other hormones medical and pharmaceutical industries for the prevention of car- continue to be produced. By no means do the ovaries shrivel up diovascular disease and osteoporosis. Just about any doctor's and cease functioning, as is popularly believed. With the reduc- surgery you walk into these days will warn women of the inherent tion of these hormones, menstruation becomes scantier and erratic _ risks of going through menopause and, for that matter, the post- and eventually ceases. menopausal years without the protection of oestrogen. Women However, other body sites such as the adrenal glands, skin, mus- —_ are further reminded, once again, that menopause is a deficiency cle, brain, pineal gland, hair follicles and body fat are capable of disease, which supposedly means that they are lacking oestrogen making these same hormones, enabling the female body to make and therefore must have supplemental doses to maintain their healthy adjustments in hormonal balance after menopause—pro- _ health. vided a woman has taken good care of herself during the pre- As Dr Lynette Dumble has noted, "Broadly speaking, cardiovas- menopausal years with proper lifestyle, diet and attention to men- _cular prevention in women has overwhelmingly focussed on hor- tal and emotional health. mone replacement. Yet, as Elizabeth Barrett-Connor emphasises, Menopausal women have the opportunity to enter this phase of life empowered in their wisdom and creativity as never before. They have access to profound inner-knowing. The renowned soci- ologist Margaret Mead said, "There is nothing more powerful than a menopausal woman with zest!" In many cultures around the world, menopause is a transition and an initiation into the fulfil- ment of a woman's power, totally symptom-free. She is held in the highest regard in her community as a wise, respected elder. JUNE-JULY 1996 NEXUS ¢ 17