Женски тела, женска мъдрост

by Christiane Northrup, Кристиан Нортръп, Евелина Банева (translator)

Д-р Кристиан Нортръп, холистичен лекар, специалист по акушерство и гинекология, обяснява механизмите на женското тяло и описва изчерпателно различни заболявания, както и опасенията на жените за тяхното здраве. Тя доказва по убедителен начин, че когато жената се вслуша в мъдростта на собственото си тяло или промени онези предпоставки в живота си, които водят до здравословни проблеми, може да постигне изцеление по-бързо, по-цялостно и с по-малка медицинска намеса.
Вие държите в ръцете си преработеното и допълнено издание на тази важна книга, което предлага най-новата информация за целия спектър от женски болести. То включва: изцяло обновена глава за режима на хранене, наблягаща върху индивидуалните потребности и телесната химия; нова информация за методите, които увеличават шансовете на жената над 35 години да забременее и да намали риска от цезарово сечение; изцяло осъвременена програма за менопауза, включително как да разберете дали хормонозаместителната терапия е подходяща за вас; холистични начини да се подготвите и излекувате по-бързо, ако ви се налага операция.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help, Womens, Reference, Feminism, Psychology

628 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[sAmAnE · Rating 5 out of 5]

من این کتاب رو دارم برای بار دوم می‌خونم و خوندنش به تمام دختران و زنان توصیه میکنم. کتاب در دو بخش به بررسی جنبهوهای روانی و جسمی در زنان پرداخته و چون این کتاب توسط یک پزشک نوشته شده و تجربیات و خاطراتش رو هم آورده خیلی میتونه مفید باشه، من که خیلی ازش درس کرفتم و برام مفید بود. صفحات اول کتاب ممکنه یکم گیج‌کننده و سخت به نظر بیاد ولی وقتی پیش میره انقدر نکات کاربردی و مفید کفته میشه که گاها مجبورید یه جا یادداشت کنید تا این نکات جلوی چشمتون باشه و فراموش نکنید. درمورد شفابخشی فردی، قدرت تحرک، اهمیت غذا و رژیم خیلی نکات خوب و کاربردی گفته شده. درباره‌ی احساسات زنان ، اهمیت دادن به بدن و شنیدن صداهای بدن هنگام مواجه شدن با بیماری بسیار عالی بودند.

[lola · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so OK in many ways--she has me nodding "yes, yes, yes" about working on your attitude to improve your health and everyday well-being all the way up until she starts talking about how like, you can give yourself cancer if you regret not having children or whatnot. Sort of like when Louise Hay writes in You Can Heal Your Life about doing therapy with overweight people and then just busts out with, "I explain that they are fat because they don't love themselves." For a better explanation, please see Jezebel.com: Is Oprah's women's health advisor a misogynist?

Right, so I gave myself chlamdyia because I was angry at myself for procrasting a test or breaking up with an old boyfriend or some shit. Next time I get a yeast infection I'm going to treat it by stuffing one of those "Hang in there!" posters and a restaurant gift certificate up my cunt.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

May 2008: My initial opinion of the book was overwhelmingly positive, though I do feel I need to "caution" prospective readers because it certainly will not be for everyone. I focused on the women's health aspects, ignoring the chapters on pregnancy and menopause as neither applied to me. Dr. Northrop couples traditional "Western medicine" and by-the-book discussions of female anatomy and biologial functions with a holistic, soulful approach to understanding why our bodies work the way they do, the way society and emotional footprints influence women's perceptions of themselves and, subsequently, the way our bodies react to their woman-ness. I find that this approach fits nicely with my own perceptions of understanding our bodies and maintaining health in that I appreciate such non-Western aspects as chakra energy and the benefits of acupuncture, but also realize when Western medicine may provide assistance. Also, I do believe emotional and external influences do have an impact on how we feel and that this can sometimes manifest in physical symptoms. With that said, I think sometimes Dr. Northrop takes the ideas a bit too far--it seems that many times she suggests that some sort of emotional/relationship unrest is the underlying cause of physical problems. This could certainly be upsetting to, say, a very loving and committed couple who experience fertility issues. However, taken with a grain of salt, I think Dr. Northrop's messages should be heard and I've found benefit from the book already.

February 2012:
I returned to do a light brush-up with the information after several years and found myself caught by the "Abortion" segment since the Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood issue has been in the news lately. Although I generally avoid the subject since I have my own very firm convictions about it, I couldn't help but sneak a peak here.

I wish I hadn't.

I was deeply troubled at what Dr. Northrup had to say about the subject. While I certainly do not want to attack her personal beliefs, I was surprised that she conveyed them in this medical book.

Dr. Northrup believes in reincarnation. Now, I have no trouble with this but here she mentions that the aborted soul will come back another time when the parents are ready (or, assuming the mother never gets pregnant again, I guess the little soul would go to another woman's uterus?) which seems to make the choice about having an abortion much easier. Now, she does not believe in abortion as a casual birth control method and she admits her anger when performing a fourth abortion on a women who is simply careless and that she wishes we lived in a world where abortions are not necessary (and believes in a grieving process for terminated pregnancies). However, she does feel it is perhaps best to have an abortion if the mother feels the pregnancy is "not right" (she is not singling out cases of rape and incest here, but even for married couples who feel that it is not the right time for them, etc.) In one example, she told of a woman who felt that her pregnancy was "wrong" and talked to her baby asking it to leave, but it stayed. Finally, she called the abortion clinic and later that day she had a miscarriage, to the mother's great relief.

The idea that there IS a soul inside the growing fetus, but that it can be aborted without blame, is one I have never encountered before. Perhaps it is not unique to Dr. Northrup, but, again, I found it a troubling inclusion in a medical book.

Moreover, she says that the damage done by carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term is perhaps so great that abortion is the more compassionate choice as the child would otherwise likely live out his/her life in misery. As the wife of a happy and well-adjusted man who was adopted (and sister-in-law to his two equally well-adjusted adopted siblings), I find Northrup's ideas deeply disturbing and offensive and I feel sorry for adopted women who read this section of the book. Certainly I do not deny that a pregnancy in which the child is wanted well before conception and loved throughout the pregnancy and into its young life is the most preferred. But to claim that when a pregnancy feels "not right" it is often best to abort is deeply troubling to me. Adoption can be a very important way to bring a family together, even if it is not with the birth parents. Also, I have friends who did not plan to conceive, and wrestled with the idea of having an abortion, but chose to keep the baby and are wonderfully loving parents. Of course, I'm sure there are those who had unwanted children and did lead miserable lives, but I felt there was not enough balance presented in this book and feel sad that adopted children might read this and think there is something inherently damaged about their spirits.

I do still feel there is some value in other aspects of Northrup's book and feel that her heart is in the right place in wanting to help women live healthy and happy lives, but the abortion segment really turned me off to her "wisdom" on pregnancy and childbirth, and I'm afraid it will do the same for many others. Moreover, I remain troubled by the idea that women's health problems are all based on underlying psychological problems, especially in the case of infertile women (see the one-star Amazon reviews for their feelings about the book if you fall into this category to see if reading the book would be troubling for you). I might suggest Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health as a more neutral and helpful book in regards to reproductive health.

*************************************************************
I've always tried to be a "healthy person" -- eat right (well, most of the time, haha!), avoid artificial junk, take care of my allergies, etc. It's dawned on me, however, that I really have not taken a significant or sufficient look at being a healthy WOMAN. There's a lot more I can learn and understand about specifically female aspects of health, and I like the sound of this book's approach in that it is a blend of Western medicine, holistic approaches, and some spiritual aspects. Now, to find out if it delivers! (And, yikes! it's a really long book!)

[Zahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتابی که خواندن آنرا به تمام زنان و دختران توصیه می کنم.
در ابتدا با حجم زیادی از لغات پزشکی و فیزیولوژی روبرو میشوید که کمی توی ذوق می خورد اما کم کم سازگاری با فضای کتاب صورت می گیرد و حتی می توانید به راحتی اصطلاحات تخصصی را دنبال کنید و چیزهای جدیدی یاد بگیرید. ارتباط مستقیم جسم و جان زن ، راه کارهای روان شناختی و درمانی ساده از زبان یک پزشک زنان بسیار جذاب و کارگشاست. مهمترین چیزی که از کتاب یادگرفتم توجه بیشتر به جسمم، دردهایم، به درون خود جستن و ارتباط گرفتن با ارگان های بدنم هست ... نکته ی دیگر که خانم دکتر نویسنده ی عزیز با مثالهای متعدد از تجربیات بیماران خود تلاش در طرح آن دارد.. سوگواری کافی در از دست دادنها ست ... هر آنچه که از دست میدهیم بخصوص ترک شدن در یک رابطه ی عاطفی موجب بیماریهای زنان علی الخصوص سرطان در ارگان های حساس زنان می گردد، سیر کتاب با مثالهای واقعی تبین می کند درمان پزشکی حتما باید همراه با درمان روحی صورت بگیرد. باید زمان لازم و فضای لازم برای سوگواری این نوع فقدان ها رو بخود بدهیم و به هر صورت نباید خشم و غصه و عزای خود را فرو بخوریم. این یعنی " شکستن و به عجز رسیدن برای پیش رفتن به جلو". ما نیاز داریم واقعا " احساساتمان را حس کنیم."

اما کتاب که تمام شد خوشحال نبودم دوست داشتم بیشتر بدانم راجع به همه ی پیچیدگی های جسم و جانم. و سوال بی پاسخم .. اگر در حادثه ی ناگواری خودم مرحوم شوم و مرگ و نابودی و شوک روحی یک جا و بعد از آن اثرات تخریبی هر روزه ی آنرا روی خودم حس کنم ان وقت است که باید برای از دست دادن خودم سوگوار باشم؟؟.. عزاداری که تا همیشه همراه من است.. و جسم و جان را آب می کند..

[Zahrashabestary · Rating 4 out of 5]

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یکی از خوب‌ترین کتاب‌هایی که خوندم.
چرا؟
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۱_ به من یک دیدگاه داد.
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۲_ اهمیت پرداختن به ریشه‌ی روانی انتخا‌بهای ما از خوراک تا رفتار با تن.
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۳_توجه به دلایل انتخاب‌های ریز ما درباره‌ی جسم و اثر طولانی مدت اون روی سلامت.
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۴_پرداختن به دلایل ظریف نقش‌هایی که می‌پذیریم و مواردی که برای خودمون وظیفه، تعهد، مسئولیت می‌دونیم. خیلی‌ از اون موارد از الگوهای قدیمی که امروز کارکردی نداره گرفته شده‌.
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۵_ از همه مهم‌تر
توجه به تن و تمام اعضاش و قدرتشون به اندازه‌ی حوزه‌ی سر.

۶_صحبت از تاثیر فشارهای اجتماعی در انتخاب‌ها و تصمیم‌های ما راجع به خوراک، رژیم، زیبایی، اندام و...

کتاب شامل تمرین‌های زیادیه که من چون اولین بار بود خوندم انجام ندادم اما قراره بعد از یک استراحت کوتاه برگردیم تا آخر سال مرور و تمرین کنیم.


نویسنده پزشک زنانه و موارد پزشکی زیادی هم وارد کتاب کرده و از تجربه‌های بالینی‌اش صحبت کرده که خیلی کمک کنندس.

به نظر من این کتاب فقط برای زنان نیست و کتابی برای همه‌‌ی آدم‌هایی که به دنبال بهبود کیفیت زندگی هستن فارغ از جنسیت.
برای کسب آگاهی راجع به تن و فشارهای درونی و بیرونی فقط توی بخش‌هایی بیشتر به اندام‌های زنانه پرداخته که بازم کسب اطلاعات تو این حوزه به نظرم می‌تونه برای آقایون هم مفید باشه.
اگر شما مرد هستید و این کتاب رو بخونید می‌تونید به زن‌هایی که اطرافتونه آگاهی بدید و از کلیشه‌های ذهنی که باعث فشار روانی روی دیگران و خودتونه مطلع بشید.
و به اهمیت توجه به تن بعنوان یک انسان ه�� آگاه بشید.

چیزی که برای من در حال حاضر خیلی مهمه توی زندگی، ارتقای کیفیت روزمرگی‌های ساده‌امه.
خوراک، تحرک، رشد ذهن، کنترل استرس، رشد روانی، لذت از عناصر کوچک، کیفیت رابطه با خود و دیگران.
دلم نمی‌خواد تهش من باشم و یه سری دستاورد بیرونی (اگر این ممکن بشه) اما براش معامله‌ سنگینی کرده باشم.
زندگی روزانه‌ی بی‌کیفیت پر کافئین، چربی، قند و بی‌خوابی، بی‌تحرکی، پر از تعصب، ذهن منجمد با ناامیدی و روابط ضعیف.
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بخش‌هایی به مبحث چاکراها پرداخته که من هیچ اطلاعی ازش ندارم و برای من زیاد مفید نبود.

همین که این کتاب تونست توی لیست اهداف من توجه به جسم رو بیاره برام کافیه.

۹۹/۱۰/۸

#جسم_زن_جان_زن
#کتاب

[Andee Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Women are rising like yeast all over the planet" -Sonia Johnson

I reserve my usage of 5 stars for outstanding books such as this. I enthusiastically believe every girl and woman need this information, although I do believe we are already experiencing a shift in our society. The times, they are a changing! I look forward to sharing these new traditions and rituals with my daughter.

Let me conclude with a little Tupac:

"...And since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies, but you gotta keep your head up"

[Daniel Donatelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift from my ex-girlfriend after I told her it had passed my "first sentence, first paragraph test" while I was poring through her bookshelf one night, and its quality remained steady throughout. As a hypochondriac, I think I needed to read this book about women's health issues in order to learn the power of listening to ourselves and our cells without losing myself in worries over the various maladies described (I could learn about self-healing without having to palpate myself for signs of a telltale fibroid). With a little tweaking, this book could have been called "People's Bodies, People's Wisdom," but I completely understand why it was woman-centric instead. I bring up that point if only because despite being a man I was able to glean a tremendous amount of information about myself from this book. In my opinion, WBWW should be required reading for high schoolers -- male and female. If you ask me, the earlier and more credibly these ideas can be given to people, the better.

[Pamela Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every woman should read this book and every man should buy the women in his life this book. Empowering women worldwide with knowledge about their own bodies in the most practical of terms, this book covers a broad range of women's health issues with the balanced yet practical wisdom of mind-body wellness. I recommend this book to all my friends and it has been a permanent addition to my favorite books collection. This book was a foundational book for me and gave me greater understanding into both my body and mind. Christine is a wonderful teacher, mentor and true healer.

[Tioarifi · Rating 1 out of 5]

۲۹ آبان ماه ۱۴۰۳
شاید کتاب مناسبی برای یک مرد نباشه ولی از دید من که کتاب رو خوندم جامعه ما به سوی زن سالاری میره تا مرد سالاری
کل کتاب در مورد خانواده و کودکی و سلامت جسم و روان زن و این که چه آسیب هایی میبینن هست بخش ۷ و ۸ که در مورد غذا و ورزش بود یکم قابل درک بود و مابقی فقط برای این که یه چیزی گفته باشه!

[Samyy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a lot of issues with this book.

The author suggests that all illness is affected by our emotional state, but goes on to say that hope and self esteem are more important than antibiotics, immunization, clean water & diet in health determinants & death rates.

She goes much too far down the rabbit hole of “vibrational energy” & suggests that even water has feelings and emotions.

Once she started quoting Deepak Chopra as an “authority” on consciousness & medicine, I knew I wasn’t going to get on board with this book.

The author also talks of the power of prayer to heal at a distance instantly, citing ONE source, & yet I know of no peer-reviewed evidence of this nature despite having read many scientific analyses.

The author is even naive enough to suggest that we could cure ALS by learning to “love our parts”. This is absurd.

I haphazardly skimmed over entire sections because the nonsense was just too much to comprehend.

That’s not to say this book is a complete wash. There are some valuable tidbits & spiritual life lessons, particularly regarding getting in touch with our inner lives & emotions. There are beautiful concepts of feeling into pain & not hiding or stifling it, allowing the body to process things properly.

However, a lot of correlation is used to imply causation. Which may be fine for her, but not those seeking both connectedness & truth. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

In the end, the book relies too much on unproven science, & attempts to cover too much ground. The nature of the topics are too complex to handle in one book. There is not nearly enough depth or research, although she does offer many other good resources.

[Repix Pix · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pensaba que era un libro serio y no un panfleto sobre chakras, energías y mierdas varias.

[LizG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every women should read this book, period.

It's jam packed with info not just on health, but on understanding, respecting and honouring the amazing knowledge and strength women have when they connect with what their bodies are telling them.

For me the most powerful underlying idea that many of the systems of our culture are defaulted to a linear/masculine way of thinking, which leaves women feeling like they don't fit. If we can acknowledge this and disengage from trying to fit, it's possible to discover a whole other way of being, one that fits just fine.

And, I learned amazing things about the female body.

[Mahi M · Rating 5 out of 5]

نه تنها همه‌ی زنان و دختران جهان بلکه همه‌ی درمانگران، جدایی از جنسیتشون هم باید و باید این کتاب رو بخونن!

[Na'ama Yehuda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, demystifying, normalizing book about what many women did not have the opportunity or place to learn or know (and what many doctors--and research that was done only on men, to avoid the effects of 'hormonal fluctuations' on the result--could not tell us women about our own bodies). Love it. It is through that book that I realized why Aleve works for menstrual cramps for me while Advil and Motrin did not. It helped me understand other things, and it helped strengthen my relationship with this amazing vessel that carries me daily. We women are blessed with a very fine tuned miracle maker body. Christiane Northrup points a light onto the many things that make it so, and how to make living in a female body more fluid, more gracious, more fun, and more fully understood. Love it. If you are a woman, you gotta read it. If you are a man, you REALLY have to read it.

[Emma Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful reference for women (like me) who know there are emotional connections/ramifications to our physical health, and want advice that addresses them with hard medical science too. (Causation, not just symptoms). Highly recommend for those also inclined.

[Olivia Marquez, · Rating 5 out of 5]

What more can I say? This book is life changing!! If you are a woman of any age, pick up this book and read it NOW. You will thank me later. :-)

[Linda Ethier · Rating 1 out of 5]

As with the review I just posted for "The Wisdom of Menopause," I felt this one was an interesting, affirmative, and somewhat helpful book when I first read it about twenty years ago. I was aware that Northrup, a women's health guru, was promoting some goofy ideas that had absolutely no basis in science, but was willing to overlook that because of the book's positive attributes. Unfortunately, she has more recently gone off the deep end with her anti-vax propaganda and COVID misinformation, and has gone so far as to promote QAnon conspiracy theory. In other words, she has transitioned from indulging in mere silliness to promoting ideas that are a danger to both the individuals who follow her and the population at large. For that reason, I would change my rating from three stars to one. Not recommended.

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! I keep it by my bed and look things up frequently. I'm a healthy person but I find it comforting to have answers to questions I may encounter right at my fingertips. Originally, I was recommended this book when I was experiencing multiple frequent ovarian cysts rupturing (incredibly painful), and the doctors I was going to had very little advice or answers for me. This book explained more about what was happening in my body than the doctors could. The cause ended up being (as far as I can tell), birth control that I simply cannot take. Since then, I have used this book for countless little and big questions I've had including pregnancy. I would recommend this book to any woman or man that wants to be informed about women's' bodies and health.

[missy jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

pamy and julie...i finally read it! joe's mom actually had it on her bookshelf so i read it over the four days that we were in illinois. you were right: i loved it. i want to get a copy for myself and read it with a highlighter, because there were so many comforting parts (especially the parts about birth and nursing) that really spoke to some of the feelings i've had since the baby was born. what a great book...

[Angie Libert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have dismissed Dr. Northrup for years because of her MD title. I falsely assumed that an MD would not speak truth. Well, just like all prejudices, I discovered I was wrong! :) This lady is fabulously insightful and knowledgeable. She has meshed her MD knowledge with Eastern medicine into a truly beneficial wealth of knowledge about women and their bodies. I am looking forward to reading more of her material!

[Bárbara Antunes · Rating 5 out of 5]

All young girls and women should read this!

[Rachel Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t say enough good things about this book. She’s taught me how and inspired me to make real changes that will impact my spiritual, mental and physical health, for the better. Life changer!

[Samira · Rating 4 out of 5]

حالا می‌فهمم، زمانی که من از خودم مراقبت می‌کنم، هر چیز دیگری، خود به خود، درست خواهد شد.

در مجموع مطالب مفیدی رو گوشزد کرده.

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

*THIS IS PSEUDOSCIENCE*

I signed up for a womens health class, got this as the textbook, and found a section in it about endometriosis. I live with this illness and out of curiosity, decided to read this section. The misinformation astounded me. I am incredibly disappointed that this is full of myths about endometriosis, and I wanted to share my insight on this section as someone living with this illness. 

In the third paragraph, it says, "Endometriosis is an illness of competition. It comes about when a woman’s emotional needs are competing with her functioning in the outside world. When a woman feels that her innermost emotional needs are in direct conflict with what the world is demanding of her, endometriosis is one of the ways in which her body tries to draw her attention to the problem.”

When I clicked on the source, it cited “Information from Caroline Myss.” I looked her up and found that she’s received much criticism for her work being unsubstantiated and pseudoscientific. Others have agreed she has no evidence or backing for her claims. Her wikipedia page explains that her work is “widely regarded as pseudoscientific.”

No one knows the actual cause of endometriosis. There are theories, but none have been proven accurate. For Christiane Northrup to have shared this unreliable source, she is continuing to perpetuate the massive issue of misinformation regarding endometriosis. Endometriosis is already far from understood. There are so many who claim they know the cause, like Myss, and Northrup has taken her misinformation as true. 

There are multiple reasons why I am passionate about the correct information being spread about endometriosis. If regular gynecologists were properly and thoroughly taught about endometriosis in school, not given a 30-minute brief and incorrect summary, there would be far less cases of them not believing their patients. When women see their gyno due to suffering from endometriosis pain, they are so often told it’s in their heads, they’re making it up, it’s their fault, pain is normal, or to see a psychiatrist. We are gaslighted by the very doctors meant to help us. Many of us with endometriosis have also had to go through medical trauma. There is so much victim-blaming prevalent with endometriosis. The misinformation that Northrup repeats—that the cause is from a conflict with a woman’s emotional needs and her needs in the outside world—adds even further to victim-blaming. As though it is her fault she has endo. It’s unfortunately common for people to say they’ve heard this diet, this herb, these essential oils, yoga, or special smoothie blends cure endometriosis. With all this misinformation going around, there’s no wonder it takes so long to get diagnosed. It should not take an average of 7 years to get diagnosed with an illness that 1 in 10 women have. 

The fourth paragraph goes on further, “A great many of the women I’ve seen who have endometriosis drive themselves relentlessly in the outer world, rarely resting, rarely tuning in to their innermost needs and deepest desires. It makes perfect sense that so many women would have this disease at this time in our history." Northrup continues victim-blaming without any evidence that this is the cause. She blames the high number of women with endo on the working, busy lives many women lead. In saying this, she implies a woman brings endometriosis onto herself by having such a lifestyle. Nothing is cited. Nothing proves her claim. She keeps blaming the ones suffering.

The fourth paragraph continues, "One Jungian analyst has referred to endometriosis as ‘a blood sacrifice to the Goddess.’ It is our bodies trying not to let us forget our feminine nature, our need for self-nurturance, and our connection with other women.” 

As someone who's been in so much pain that I cannot move my body from the floor, where each breath is agonizing, where nerve pain is so intense that I cannot walk or stand, where nausea plagued me daily for countless months as a result from the pain, where endometriosis lesions were found in my left pelvic wall pressing down on my nerve plexus, where my friends have vomited each period and passed blood clots the size of their fists—I can confidently say that endometriosis is no blood sacrifice to the goddess. It is nothing divine. It is nothing sacred. Endometriosis is not how our bodies tell us to remember feminine nature, self-nurturance, or to connect with other women. It is agony, torture, and endless suffering. It is nothing feminine. It is nothing to twist and celebrate. Endometriosis is something to take seriously, to promote further research, and find an actual cure to give women their lives back.

Northrup wrote as a response to why so many women have endometriosis, "Another factor in the apparent increase in incidence of endometriosis is that women today are delaying childbearing. When they do have children, they are having fewer of them—which means they have a greater number of menstrual cycles than women did in the past. Since endometriosis is a hormone-dependent disorder, when the body has relatively high circulating estrogen levels without the break that occurs during pregnancy and nursing, endometriosis becomes more likely."

Endometriosis changes independently from the menstrual cycle, and the estrogen receptors remain unchanged. Since it creates its own O estrogen, the lesions are independent from ovarian estrogen production. It is false to say that estrogen circulating at high levels in the body causes endometriosis, because it creates its own estrogen. It is not dependent on the estrogen released from the ovaries, which is what circulates through the body. It creates the lifeline it is dependent on. Again, Northrup makes a claim she cannot back or prove, without citing a source for evidence. She continues to victim-blame by saying women who delay childbearing have a higher chance of getting endo. Nothing a woman does can change whether or not she has endo. She either has it or does not. Her decision when to have children, and how many, has nothing to do with the presence of endometriosis in her body.

When searching for Christiane Northrup online, her wikipedia page introduction paragraph reads, "Christiane Northrup is a former obstetrics and gynaecology physician and author who has embraced pseudoscientific alternative medicine."

Don't waste your time on this.

[Elisabete Henriques · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imprescindível.

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read most of this several years ago and recently pulled it back off the shelf for reference to present cares and woes. I have to say my initial response of enthusiasm for the book is still...mostly...there. It is a good reference for womens health issues and the many emotional and spiritual underlying causes of such physical manifestations. On the other hand, it crosses the line in its hostility to the entire idea of a patriarchal society. I always wonder if any aspect of our society is wrong in and of itself, or only wrong in the assumptions and the methos of application that we witness. Don't get me wrong, the history of the world has been a long endurance lesson for females. But so, I suspect, has it been for everyone.
That aside, the examination of our addictive culture really made a lot of sense as Northrup opened up rotted old ideas and shed plenty of light on the ways women suffer in their lives, their own behaviors, and their bodies. There is lots here to give a woman tools to reconstruct her inner worold, and then move out into her outside world. It's just too bad that Northrup seems heavy on the 'dump-that-jerk' stories and light on the 'let's-work-it-out' stories. Maybe that's just the way i remember it, I'm not re-reading the entire thing. I also remember a very strong feeling of sharing in the personal stories and gaining strength for changes in my health, plus real options from more than one source of medical learning, and practical ways to make a start.
So, overall: a fresh approach to a woman's life that is holistic rather than throwing pills at her and telling her she's being uncooperative; but as with all books, there are parts where you can take it or leave it.

[steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading this book in spurts off and off since like May I believe. And since the year is almost up, I figured I should add it to my GR pile before I forget. This book has good and not so good parts. The good parts is that the author really stresses the importance of getting to know your body and how so many people are quick to turn to medicine and things that manipulate your body before even understanding how their body works. I like also how she stresses that everything influences you -your stress, your emotions, your lifestyle, etc. It works in tangent with your body so in order to be your best functioning self, you must take care of all aspects of you. I liked that and I think that is important to understand. Also I liked that the chapters are split by body type/need so it makes for easy reference when your need a certain thing clarified but don't want to go through the whole book again.

However the bad parts is that this author has a tendency to override or blame the patricharal society for all of our modern day issues and really stresses returning to the Goddess of old mindset which is not for me. So pretty much I say this is a good book full of good information about females and their bodies but not all of it may pertain to each individual reader. So take what works for you and ignore the rest.

[Britney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This entire book is one long episode of rhetoric stating "you as a woman are a victim. Every uncomfortable or difficult thing you have ever gone through is because of some evil man, church, or other male dominated institution."

If you have severe health problems it's most likely because you have been a victim. If you have had an abortion it is because you are a victim of "oppressive societal forces just trying to keep you in your place."

Women suppression has and does exist, abuse in any form against women exists and it's horrible. We as women have a voice and we shouldn't be afraid to express it. However, shouting from the rooftops that we are just victims and all our problems would go away if someone else would stop trying to force their will upon us is cowardly. Forcing someone else (instead of ourselves) to deal with the consequences of the events of our past (including an unborn child) is kicking the victim can down the road.

This book panders to the victim and its thinly veiled (sometimes outright) undertone of man hating disdain was hard to stomach. But I kept reading hoping it would get better. It never did. The author's whole premise was to empower women. But people will never achieve empowerment while still maintaining that they are and always will be a vicitm of circumstance however awful that circumstance may be.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

My therapist recommended this book to me and I was very surprised when it arrived and was about 900 pages. I have not read it completely as at the moment I have no use for the chapters on pregnancy and menopause, though I do plan to read the pregnancy chapters soon and will add to this review.

I would have given the book 5 stars but there were a few things that I didn't really like. This book is very interesting, the author is a gynecologist but talks about a lot of things I would assume traditional Western gynecologists don't speak to their patients about, such as how our menstrual cycles alone with the lunar cycle and a great deal of Eastern medical ideas. My therapist recommended it mainly because I have gynecological issues and the books talks a lot about accepting our cycles as a normal part of our female lives. It also contains a great deal of useful information on everything from the various parts of your cycle, gynecological problems, PMS, hormone imbalances and everything else in between. There is a great deal of information on female sexuality and anatomy as well.

Overall, I think this is a great book and almost a reference manual that every women should at least read, if not own.

[Suzan Lemont · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read (the relevant parts of) this book when I was having trouble conceiving my second child, and those parts were really useful and I think contributed to my eventual success in conceiving and birthing another child. But I have been hearing that the newer version includes some very "woo-woo" ideas, or what may seem like dabbling in mystical/unscientific areas. Though I have no objection at all to considering energetic reasons for health issues/blockages, etc. I can see why many people would either feel uncomfortable with them as presented, or just don't buy into the idea that you "give yourself" cancer or that you are ill because it's your own fault (and I'm one of those that does not subscribe to this view - even if I recognize that our thoughts and beliefs and traumas can have a profound influence on our health). I remember it as having lots to offer though, and am thinking maybe i should get a copy for my daughters. My own copy has disappeared somewhere along the way.