When Gloria Lemay was first starting to go through menopause, she experienced severe cramping and flooding periods.
She’d “never had either of those problems before my mid-40s,” Lemay, a Canadian-based midwife, wrote on Facebook recently. “I knew what to do, just buy more and bigger pads and take Midol for the cramping.”
The power of pausing to rest
Her post continues: “I was too busy to stop and think it through. I really didn't clue in until the bleeding and cramps were so bad that I was on my bedroom floor one day and wanting to call an ambulance.”
In that moment, Lemay, a homebirth midwife based in Canada, thought about how she counseled freshly minted moms. She told her postpartum mamas they needed to stay in bed and rest.
Bedrest, she explained, is crucial in order to give your body time to heal.
In fact, according to Lemay, therapeutic rest is THE cure for breast infections, prolonged vaginal bleeding, and general crabbiness and depression.
“I could hear myself admonishing postpartum mothers about bedrest and I wondered if I should follow the advice I give to them,” Lemay wrote.
Following her own advice
“Instead of rushing around being a midwife and mother of teens, I cancelled everything the day my period started and I went to bed for 5 days. Miracle.
“By doing this every month until my periods stopped all together, I went smoothly through the rest of menopause with no more problems,” she wrote.
“If I hadn't been in the birth business, I'm pretty sure I would have gone to a doctor and been told, ‘You've finished having children, let's remove your uterus and all this cramping and bleeding will stop.’
Happy to still have her uterus
“Having my uterus to hold all my organs in place at 76 years old is pretty important to me,” Lemay continued, adding that she was sharing such intimate details about her nether regions to help other women in their 40s who’ve been dealing with torrential periods and other perimenopausal symptoms.
According to Lemay, we need to talk more about perimenopause, especially how to go through it drug-free and celebrating the next phase of life.
Related posts:
Did You Really Need That Hysterectomy?
When Obstetricians Hate Homebirth Midwives, Birth Becomes Less Safe For Everyone
Born Free: Women Giving Birth at Home Without Midwives
Medical Doctors Choosing Home Birth: Here’s Why
The Doctor Who Refused to Comply
About the author: Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., is an award-winning science journalist, book author, and sought-after speaker. Support natural health, independent journalism, and medical freedom by becoming a paid subscriber to Vibrant Life.
As a woman who fought to keep her Uterus despite dramatic bleeding, I totally feel this post. It does feel counter-culture to even express a desire to keep a uterus in a society that is so accustomed to cutting them out. Nobody wants to talk about this stuff and yet, if we do not, we doom younger generations to play out the same absurdity. I did not want a hysterectomy pushed on me and I do not want a hysterectomy pushed on my daughter. It's 2024 for goodness sake, women deserve more options than what we currently have.
OMG my favorite place... bed 😍🙏💕