Is Menstruation Obsolete? (Hardcover)

by Elsimar M. Coutinho (Author), Sheldon J. Segal (Author)
Key Phrases: United States, Marilyn Monroe, Middle Ages (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Only a man could have written this book! Coutinho, a Brazilian gynecologist and family planning expert, argues that menstruation is not natural and is, in fact, not healthy. He supports this theory with a strange interpretation of historical and clinical evidence. Because women in primitive times had shorter life spans and spent most of their lives pregnant and breast-feeding, he notes, they had few or no periods. Now women live longer and start families later in life, so they have lots of periodsAwhich, according to the author, causes anemia, endometriosis, and PMS. As a result, and in order to safeguard their health, Coutinho suggests that women should prevent their ovulation by using contraceptive pills continuously. This alternative and controversial view not only ignores the cultural significance of menstruation, it also lacks scientific foundation and is potentially harmful to women. It is however, an unusual interpretation of medical and historical data, distinct from classic works such as Janice Delaney's The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation (1976), which consider the social and cultural issues of menstruation but not its clinical aspects. This book is sure to get a lot of publicity because of its radical thesis, so, despite its circular and flawed logic it is recommended for academic and large public libraries.ABarbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L., CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
If your first reaction to the title is to wonder what idiocy the next offbeat author will write about, pinch yourself hard and read carefully. Coutinho, a recognized authority on fallopian tube physiology and pharmacology, is absolutely serious. He approaches his subject historically and scientifically (Segal prepared this English-language edition of the originally Brazilian Portuguese work). Down through the centuries, he points out, most women did not menstruate regularly. Either they were pregnant most of the time or they succumbed early to the many dangers and diseases that preyed on them. Menstruation has become regular and long-term for the typical woman only quite recently. Coutinho explores the purposes of this physiological function, its potential dangers, and its safe suppression (he has done pioneering work with Depo^-Provera). His arguments are scientifically based, and his conclusions are thoroughly worked out in a definitely provocative but eminently worthwhile book that well may spend most of its prospective library shelf-life off the shelf. William Beatty

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (October 14, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195130219
• ISBN-13: 978-0195130218
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #492,030 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, July 6, 2000

By	Kersten Kremer (Cary, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This book is a must read for every woman who wants to better understand menstruation and the cycles of her life. The author writes in fascinating detail from a historical, medical, and cultural perspective about what causes menstruation, how it has evolved through time, and what facts are important to current discussions about menstruation. The author makes a convincing argument that menstruation is not obligatory. He details the troubling disorders related to contunial menstruation such as anemia, endometriosis, and PMS. He then purports suppressing menstruation results in increased health advantanges for women. This book cannot be ignored. It provides critical information that will help any women make an informed decision regarding her health.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Potentially convincing--but I'm not convinced, August 24, 2001

By A Customer

I find it hard to say this, as I'm not in the habit of flying in the face of well-marshalled evidence; but I'm really not convinced. I can't help but believe that behind this work are two suspect premises: a starting belief--not just a conclusion--in the inherent valuelessness of the inherently feminine (that is, that women should be more like men), and the inistence (which has also led to many strange diets) that we are, biologically, exactly what we were in prehistory. I can't accept either of these. Now it may fairly be said that this may be a personal bias; it's true that despite having fairly painful and heavy periods, I would be appalled at being asked to stop having them (menopause, I can see, is going to be...educational.) And I will agree that for women whose menstrual suffering is extreme, or whose health doesn't support it, there might be some benefits to giving menstruation up. However, I don't think I'm alone in believing that there are physical health benefits to be derived from menses in a healthy woman. Aren't there also scientists who believe that menstruation is good for the uterus, that the flow flushes out toxins and relieves the buildup of hormones? Mightn't it fairly be said that the action of hormones in the body is not so well understood that tampering with the hormonal cycles is not without risk? And physically speaking--this is anecdotal, yes, but not terribly subjective--this is a time when the body, at least, definitely acts differently. Colon and bladder tend to flush out as well as uterus; speaking for myself, I eat very little, drink a great deal of water, and come out of the menses feeling much more energetic. If there's time to physically rest--sleep, meditate, and let the body do its thing--the results are better still. All this suggests to me that, potential emotional or intellectual benefits aside, the body benefits from this rest or break in its normal activities. As for the "stone age" argument, I weary of hearing it in context with the so-called "cave man diet", and I'm not impressed with it here. We don't hesitate to live 20th century lives or to give up the "natural" when it suits us; we are not in agreement anyway about how "all" prehistoric humans lived (and I don't see us going back to getting most of our protein from grasshoppers and carrion, a reasonable probability.) No one seems to have convincing evidence that we *couldn't* have adjusted to eating bread or having fewer children over the course of 10,000 years (a moth's characteristic coloring can change in a few generations, when natural selection is sufficiently intense). And, finally, we are already living hugely longer and more healthy lives than our supposedly protein-heavy and perpetually pregnant ancestors--so why do we want to go back to their biological model? If indeed menstruation is a drain on our health, it's clearly not half the drain of repeated pregnancy and childbearing, but no one asks if pregnancy is obsolete. If periods do "become obsolete", if women do--as so many men AND women seem to want--become "more like men", I really can't believe that this would be an overall benefit. Yes, it can be inconvenient to menstruate--in a world geared to men's cycles and programmed to ignore women's. Yes, we might be able to stay "younger" by not doing so--in a world which apparently values perpetual youth (with its shallowness and self-absorption). But the real problem is not menstruation; it's the insistent spread of industrial western dogma, which says that we should never need to rest from work and hard play, never be at the mercy of our bodies, and never grow old. Not me. I want to rest when I'm tired and fuzzy; I want to work with my body instead of running it by remote control from up above; and I want to experience the change that cycles of all kind bring. This is what people used to call life. Without these things, I'm not sure what to call it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give it a Chance, June 19, 2004

By A Customer

Inspired by the premise of this book, I have gone without menstruating for two years now, and my only regret is that I didn't cease ten years earlier. I see absolutely no benefits of monthly bleeding.