May book club pick…
I’m excited to announce our first book club pick and this month we’re focusing on women’s health. After listening to a podcast interview with Dr Lara Briden on periods and the perimenopause (1) I was inspired to read her book “The Period Repair Manual”.
The book describes itself as “your guide to better periods using natural treatments such as diet, nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, and bioidentical hormones. It contains advice and tips for women of every age and situation. If you have a period (or want a period), then this book is for you.” (2).
In the opening chapters it challenges the conventional approach of prescribing the contraceptive pill for almost any period problem. I identify with this in my own practice and how I was trained; heavy periods- try the pill, irregular periods- try the pill, no periods- try the pill. While the pill often “solves” these issues, what it doesn’t do is delve deeper into the underlying causes of period problems and also devalues our bodies natural hormones and importance of ovulation for our health. Dr Briden explores this in more detail. I found it a fascinating read and more importantly it has the potential to offer more hope to patients suffering with period related issues.
References:
Katie James and Dr Rachel Reed. 23/02/2024. Periods and the Perimenopause. The Midwives Cauldron.
Briden, L. and Prior, J.C. (2018). Period repair manual : natural treatment for better hormones and better periods. Greenpeak Publishing.
Resources:
Spotify podcast link https://open.spotify.com/episode/6LaH7dEDoPZY2ITjJSwBu5?si=GUaPWPB3Qs2Ut8rNGwP_yA
Audible and amazon link https://amzn.eu/d/1oBTll9
