I used to think my vulva was fat

Do you remember when you were a youngin’ and just experiencing all of the fun things that come along with being a woman?

You know… Periods, mystery fluid in your underwear, bumps in your chest, and the weird mood changes. It all starts when your young, and you definitely get some explanation of the crazier things (no dear, you aren’t dying, you just have blood come out of your vagina once a month or so), but there are other things that never really seem to be explained.

The result: Adult women don’t really know what all is happening with their body.

I was thinking the other day about how when I was younger I thought that my mons pubis was fat. Embarrassingly, I really never realized it wasn’t at all fat until I read about hormones and how estrogen levels in the body create that fatty tissue over your pubic bone. Wow, Hannah, wow.

The image below shows the best view of the mons pubis. It’s the mound between the legs with pubic hair on it.

But I think that my misunderstanding means more for women in general than my own misinformation. So I’m telling you this so you can feel only slightly embarrassed for me and not alone in your own past or present frustrations with normal parts of your body.

What don’t women know about their bodies?

1. That they can only get pregnant for a small piece of each cycle
2. That periods come because of ovulation happening and building up the uterus lining
3. That fluid they notice coming out of their vagina (especially the wet stuff) is associated with ovulation
4. Their body temperature goes up after they ovulate
5. Their sex drive naturally fluctuates throughout their cycle

So why is this all a problem? What women don’t know can hurt them. If they don’t know all of the above things about their body and their fertility they could look for dangerous solutions they don’t need.

These could include hormonal birth control (let’s not argue with whether it’s harmful or not, I know there are people on it that enjoy it. Good for them! I know many more people discontinue use because they hate it), ridiculous drugs to “increase their sex drive“, douches or other “feminine wipe” kind of things to keep themselves “fresh and clean”, and of course very real shame about their bodies and what they feel like might be happening to their body that doesn’t happen to other people.

This is where I see the biggest value in a fertility awareness education. This is why women who start using it don’t just learn it, they become obsessed with it.

Yeah, it’s a birth control method, but is so much more than just birth control.

• It’s the knowledge of exactly when you can get pregnant, meaning you can use it as birth control or to help you get pregnant.
• It’s the knowledge of what is actually going on with your body, from your hormones to the fertility signs they create. What’s normal and what’s abnormal. Don’t wonder if your body is doing something weird that warrants a trip to the gynecologist. Know.
• It’s the knowledge that you understand and can control your reproduction easily and without the permission of someone else, ability to be in a certion location, or ongoing feeding of money to the doc or pharmacist.

It’s no wonder so many women say that fertility awareness has had such a profound affect on their self-confidence.

I want to hear about what this means for you. If you are a current user of fertility awareness I’d like to know how the method has impacted you and if you are thinking about it and learning more have you already had ah-ha moments that have made you feel better about yourself and your body?