An inspiring future for women's health care

A sneak preview into what it may look like

Imagine a world where women’s medical healthcare is more than drugs and surgery.

A world where the individual stories of women matter.

A world where no patient is considered too much or too little or needing to be ‘fixed’.

A world where pain is not something to fear or solve but to turn towards.

A world where there isn’t a reductionist approach to healthcare but one that sees the entire woman.

A world where our cycles and seasons count and our connection to mother earth paramount.

A world where we don’t hand over our health and power to another, but reclaim what is already there, within us.

I feel confident this world is on its way. It’s already happening in some places. Last weekend at the Vera Women’s Wisdom Summit I was honoured to be part of a conference of women envisioning its expansion.

Vera Women’s Health was established by Dr Peta Wright, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician. She had a vision to create a medical clinic where women feel safe to come and where they are seen and encouraged to take back their bodies and health, while simultaneously standing up for what she believes true wholistic pelvic healthcare should look like. Vera is now a collective of allied health professionals all working together to change the future of women’s healthcare and I rejoiced in being invited into that energy.

Arriving at the Summit in the beautiful Samford Valley and walking towards this giant Tipi on Saturday was a moment I won’t forget. With the whip birds calling high on the trees, the roosters crowing, the breeze rustling the leaves and my shoes crunching the dry grass beneath me, I had to pinch myself a few times to remind me that I was not only at a conference but one targeted at medical practitioners.

Women accustomed to sterile, walled conference and office buildings were gathering to share, learn, connect, explore and envision like we once did; with the earth under our feet, the sky above our heads and the forest surrounding us in a big hug. And, of course, as a bonus, it was also the eve of full moon.

The opening welcome and acknowledgement of Country set the scene for the entire weekend. A female First Nations GP, Doula and self-proclaimed witch embodied how the ancient women’s ways and modern medicine can be brought together for the benefit of woman. Sounding her drum and having us all connect in to our ancestors was not only powerful, but awakened something primal within every woman present.

Following are a just a few of the highlights and I sincerely hope we can consider them a given as ‘coming soon to a clinic near you’. I share them because I know many of you experience period pain, debilitating conditions such as endometriosis or PCOS and/or going through the hormonal change of peri-menopause and menopause. And you may have found your way to me through the work I offer in embodiment and nervous system practices and also because of my passion around a return to embracing our cyclical life as a woman and its inherent connection to our overall wellbeing. My work has often been considered non-mainstream, but I was so pleased to see these exact principles being incorporated into mainstream medical treatment.

• A consistent theme across each of the presentations was a strong link between a woman not feeling safe in her own body and an external locus of control for treatment. So a future where women feel more in control of their own health and wellbeing also involves a level of safety around living in a female body and an embracing of our very nature as a woman. Without befriending our body and all that comes with it, feeling in control of our own health is extremely difficult. This is something I’ve intimately known for some time and it was very reassuring seeing it presented by a range of allied health professionals.

• Pain management was a hot topic, but not in the traditional way. Although it wasn’t a total drug-free conference, there was a definite shift away from surgery and medication as the key (or only) options for period pain, endometriosis and any sort of pelvic region pain. So many top down and bottom up approaches were presented. A couple to emphasise. The importance of knowledge as power and understanding the neuroscience, and shifting the way we think and feel around pain . The connection between pain and a dysregulated nervous system. And how embodiment (versus disassociation or moving away from) is the path in to pain with treatments plans inclusive of dance, somatic embodiment, pleasure practices, progressive relaxation, visual biofeedback, massage and yoga. Again backing my own personal experience with nervous system and embodiment practices.

• There was a resounding agreement that internal examinations shouldn’t be forced on any patient and only offered once the woman feels safe and heard. This can instantly create a danger zone, versus safe zone.

• For those of you struggling with digestive issues, an amazing gastroenterologist acknowledged the microbiome and the importance of our deep connection to the land, mother earth and her bounty. He is even learning how to be a regenerative farmer, he sees it that integral for the health of our gut.

• Alternate views were presented on each of the key rites of passage for women, including:

  • A future where young girls are welcomed into menarche and it can happen within the medical system and not just in fringe circles.

  • A future where pregnant women are educated fully on the changing brain of pregnancy and where the fourth trimester is included in the overall care plan

  • A future where menopause is not feared, nor is it pathologised, but is seen as a portal into another cycle and the age of wisdom.

I guess most importantly for me, what I could see happening is that we were returning to the real power of women.

Real power is what the ancients called ‘Shakti’, the feminine energy of life itself and the force behind all evolution and change. When Shakti is felt and activated, the wheels of change can’t help but start turning. Each one of us part of the whole, and also a whole, and when that comes together, we change the outer world. We are creation so we create creation.

I’ve always believed that women rising is not about counting seats at boardroom tables, but about this.

A yielding to this pure energy… of Shakti.

When we can come home to ourselves and feel the power within, we no longer succumb to the victim mentality or the need for someone outside of us to be our healer. It’s the fact that we’ve lost connection to this power that is causing us so much pain.

I didn’t even know this power existed until I was deep in the throes of a chronic illness, having exhausted all external treatments with no success. Until a voice within called me and I started to listen.

In the end, the only thing that helped was me remembering that I was a healer too.

So for me this was such a pivotal weekend. In the 12 years since I began the journey to reawakening my sleeping feminine, to honour the cycles of my life as a woman and to create a world where living in a woman’s body was no longer associated with shame and pain but with aliveness and a connection to our innate feminine essence and power, most of this time it’s felt like a fringe journey, more esoteric and definitely not mainstream. This weekend showed me otherwise. To see traditional gynaecologists and obstetricians, GPs and women’s allied health professionals together on this same path was a goosebump tingling, heart-opening experience.

As I left the ground on Sunday afternoon, I had sliding doors moment. I wondered what if my first visit to a gynaecologist 35 years ago was to a cottage in a valley like this one, with nature’s arms to greet me and loving, compassionate women to invite me in. Although I know this wasn’t my path, I’m equally as delighted to know many many other teenagers (and older women) will now have a different experience due to the vision of places like Vera Wellness.

What a blessing to be part of this and to share the bounty with you.

With love,

Sharon

PS: Over the past week I’ve talked to a couple of women who have mentioned that they couldn’t work out how to like or comment on the post. That’s because you need to be a subscriber to take part in the conversation. At this point in time, subscription is free and easy to do, so if you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to take a moment to subscribe as in the near future I will be only including part of the posts in email and the rest will be on the substack site.