To wonder why menstruation is the way it is

[Arina22]

I work in a female boarding school with teenagers.

Every week one of them is in terrible pain from her period. It ruins a big chunk of their lives.

I just wonder why on earth periods exist. Especially because if you take a certain medication, it makes the blood be reabsorbed by the body, and the body is totally fine. So there is no need for periods to exist at all

I had no idea it was a myth. Tbh I used to cry from pain and passed out once it was that bad.

have you never seen any of the threads about women having painful hysteroscopies? Can't see DIY suck-your-own-period-out kit taking off!

Historically, women didn't have as many periods as they do now.
They started later, the average age was 16 in the 17th century, they had more irregular periods due to poor nutrition, and they spent more time either pregnant, breastfeeding, or dead. The average life expectancy was much lower.
Less likely to get endometriosis if you aren't shedding uterine lining into your abdominal cavity every month.
They reckon we get around 450 periods during our lifetime, compared to 100 in previous centuries before birth control and improved nutrition and medical advances.

It wouldn't be MN if a man wasn't blamed! Would it!?
Classic!! 😂

When you say lack of women’s health care, what do you mean?

Periods must give some evolutionary advantage compared to other methods. I don't know what those advantages are though, I will do some research and get back to you all. 😁

What is the point of moaning about something you can't change? I don't understand all the negativity around periods and menopause on this site.

Yeah, but she did say he was "sexiest" 😂

Firstly, we can change it. I went on the pill as a teenager which stopped the terrible pain.

Secondly, with that attitude nothing would ever change or improve!

... thirdly, it all involves a lot of pain, mess and inconvenience!

I didn’t know this, but now you say it then it makes sense.

Always the man’s fault 😂

I don’t think the medical profession take ‘women’s issues’ seriously. Any doctors out there who can dispute this?

For Adam and his knob.

How much research goes into female specific health care? I mean actively research into treatments that help period problems pregnancy problems? Because after all these years women shouldn't be suffering from cramps

I'd be really interested to know!

God as conceived by Judaism, Christianity and Islam is most definitely male, still routinely blames women for ‘original sin’, and still routinely bars women from full membership and engagement. Oh, except for controlling their clothing.

Ypu might want to look up a fascinating book called ‘Europe the first million years’ for a quick reminder of just how much male apes have controlled evolution. There’re plenty of other books on domestication of course, but that one had me hooked. Plus a few on how damaging the last 400 years particularly have been for women - try ‘Normal women’ by Philippa Gregory.

Do female apes have hymens?

And box with your feet!

Can you tell me if you're arguing there isn't enough? It's a very complex area. I had my own assessment recently with a gynae consultant and was pretty astounded at some of the research going on but it's complicated when the NHS is under such pressure to suddenly change pathway processes for care.

Because we got annoyed at having to bake bread literally all day long rather than just having runs with tigers.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/why-do-only-some-animals-have-periods

https://eusci.org.uk/2020/04/09/why-do-humans-and-so-few-other-animals-have-periods/

Shit smells so that we don't try to eat it. Same with vomit. They're waste products and would be bad for us, so nature made them revolting.

Ooh good question!

A quick google-oogle says they exist in whales, horses and elephants, where they’re only torn on giving birth. It’s hard to find decent links - it seems there’s not an awful lot of research into women’s biology, can’t imagine why. Some theories for the existence include upright walking or the ol’ aquatic ape theory leading to a greater poss of infection. A couple mention patriarchy and sexual selection as a possibility but that doesn’t seem likely as patriarchy is very late in evolution - probably linked to farming, seems to be a later condition in Sumerian societies and something that swept through on the back of Rome perhaps. Suppression of women seems to come about with economic change.