The Uterine Health Companion: A Holistic Guide to Lifelong Wellness

The uterus is a remarkable organ--it is our first home, contributes to women's sexual pleasure, houses some of the strongest muscles in the body, and even helps prevent heart disease and highblood pressure. However, in the West, the uterus has generally been viewed as insignificant beyond reproduction and rarely receives our attention except when it becomes problematic or when we focus on getting pregnant orgiving birth. Even though health-promoting strategies for organs like the heart and lungs have become common knowledge, preventative measures for lifelong uterine health have been largely absent from Western medical care.Consequently, one-third of all women in the United States will have a hysterectomy--the highest rate in the world.

In "The Uterine Health Companion," anthropologist andholistic health expert Eve Agee reveals that women in many non-Western societies do not share our high rates of benign uterine problems or our negative attitudes about the uterus. Drawing on her research with women in theUnited States and abroad, Agee shows how traditional practices from other cultures can help create lasting health so that issues such as PMS, fibroids, and endometriosis do not have to be our destiny as women. Throughpoignant narratives as well as global insights, the book inspires us to develop new understandings about health and healing that affirm all women.

The Uterine Health Companion demonstrates whythe uterus matters and how we can take care of it, from menarche to menopause--and beyond. A comprehensive holistic plan including nutrition, exercise, and visualization guides us to promote uterine wellness andenhance conventional medical therapies. Chapters dedicated to specific uterine issues illustrate how to support our health through simple daily practices and fundamental attitude shifts in our relationship to our bodies.The book also includes strategies for women who have had hysterectomies. This empowering resource offers a prescriptive, balanced approach to developing and maintaining optimal uterine health, for every woman at any stageof life.

"From the Trade Paperback edition."

Contents

 

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction  Celebrating the Uterus 1

 

Part One  Understanding Uterine Health

 

Chapter One  Holistic Health Foundations 15

Chapter Two  Your Uterus: A Road Map 27

 

Part Two  The Optimal Uterine Health Plan

 

Chapter Three  Transforming the Mind: Breathwork, Visualization, and Cognitive Restructuring  51

Chapter Four  The Power of Food: Uterine Wellness Through Nutrition 79

Chapter Five  Strengthening the Body: Movement, Postural Alignment, and Bodywork 103

 

Part Three  Uterine Health Conditions

 

Chapter Six  Menstruation 121

Chapter Seven  Endometriosis 135

Chapter Eight  Fibroids 151

Chapter Nine  Fertility, Pregnancy, and Birth 167

Chapter Ten  Menopause 185

Chapter Eleven  Hysterectomy 201

 

Conclusion  Creating Lifelong Wellness: New Possibilities for Uterine Health              217

Resources 221

Notes 225

Bibliography 231

Index 241

 

“The Uterine Health Companion is good medicine. Because it’s written from the perspective of a medical anthropologist with cross-cultural experience, it highlights how very skewed the Western medical view of the uterus really is. I highly recommend this book.”

—Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom