Is Menstruation Obsolete?

Abstract

This paper examines in-depth the recent argument popularized by Brazilian gynecologist, Elsimar Coutinho and colleagues, that regular menstruation in is an unhealthy and unnecessary process that causes women countless health and emotional problems, and that the most medically advanced "treatment" for menstruation would be its total cessation in all women of reproductive age. The author explores the long history of medical views of menstruation which are often informed by the notion that menstruation is an "ailment", or a "disorder" that requires a medical intervention. The author compares this view with the most recent research on menstruation by evolutionary biologists, such as Margie Profet, and anthropologists Emily Martin and Beverly Strassman, who have, in their own ways, found a variety of health benefits linked to menstruation other than the established link between fertility and the menses. Underlying the author's review of the medical pronouncement on women's natural cycles is the question: Why do women menstruate? Her conclusion indicates that this question has not been adequately addressed in medical and scientific literature, which has sought to "explain away" or "eradicate" menstruation. New research needs to assess the value of the regular processes of women's bodies so that can we fully understand their role and function in the physical and emotional health of all women.