Charting the Menstrual Cycle as a Tool for Mental Health
This patient interview is part of this month’s series to portray different applications of fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) to enhance a woman’s emotional and mental health. A young woman shares how she learned to manage cycle-related mood symptoms by charting her menstrual cycle. This empowering approach improved her outlook and mood, helped her understand her body better, and led to greater self-acceptance.
Hormonal Balance and the Female Brain: A Review
National Women’s Health Week. Each year, Mother’s Day marks the beginning of National Women’s Health Week, a time to focus on prevention as well as behaviors women can incorporate to enhance their health and well-being. Here, Kaitlyn McOsker summarized a 2018 article by Del Río et al explaining the significance of the natural fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone and their vital role in mood, cognition, memory, and overall mental health.
FACTS Speaker Feature: Teresa Kenney, APRN
With more than twenty years of experience in restorative women’s healthcare, Teresa Kenney, APRN is one of our highly anticipated speakers at next week’s conference, where she will discuss the role of fertility awareness in addressing common issues in adolescence. This month, we had the opportunity to interview her and learn how she first heard about fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) and how she’s been able to make a difference in this growing field.
The Relationship Between Stress and PMS
Mental Health Awareness Month. A standardized assessment of stress and common symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) would elicit a clearer understanding of the correlation between them. This is one of the conclusions of a meta-analysis published by Lee and Im in 2016 in Health Care for Women International, titled, “Stress and Premenstrual Symptoms in Reproductive-Aged Women.” Anastasia Bjelopetrovich reviewed the research while on the fertility awareness elective taught by FACTS through Georgetown University School of Medicine. Her interesting summary opens this month’s series to raise awareness about the intersection between common gynecologic conditions, fertility, and mental health.
A Curse Broken: A Healing Conversation about FABMs
FACTS Infertility Awareness Series. Saarah Chaudhri recently completed the FACTS elective on fertility awareness, and when given the opportunity to interview someone with experience with fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs), she chose to speak with her mother. The courageous and poignant article she wrote to summarize their astonishing conversation sheds light on the significant impact of cultural factors on reproductive health.
Depression Among Infertile Women in Nigeria
FACTS Infertility Awareness Series. Our series on infertility continues this week with review of a research study titled, “Depression among infertile women in Ogbomosoland,” published by Oladeji and OlaOlorun in 2017. The article was reviewed by fourth-year medical student, Jeong Lee, while on the FACTS elective.