Blood
The science, medicine, and mythology of menstruation
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
The galvanizing new book from Dr. Jen Gunter, #1 bestselling author of The Vagina Bible and The Menopause Manifesto, dispels the shame, mythology, and misinformation around menstruation with scientific facts, medical expertise, and a fierce feminist perspective.
Most of us know about as much about how the uterus and ovaries function as we do about how the liver works. Add in societal shame around the menstrual cycle and it’s not surprising that misinformation is widespread. But, as women’s health advocate and trusted OB-GYN Dr. Jen Gunter writes, “you don’t have to think about your liver 5 days a month for 30 years, so I’d argue people should know more about the uterus." Enter Blood.
In her new book, Dr. Gunter offers a clear, no-nonsense guide to reproductive anatomy and answers all the questions you never knew you had about menstrual bleeding—for example, where does the blood come from? And where does it go if you miss a period? Why do we even menstruate in the first place? With her expertise and trademark wit, Dr. Gunter debunks myths and challenges patriarchal attitudes toward this natural bodily process, shedding light on:
The endometrium's fascinating connection to the immune systemThe brain-ovary connectionLegitimate menstrual products, and the facts behind toxic shock syndromeIrregular, heavy, and breakthrough bleedingPeriod painEndometriosisPolycystic Ovary SyndromeHormonal contraception, menstrual tracking, and FAM (fertility awareness methods)Abortion as menstrual management
And much more. Surprising, funny, and fact-filled, Blood is an essential and empowering resource from the doctor who "takes the mystery out of women’s health and replaces it with evidence-informed concrete recommendations." (Lori Brotto, Canada Research Chair in Women's Sexual Health)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gynecologist Gunter (The Menopause Manifesto) delivers a superb overview of "the menstrual cycle and the medical conditions and therapies associated with" it. Delving into the science of periods, Gunter explains that "seven to 10 days after ovulation," endometrium in the uterus fills "with storage sugars and lipids" to provide nourishment for potential embryos; if conception doesn't occur, the endometrium is expelled and the process restarts. Patriarchal perspectives, Gunter contends, have dominated women's healthcare for centuries (ancient Greek men viewed menstruation as "proof that women have troublesome physiology"), and women continue to be underserved by the medical research community, as evidenced by the fact that government-funded medical studies weren't required to include women until 1993 and that the U.S. only spends about $2 per patient on endometriosis research per year, compared to on diabetes, "which affects the same number of people." Gunter is a sharp critic of the ways in which menstrual complications have been dismissed by the medical establishment (she notes that despite painful periods affecting a majority of women, they are often dismissed as "exaggerated and a sign of weakness" while "billions of dollars of funding" are showered on erectile dysfunction), and her talent for explicating the biology of periods will engage even the scientifically uninclined. Filled with piercing social analysis and enlightening science, this one's a winner.
