Nexus - 0406 - New Times Magazine-pages

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The uterus also is an important sex organ. The groundbreaking The removal of the ovaries is a great trauma to a woman's body research by Masters and Johnson on human sexuality revealed at any age. Since the ovaries are the primary site of a woman's that the accelerating pitch of sexual excitement prompts the uterus hormone production, surgically removing them immediately puts to contract and rise out of the vagina. At orgasm, it undergoes a _her into an instant menopause. The effect is so immediate that series of contractions. All the other so-called orgasms—of the some doctors put an oestrogen patch on the patient while she is vagina, clitoris and nipples—are the initiators of sexual excite- still in the operating theatre. Many women have severe hot flush- ment but Masters and Johnson showed that uterine contractions es within two hours after surgery. Unfortunately, oestrogen thera- are the end point of this excitement and that female orgasm py doesn't always compensate for the missing hormones since the requires these contractions." ovaries make more than just oestrogen. When you lose your As a result of hysterectomy, some of the nerves connected to ovaries, you also lose progesterone, some of your testosterone and the uterus are severed; but these nerves also supply parts of the androstenedione (a form of androgen which is an oestrogen pre- abdomen, the clitoris and the upper thigh, so this can lead to a loss cursor), as well as any other hormone the uterus and ovaries might of tactile sensation from the waist to the mid-thigh region. make, of which medical science is as yet unaware." Given these findings, there is no doubt that the sexual changes The removal of the ovaries, whether or not hormone therapy is women report after hysterectomy are real, not imagined. taken, makes a woman more vulnerable to osteoporosis and heart Evidence suggests that without a uterus there can be no orgasm. disease than a woman who experiences natural menopause, proba- Other researchers have also shown that internally induced orgasm bly because the body needs more than just oestrogen. The idea occurs when the penis presses hard and repetitively against the that oestrogen therapy can 'replace' the work of the lost ovaries is cervix, causing movement of the uterus and its supports. (It is misleading, and new data on the other hormones produced by the also common for the cervix to be removed during a hysterectomy ovaries shows that it can't. Women who have their ovaries as a so-called preventive measure against cervical cancer.) removed don't feel normal when only oestrogen is 'replaced'. This There is another function of the uterus that is usually not given may relate to orgasm, libido and general well-being. much credence by the medical profession but is nonetheless an The female reproductive system is still very much shrouded in important one. According to Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of | mystery and by no means fully understood by medical science. Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, "The uterus is related to a Dr Susan Love postulates that, "...the earlier menopause caused woman's innermost sense of self and by ordinary hysterectomy (removing her inner worlds. It is symbolic of only the uterus) suggests that there may her dreams and the selves to which be a connection we haven't yet discov- she would like to give birth [and] Dr West warns that it is ered between the uterus and ovaries— reflects her inner emotional reality something akin to, or part of, the feed- and her belief in herself at the deepest therefore imperative for women back loop of the brain, hypothalamus, level." The uterus is the centre of a | to understand that their uteruses pituitary and ovary. The uterus may woman's creative self. produce a hormone that responds to the and/or ovaries should not be ovary. Then when the uterus is gone OVARIES’ LIFELONG ROLE willingly sacrificed except for and the feedback ends, the ovary realis- Aside from the ovaries' important . . es it doesn't have any place to drop its function of storing and maturing the the purpose of saving life. eggs, so it stops trying."” eggs, they have another important Dr West concurs. "Even when the role as endocrine glands, producing ovaries are left in place, many women hormones before, during and after develop serious physical and emotional menopause. problems. Most are due to permanent ovarian failure. In up to 50 Far from the popular myth that ovaries dry out, shrivel up and _ per cent of women whose ovaries have been left intact, the ovaries become completely useless at menopause, the ovaries perform a _ often cease to function normally after hysterectomy. ...we can vital function during a woman's entire postmenopausal life. As assume that at least 70 per cent of all women who have hysterec- women naturally age, a part of the ovary—the theca, the outer tomies will encounter some problems."*! - ‘ Ihave tha inls hat tha willingly sacrificed except for the purpose of saving life. menopause. Far from the popular myth that ovaries dry out, shrivel up and become completely useless at menopause, the ovaries perform a vital function during a woman's entire postmenopausal life. As women naturally age, a part of the ovary—the theca, the outer covering where the eggs grow and develop—does shrink; but the inner part of the ovary, the inner stoma, actually becomes active at menopause for the first time in a woman's life. After menopause the ovaries continue to function, working in concert with the skin, liver and fat to produce hormones. Celso Ramé6n Garcia, M.D., director of surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, USA, is one of many authorities say- ing that the hormones produced by the postmenopausal ovaries promote bone health and skin suppleness, support sexual func- tioning, protect against heart disease and contribute to a woman's health and well-being."* The ovaries serve more than one purpose. Reproduction is their most dramatic function but it isn't the only one. These organs have as much to do with the maintenance of a woman's own life as they do with her role in bringing other lives into the world. The menopausal ovary is neither failing nor useless. At menopause it is simply beginning to shift from its reproductive to its maintenance function. MEDICAL SCIENCE OR MISOGYNY? The uterus is the female equivalent of the prostate gland, while the ovaries' counterparts are the testicles. The removal of the prostate and testicles results in castration for a man. But for a woman, when her uterus and ovaries are removed, she, too, is effectively ‘castrated’. No doctor in his/her right mind would suggest to a man that he have his prostate and testicles cut out unless his life were serious- ly endangered, nor make absurd statements promising him a new and better life. Yet, gynaecologists are all too eager to suggest this serious procedure to women for many minor and certainly less-than-life-threatening complaints. No physician today can assure any woman that hysterectomy will not affect her sex life. Dr West warns that it is therefore imperative for women to understand that their uteruses and/or ovaries should not be willingly sacrificed except for the purpose of saving life. 32 * NEXUS Dr West warns that it is and/or ovaries should not be OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1997