How awareness of the menstrual cycle can support pregnancy, birth and parenting by Tessa Sanderson
Menstruality is a term that encompasses the female rites of passage and process of menarche, the menstrual cycle, menopause and the post-menopausal years. It was coined by New Zealand psychotherapist Jane Catherine Severn because she was concerned that we did not have one word to describe this process and without it, the power of menstruality could be undermined or totally ignored.
Alexandra Pope has taken this work to a whole new level through her deep attention to her own menstrual cycle and menopause over a 30-year period, which has led to an incredible body of work to give women a language to understand the insight that their cycles (and menstrual pain, PMT and so on) can provide.
During the menstrual years, many women also experience the initiation of birth and motherhood. I want to share with you how awareness of the menstrual cycle can support pregnancy, birth and parenting.
