Through the Looking Glass

the female pelvis

I finished Woman this week.  There are some really interesting theories around the world about how dangerous menstruating women are including, making “meat go bad, wine turn sour, bread dough fall, mirrors darken and knives become blunt” (Angier, pg. 109). Wow, what power!  On the positive side, the clitoris does not atrophy like vaginal tissue when estrogen decreases with menopause (Angier, pg. 67).  And, the clitoris has 14x greater nerve receptor density that the penis (Angier, pg. 66).  It is really unfortunate what too many of us don’t know these fascinating facts about the inner working of our pelvis!

The Female Pelvis was a huge help when I was experiencing hip pain at the end of my pregnancy.  Self-care is sometimes the best care!  The book has really clear explanations and drawings of the bony landmarks and soft tissues of the pelvis.  I highly recommend it!

This story grabbed my attention this week.  It is about research being done to track changes in the cervix throughout a pregnancy as the cervix “starting out with the capability and consistency of a tendon, and becoming something more like a loose rubber band”.  The tendinous qualities are ideal throughout the pregnancy to contain and retain until it is really time for the expansive rubber band qualities to soften and stretch, and not prematurely.  Super fascinating research!