I’ve had some frustrating doctor’s appointments lately. I’m not ready to share too many details yet, but I can tell you that conditions like fibromyalgia and endometriosis are sorely lacking in research and treatment options. Fibromyalgia affects about 2% of the population—mostly women—yet doctors don’t really know what causes it or the best way to treat it. Endometriosis affects up to 10% of American women, yet the only way it can be definitely diagnosed and treated with laparoscopic excision surgery—and there aren’t many doctors who are adequately trained in this type of surgery. Adenomyosis, which has similar symptoms to endometriosis and can occur in conjunction with it, can only be definitely diagnosed and treated with a hysterectomy. That is a dramatic solution, but then again, it’s a dramatic illness.
I read this newsletter by
on the morning of my most recent frustrating doctor’s appointment. It was with a highly trained, highly empathetic doctor who listens to and respects me, and it was still frustrating, because there is only so much the medical establishment knows about my chronic health conditions. Similarly, Claire Swinarski writes about her experience with hyperemesis gravidarum, a pregnancy condition I frequently thanked God I didn’t have when I was pregnant. She writes of not being taken seriously and of the dearth of research on this common and debilitating condition.Why are women’s health conditions such a mystery? Many people point to implicit or explicit bias; medical research and practice has historically not been a field that had many female professionals. There is also a documented history of women’s pain not being taken seriously. I also wonder how much more difficult it is to do research on conditions that are predominantly or exclusively found in women; are our bodies more difficult to understand than men’s?
I don’t know. What do I know is that we are swimming in a culture that is anti-fertility and anti-life, and the medical field is full of it. I spent over a decade on the birth control pill because my first gynecologist wasn’t trained on the basics of a woman’s body and how it should or should not feel—and the evidence-based approaches to diagnosing and treating conditions, not putting a bandaid on them.
I’ve railed about this before, but I’m now coming to understand that even the best, most pro-woman, pro-life, pro-family, restorative reproductive health care providers don’t know it all. We have a long, long way to go.
Fortunately, there are some organizations that are working to make a difference:
St. Paul VI Institute (the home of Creighton FertilityCare and NaPro Technology, which also offers the gold standard in surgical training for conditions like endometriosis).
FACTS About Fertility (which offers education on fertility awareness and natural family planning to the medical community).
Natural Womanhood (which I write for and which publishes articles on women’s health from a restorative reproductive health care perspective).
FEMM (which provides fertility awareness education and restorative reproductive health care and conducts research in this area).
American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (a membership association of pro-life OB/GYNs)
In other news, I revisited my old employer, Training Industry, by writing an article on flexible and remote work. Catholic Women in Business also released a new episode of our podcast, Catholic Women Lead, this week; I chatted with our community manager, Caroline Kenagy, about her first year post-college and our tips for new grads. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Now, on to my favorite content from the week:
I’ve been enjoying
’s newsletter series on Jane Austen’s novels, particularly the most recent series, which has been on my favorite novel, Emma. The latest, which wrapped up Emma, offered a perspective I hadn’t considered before on the role of community in helping us move past selfishness.Catholics talk a lot about spiritual motherhood and the importance of the maternal role beyond women who have children. Along those lines, the Daily Stoic this week published a newsletter about Seneca’s belief that we can “choose whose children we decide to be.” You can be your parents’ children, if they were good to you—and/or you can develop relationships with other mentors. What’s more, you can decide whose children and grandchildren (and, for us Catholics, godchildren) your children will be. This is not to minimize the healing necessary for people who grew up with abusive or neglectful parents (or for those of us who grew up with imperfect parents, which is to say, all of us!)—but it does provide hope.
This was a fun editorial in Financial Times by author Ella Risbridger about the renewal of the romcom. I am cautious about which romcoms I watch or, especially, read, but I do love a good (and at least mostly clean) one. Do you have a recent recommendation for me?
I’ve written before about what a fan of The Chosen I am. If you are, too, don’t miss this talk with Bishop Barron and Jonathan Roomie (who plays Jesus … and apparently has in other places, too).
I love writing thank you notes, and I’ve recommended Gina Hamadey’s book I Want to Thank You: How a Year of Gratitude Can Bring Joy and Meaning in a Disconnected World* (one of my favorite reads of 2022). As a new devotee of St. Gianna Molla, I also enjoyed this Aleteia article by Cecilia Pigg reflecting on St. Gianna’s words about gratitude and the importance of writing thank you notes.
This Word on Fire article by WOF’s new Venerable Jerome Lejeune Fellow about the new Barbie with Down syndrome summed up my thoughts exactly.
What I’m Reading:
The Remains of the Day*, by Kazuo Ishiguro
I’ll give my final recommendation next week, but so far, if you liked Mr. Carson on Downton Abbey, you’ll probably like this novel (though I like Mr. Carson better than the narrator).The Habsburg Way: Seven Rules for Turbulent Times*, by Eduard Habsburg
I’m reviewing this one, by an archduke of Austria, for CatholicMom.com! Stay tuned.
*affiliate link
The State of Women's Health Care
I share your frustration with women's health care. And although I luckily did not experience complicated pregnancies, I had a terrible perimenopausal season that lasted over six years. Women's healthcare in this phase of life is sadly no better. Something needs to change!