Why We Need To Talk About Our Uterus

Highlights

The uterus is an essential organ of the female reproductive system, and yet, it is hardly spoken of.

It performs a multitude of functions, each one key to a woman’s reproductive system and overall health.

When speaking of periods and the menstrual cycle, don’t leave the uterus out of the conversation.

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Shaped like an inverted pear and located in the lower area of our abdomen is the uterus. The uterus is an essential organ of the female reproductive system, and yet, it is hardly spoken of. Instead, most conversations about the female anatomy are simply limited to the vagina.

Today, we are going to take a step further and discuss WHY we need to talk about our uterus. The muscular organ that fertilizes the egg, regulates our menstrual cycle every month, and holds the fetus in our bodies for 9 months is no less than a super organ. It performs a multitude of functions, each one key to a woman’s reproductive system and overall health.

Let’s take a closer look.

What Does The Uterus Do?

Uterus and Periods
So, since you were a young girl, you have been having your menstrual cycles. But very few know what actually causes them. First off, let’s learn what the endometrium is. When a woman is of reproductive age, each month, her body releases hormones that cause ovulation. Around the same time of ovulation, the endometrium (lining of the uterus) grows thicker to prepare for a pregnancy. In the case where a woman does not get pregnant, the top layer of the endometrium, containing blood, tissues, etc., is shed. This is the flow of blood that we experience during our monthly menstrual cycles or periods.
Once menopause sets in, our bodies stop the production of the hormones that cause ovulation and menstruation.

Uterus and Fertilization
Chances of conceiving are higher when a man and woman engage in sexual intercourse within days of the woman’s ovulation. When the egg does get fertilized, that is when pregnancy occurs. The egg now attaches itself to the wall of the uterus and begins developing.
A major function of the uterus is to nourish and house the fertilized egg. This fertilized egg develops into a fetus and into a baby eventually. It is the uterus that holds the baby till it is mature and ready for birth.

Conditions That Affect The Uterus

Apart from being aware of how the uterus helps in reproduction, it’s also important to be aware of the various diseases that occur involving the organ.

Uterine Prolapses – A uterine prolapse occurs when the uterus slips from its normal place and shifts down into the vagina. This is common in women who have had multiple vaginal childbirths but can also occur from obesity or menopause.
Uterus Fibroids – These are non-cancerous growths in the uterus walls and can cause heavy bleeding and pain.
Endometriosis – This is a condition when the tissue that normally lines the uterus starts to grow outside of the uterus. It can cause excessive bleeding and pain in between periods.
Adenomyosis – A condition opposite of endometriosis, this is when the tissue that lines the uterus begins to grow inside the walls of the uterus. Again, this too causes severe pain and bleeding.
Cancer of the uterus, cervix, ovary, or endometrium – Cancer in any of these areas can be treated depending on the type of cancer and how advanced it is. Several treatment options are available such as hysterectomy, chemotherapy, or radiation.

Now, this information isn’t being shared to scare you. But just like all other bodily diseases that we’re well versed with, we must also be aware of these. Regular visits and open conversations with your gynecologists can help detect and treat these conditions.

Hysterectomy & Other Solutions

A hysterectomy is a surgery wherein your uterus is removed from your body. Along with the uterus, the doctor may also remove your ovaries and fallopian tubes. Post a hysterectomy, you will no longer menstruate or be able to get pregnant.

A hysterectomy is usually recommended to treat the diseases listed above. However, it isn’t the only solution and may not always be necessary. Depending on your condition, the following treatments can also be tried at first:

Watchful waiting
Medications
Exercising
Non-surgical treatments

The uterus is said to be one of the strongest muscles in the human body. Apart from its role in the reproductive functions, it also offers support to our bladder, pelvic region, and organs and acts as a separator between the bladder and bowels.

When speaking of periods and the menstrual cycle, don’t leave the uterus out of the conversation. If you’re a parent to a young daughter, this is even more essential. Or even if it’s with your gang of girlfriends, try and be more open to information-sharing. Knowledge is key and knowing why your body acts the way it does is empowering to say the least. The uterus supports us through multiple stages of our lives. It’s high time we speak about it, isn’t it?

Highlights

Menstruation – and the tools required to safely process it – became just another means to discriminate against an entire gender, simply because patriarchy felt nauseated by a natural human phenomenon.

Stigma, like charity, begins at home.

Imagine if someone told an inquisitive kid, “it’s the superpower that made it possible for your mum to give birth to you”, instead of “it’s private ladies’ stuff, move on”.

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This Content is a Part of The Menstrual Hygiene Awareness 2021, in collaboration with The Logical Indian and Pee Safe.

A black polythene bag is closely tucked under her arm as my mom walks into the house, back from the market. Without a word, she rushes to her room and slides the bag along with its contents, into her wardrobe’s drawer. Then comes back out and takes care of the rest of the stuff she bought. 10-year-old me, as you would’ve guessed, is mighty confused. But I forget all about it; kids and voters have a very short memory span, after all.

Growing up, it was hard to ignore references to menstruation, even though I didn’t know anything about it. I saw ads for Whisper, the same package I’d surreptitiously seen in Mom’s drawer. I wondered why a group of grown men were pouring blue ink all over a product that my child’s brain could fathom was very personal to my Mom and my sisters, when none of them used blue ink. And yet my innocent queries were almost always shot down – “It’s just ladies’ stuff”.

It took a biology lesson at school and exposure to the World Wide Web, for me to realize it’s far more than that. Most crucially, sanitary napkins are a privilege that numerous poorer families can either not afford (non-profits and tax policies are helping bridge this gap) or don’t care about, due to the awkwardness surrounding it. “It’s impure”, they say, as they block menstruating women from entering the temple. Menstruating women in some traditional households are outcasts in their own homes. This awkwardness, this stigma, comes at the cost of women’s health. Menstruation – and the tools required to safely process it – became just another means to discriminate against an entire gender, simply because patriarchy felt nauseated by a natural human phenomenon. Stigma, like charity, begins at home.

It was only years later, when I started dating women, that I was jolted out of my passive stance around the topic of menstruation. I got educated in a way that school, society, and family could never; by someone who needed to share how she felt when PMS’ing, just like she would after a bad day at work. Stigma was thrown out the window, simply through an open conversation. That’s all it took. It helped me learn what women have to go through as they menstruate, and not just physically. I met someone who was shy about admitting that she was menstruating. She instinctively felt a need to hide it, as if hiding a fault in her – feeding off of the stigma that clouds this topic. Professional life, I realized, becomes further hell for women. Taking a day off to tend to menstrual cramps is explicitly allowed, but implicitly considered a liability, restricted to one gender. This problem has a far more complex solution than just changing the rules. Changing the rules doesn’t change deep-rooted biases.

I think the stigma is the root cause of why menstruation is harder to tackle than just the physical side effects of it. Imagine if someone told an inquisitive kid, “it’s the superpower that made it possible for your mum to give birth to you”, instead of “it’s private ladies’ stuff, move on”. I’m sure this kid would grow up to be a better husband, a better boss, a better friend, and a better Dad.

Author- Ashish Jha