Once upon a time, womb-men treated their reproductive center with grace and honor for the divine abilities it possessed. Today, on the other hand, many Western women reject their reproductive abilities, seek to eliminate the menses and consequently (consciously or unconsciously), destroy their fertility health.
The frequent use of contraceptives, poor dietary habits, and a lifestyle of general unawareness all contribute to the weakening of the immune system and reproductive health of women today.
What many women fail to understand today is that their fertility health is in direct proportion to their overall health. To be fertile requires perfect hormonal homeostasis, a robust immune system, a body free of impurities, heavy metals and other toxins and a clear and conscious mind.
Perhaps many fail to see this connection because of the simple fact that not many women today value fertility health, motherhood and family. Radical feminism and libertarianism has planted the seed of “freedom from” in the minds of men and women. Both libertarian men and women seek freedom and liberty from family, from mother and fatherhood, and generally from responsibility. Not to get too far off topic, but there is actually great freedom and power in responsibility. One of the greatest freedoms comes from family, in which individuals can be self-reliant, grow a culture and provide for themselves and their community.
For the women and men who know the freedom in responsibility, who see the value in family, and understand the divinity in pregnancy, there is still much to know.
From the time a woman reaches puberty to the time she conceives her first child, every choice she has ever made will effect her health and ultimately, the health of her future child. Functional Medicine or Holistic Health views the body as a whole, ever system, organ, gland and cell of the body is intimately connected to the other, resulting in the whole. Therefore, everything a woman thinks, feels, does, eats and everything she experiences will effect the health of her body and ultimately her offspring.
As you will see in greater detail, not many women (or men for that matter), grew up with this sort of knowledge. For the most part, Western people have vague notion that they only live once, their actions do not effect anyone or themselves, and spending ones adolescent years junking and abusing their bodies will never comeback to haunt them.
However, that is not how this universe works; it is all connected through the Natural Law of Cause and Effect (aka – KARMA). What you put out, comes back to you and unfortunately, many are not going to like what they get.
In a brief moment I want to share with you a fictional, but not unrealistic story to illustrate how the lifestyle choices of the common Western woman can lead to inevitable suffering. As you will learn, much of the socially accepted “norms” are the exact causative factors in the rapid decline in fertility and reproductive health in women today.
Before you continue reading keep in mind that as the Buddha once said, “all suffering is born of ignorance”. As my mentor would say, “an ignorant person cannot make good choices, they simply lack sufficient knowledge to do so.” So while this story may be difficult for some to confront, know that the unwillingness to confront is what leads to ignorance in the first place.
To acquire knowledge, one must be willing to confront. So would you rather learn through awareness or through sufferable, yet avoidable mistakes born of ignorance?
A DESTRUCTIVE TIME-LINE OF THE WESTERN WOMAN
“At fourteen, Taylor went out for her first date. She and her date Dusty met up with shared friends. To impress her pursuer, Taylor gives into peer pressure of class-mates and lights up her first cigarette. As the proprietary blend of formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, acetone, carbon monoxide and nicotine saturates her lungs (a central part of her Immune System), she forms an unconscious association to smoking with fun, oxytocin, and men, forming a part-time social habit.
By 16, her dates evolve from innocent fun and cigarettes into experiments with drugs, alcohol, sexual activity and staying up late. Taylor, like most other American women, has several sexual partners over the next two years. As a result of all this “fun”, Taylor starts experiencing frequent colds, flus and digestive upset. Passed off as a normal part of a teenager’s life, she is sent to the doctor for a routine round of antibiotics, which slow being to destroy her micro-biome.
Her immune system weakened and gut-micorbiome on the side of dysbiosis; Taylor finds that the only thing that satisfies her stomach is sugar-ladened Frappaucinnos and refined carbohydrate rich foods like pizza and other fast foods. Having given in to the chemical secretions from her overgrowth of pathogenic yeast and bacteria, her immune system is officially inverted and she contracts her very first UTI and vaginal yeast infection.
Informing her Mother, she suggests Taylor take some over-the-counter yeast medication, which further destroy the last remaining probiotic bacteria and yeast in her micro-biome. Officially without internal defense, Taylor has graduated High School and is off to College, where she will surely have sex with a dishonorable man that had no intentions courtship. However, her Mother and Father suspect something like this, so rather than having an honest and informative conversation, her parents pass off their communication responsibilities and she is sent to the doctor for some birth control.
Her new OBGYN recommends she get a copper IUD. A few months after of having got the IUD, Taylor notices increasing difficulties with her menstrual cycle; it is more painful and uncomfortable than normal. No worries, instead of educating herself on the matter, she calls her OBGYN who kindly recommends some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (pain pills).
Unbeknownst to Taylor, the NSAIDS are known to be associated with gastrointestinal side effects, including life-threatening bleeding or perforation of gastroduodenal ulcers. Given the fact that Taylor’s gut is already compromised, in a few months of taking them, she begins to have issues absorbing nutrients and her hair is falling out. What’s more, those pain killers are creating tissue damage that causes inflammation in other parts of her body. Meanwhile, her immune system is firing off rapidly, the NSAIDS are suppressing inflammatory responses, so she begins to show signs of autoimmunity. Needless to say, Taylor isn’t doing so well but she is uncertain why; she’s done everything the doctor has told her.
All the while, Taylor is totally unaware that her IUD is subtly prying her cervix open, breaking the last line defense between the external environment and her delicate eggs. Because her micro biome is outnumbered with pathogenic yeast and bacteria and the rest of her immune system is on overdrive, viruses effortlessly make their way into her uterus causing infection. Still consuming the pain killers, Taylor is unaware of the infection and it slowly proliferates, causing micro-ulcers that lead to fibrotic scar tissue in her womb, greatly compromising her ability to become pregnant later in life.
Completely overwhelmed by her declining health and the pressures to perform in school, Taylor’s stress threshold hits its peak. In desperate attempts to cope with her life, she attends fraternity parities to drink, “let loose” and “hook up” with some guys. Unfortunately, her immune system non-existent, Taylor contracts a case of chlamydia from her last sexual partner; a cousin of a frat member that she’ll never see again. Being an asymptomatic, she actually doesn’t realize she contracted it for months.
Six weeks later, Taylor misses a period; she’s pregnant. The question is, who is the father?
After a trip to her OBGYN, she is officially diagnosed with chlamydia. Given that she has no clue who the father is along with the fact that she has contracted an STD, she decides to get an abortion. Her trusty OBGYN suggests a DNC because it is all her college health care covers. Unfortunately, this procedure involves the scrapping of the uterus, which causes additional scarring to her already fibrotic uterus wall.
Traumatized by her experience, Taylor decides to “settle down”. She quits partying as frequently so she is less inclined to smoke and drink and she is more reserved when it comes to sex. Despite her efforts to improve, her period is getting increasingly worse. To cope with the pain, she uses over-the-counter NSAIDS (aspirin) and vaginal douches; a tip she got from her dorm mate.
Agreeing with blind faith, Taylor doesn’t realize that the vaginal douche is further stripping the micro-biome in her vagina, causing her to experience her first physical symptoms of chlamydia. As prescribed by her OBGYN, Taylor turns to a pack of antibiotics to sooth the symptoms.
Fed up and desperate for answer, Taylor is determined to do something about her chronic yeast infections, STD symptoms and debilitating menstrual cramps. Going to the only place she knows, her OBGYN schedules her for a laparoscopy to find out what’s going on. The results show that she has endometriosis and fibrosis on her uterus.
Doing as western medical doctors do, and as requested by Taylor, she is prescribed more drugs, birth control pills. Rather than confronting the causative factors (the lifestyle choices made by Taylor) and rather than advising any tips for improved wellness, Taylor freely continues her behavior.
Providing temporary relief, the birth controls silently make things worse by increasing the level of copper in her body, throwing off the delicate copper to zinc ratio necessary for optimal immune health. High copper to zinc ratios means Taylor is more susceptible to infections, tumors and to giving birth to a child birth defects.
Now that Taylor is 22 and finished with College, she finally meets a nice guy; they fall in love and get married. Edgar to live a more wholesome life, she expresses her desire to have children to husband. However, her husband and parents, in fear with the idea of providing for children/grandchildren, suggest that Taylor goes to grad school to earn more money for the family.
By the time Taylor finishes graduate school, she is 30 years old, her eggs have aged significantly due to time, and her past lifestyle choices did not help slow the aging process. However, Taylor was never informed much about fertility and reproductive health.
In attempt to get pregnant, she comes off birth control for the first time in 12 years and immediately tries to conceive without success. After several years of failed attempts, Taylor is finally confronted by her OBGYN that she is infertile – she is devastated.
5 years later, Taylor and her husband decide to go in-virto for the out-of-pocket price of $50,000. Out of savings and set back significantly, they downsize into a small apartment, unfit for a family of three. What’s worse, the IVF doesn’t even work, there is just too much scaring in Taylor’s uterus from abortions, birth control and a lifestyle of pro-flammatory behavior.
A year later Taylor goes to the dentist and discovers that she has gum disease. Her gums have been bleeding overtime she flosses. Her dentist prescribes her antibiotics before she has any work done on her mouth. He explains that the bacteria in her mouth could migrate to other areas of her body causing major issues like miscarriages, diabetes, and even cardiovascular disease.
Stunned by her first explanation of the interconnectedness of the body, she asks her dentist if her gum disease could be causing her miscarriages. His response contained the information she has been in need of since age 14. For the first time in her life, she decides it is time to take her health into her own hands.
Now knowing that if she wishes to ever have a child, she needs to be healthy, not just mask symptoms of underlying disease. To get some help, she visits a naturopathic doctor who has a history in working with women. After Taylor giving a detailed history of her health, the doctor informs her that the chlamydia, candida, gum disease, abortions, endometriosis, fibroids and general unhealthy lifestyle choices are all primary causative factors in her having miscarriages.
In attempt to eliminate her endometriosis and eliminate fibrotic tissues, the naturopath writes up a comprehensive protocol that rebuilds her micro biome, bringing the candida back into a normal range, she helps alkalize her infernal fluids and glands, strengthen her uterus, and normalize her hormones.
Unfortunately, her naturopath is a vegan and recommends Taylor eliminate all dairy, meat, and eggs in order to cleanse her body. This works wonders at first; at least until she runs into a set of hormonal imbalances from all the legumes and carbs she has been eating along with deficiencies in fat soluble vitamins and cholesterol. These factors along with her high intake soy products, her thyroid shuts down, her copper levels rise and the chronic inflammation reignites her fibrosis.
Several years later Taylor is now 40 years old, with a biological age of 55. The financial stress, along with Taylor’s declining health and inability to get pregnant has led to divorce. One day while at a health convention she meets her future second husband. They too fall in love and Taylor’s dream to have a family rekindles. However, now at age 40 with a history of destructive lifestyle habits and poor health, her changes of getting pregnant are slim. In her favor, she is healthier now than she ever has been. Three years later and she gives birth to her first child, who ends up being autistic.
Still not fully aware of how her actions have lead up to this point, Taylor is of course devastated about the condition of her baby boy. Why her? What did she do to deserve this? She followed the rules, visited the doctor regularly, went to college, got a job, and married. She lived a normal American life just like she was told to do.”
Now, keep in mind that this is a fabricated story. However, also keep in mind that you probably know someone like this. This is not an unrealistic story; I happen to know women who have experienced very similar situations. Most of these horrifying events are actually quite normal here in the West. It is normal to junk the body in fact. It is socially acceptable to stay up late, starving the body of the only time of true regeneration and regrowth. It is socially acceptable to intoxicate the liver; the most precious organ in the body, with drugs, alcohol, and junk food. There are many forms of physical abuse that are openly accepted in today’s culture and most engage without thought, covering up the effects with a drug or medication. However, you can only sweep things under the rug for so long.
The craziest part is that many are conceiving a child under similar circumstances. The rates of autism are skyrocketing. In fact, the CDC reports that as of 2012 1 in 88 babies are born with autism, compared to 1980’s autism record, which was 1 in 10,000.
Many attribute the significant increase in birth defects like autism to vaccines, and while they are definitely a primary causative factor, keep in mind that most disease have roots in chronic inflammation. Autism is really nothing more than severe inflammation of the brain. Yet, there are many factors causing the significant increase in chronic inflammation including,
- the laundry list of environmental toxins
- high omega-6:3 ratios from industrial grain-based diets (wheat, corn, soy, and their byproducts)
- food sensitivities
- gut infections
- probiotic deficiencies (not enough kids playing outside)
- food additives/preservatives
- heavy metals (in the food and water, etc)
- high carb/sugar diet (industrial food system),
- chronic infections
- blood sugar imbalances
- STDs
- dental infections
- EMF toxicity
- thyroid disease
- GMOs.
In conclusion, and why I made this post, is to point out that we have a choice. Every causative factor I just pointed out and every bad choice Taylor made, is something we can agree to or not. While the odds are increasingly against us, we can still choice to disengage. Some unhealthy, pro-flammatory activities are harder to get away from than others, like exposure to EMFs and air pollution. However, most of them are simple daily choices, like what you put into your mouth, on your body and into your consciousness.
With that being said, if you have read this post, you are now aware of something or many things you were not before. And with this knowledge, you have the choice to be responsible or not. You don’t have to be responsible, you can look away, give into habit and programming and just hope for the best. However, knowledge and responsibly are power. I cannot make you responsible, but I can share knowledge. Do with it what you know is right. Whether you have a child and start a family or not is up to you, but keep in mind that our greater, extended family, Human Nature, will be effected by your decisions.
And one last thing, the story of our fictional character Taylor still only paints so much of a very large picture. There are so many factors that are determining either wellness and illness, one of the most elusive being our own psyche (mind). With that being said, the point of the story is to demonstrate that chronic disease is the result of accumulated, repetitive unconsciousness. This is not the way things have to be and in fact, are a complete inverse of how things are supposed to be in the Natural World. If you are interested in learning more about preconception health, fertility and unwinding the damage done to your body through living the American Dream, then I highly recommend the book The Brighton Baby Method, along with generally living a more honest, wholesome, and natural life.