Episode 9: We’re here to validate your period pain

From cramps to fibroids to endometriosis, many women suffer from pain around their periods. And the typical response? “Just push through it.” After years of pain and trips to the doctor’s office, writer Britt Julious opens up about her journey to seek answers. And we speak to Dr. Eden Fromberg, a holistic gynecologist, who shares tips for at-home remedies to try now. The Flow Down is here to validate your pain and provide insight into ways we can better understand our bodies and find solutions.

Resources + links

Periods and the cycle of learned pain in black families - Britt Julious for The Establishment on Medium

University Of Virginia study links disparities in pain management to racial bias

Dr. Fromberg’s general suggestions for getting started with period pain: evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, cramp bark, red raspberry tea and blackberry tea; animal fats and coconut oil; hip openers and deep belly breathing.

Chapter 6 (“The Uterus”) of Dr. Christiane Northrup’s book, Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, discusses the role emotions play in period pain.

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Our theme song is Crimson Wave, performed by Tacocat, courtesy of Hardly Art Records.

Additional music used in Episode 8: “Deeply Dungeon,” “Little Shadows” and “Inside Your Body” by Lobo Loco, under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License; “Heartbreak Sunrise,” by John Banrock; Conga_D'rocha.wav from FreeSound.org.