the roots of modern gynecology

It’s always useful, whether we’re listening to a friend or researching a topic, to know who you’re gathering information from.

Information is just information, but it can change the trajectory of the way the world unfolds, or even sway our own individual path — and being such, information can be pretty dangerous if we’re not of the mind to discern what is truth and what is not. This is so with the history of gynecological practices. How modern gynecology got it’s start is a prime example of how information and the ability to get people to subscribe to ideas has the potential to completely change what “health care practices” (or anything, really) look like going forward.

And I have to say, the roots of modern gynecology are ugly.

Not only ugly, but completely inexcusable and a disgrace to women (and arguably men, too) — yet, most women go into this practice (as practitioners and clients alike) completely unaware of where it truly came from, how it’s influenced the lives and wellbeing of women, and landed us where we are today.

For a long time now, women have wanted to trust that the “authorities” know best — but there was a time when women’s intuition and women’s wisdom looked an entirely different way and held entirely different standing within the structures of society.

A lot has changed.

And arguably, a lot is changing yet again. Women are again desiring to hold their inner authority and accept their responsibility over the choices they make in their lives — you could say we’re re-learning how to trust what our bodies have known all along.

This trust-the-authorities belief has deep roots that intertwine with how the practice of gynecology came to be in the first place, and truly it follows a very similar pattern to all other colonial, “modern”, practices in the sense that before, the people had practices and ways of living and tending to themselves, and at some point certain people came along in the name of “modernization” and banned their ancient practices calling them “savage, uncivilized, dirty, evil” — all with the intent to then push forward with their motives and gain major profit, literally at the cost of lives. Many of them.

These ancient practices that had been passed down to the people for innumerable generations (that science is now researching as they’re making a “comeback”) had the ability to tend not only to the physical wellness of the people, but the emotional and spiritual as well. There is wisdom imbedded throughout the process of these ways (be it with practices like belly binding in the postpartum time to recover diastasis and prevent prolapse for long term health, or setting up a steam therapy session to give comfort to a painful womb, to care for fertility struggles, and even prevent imbalance in the future of a woman’s menopausal years) that embodies the heart of gratitude and connection to things larger than ourselves. The design of these ways were for the wellbeing not only of the women, but for the families — holding dearly the truth that when the women are not well and honored for their role in the community, the communities themselves are not well.

These practices were not only for the now, but were set in place for the future of the health of the people, the future health of the coming generations. These practices, married together with the larger picture of their ways of life, were and are preventative medicine.

And then, they became outlawed and replaced with “modern practices” — such as gynecology and medicalized midwifery.

Not only could they not continue with the wisdom their parents, aunties, uncles, and grandparents had taught them — they would be severely punished if they tried. Literally accused of “witchcraft” and tortured in unspeakable ways.

My question is, if the medical model of health care was/is so effective, why was/is there a need to force its way to the forefront of “healthcare”? If it truly is superior to all else, wouldn’t that form of care be sought out over the ancient ways, versus needing to ban them?

Let’s take a brief look at the trail of roots that has led us here.

J. Marion Sims is the “Father of American Gynecology.” He is well known and revered for his “groundbreaking strides in women’s health.” But did you know that he got there by practicing on enslaved women?

Without anesthesia, he cut women open and removed their reproductive organs. And then when all of the enslaved women he “owned” died, he purchased more women and practiced on them.

When he got ran out of South Carolina for this practice, he went to Alabama and opened a small practice for operating on enslaved people. He later brought his practices to New York, where he founded the New York Woman’s Hospital. This was the first hospital in the world dedicated exclusively to women’s diseases. This hospital became a leading center for gynecological research, training, and care.

This is the foundation of modern gynecology. His work is what modern gynecologists still study today.

There are a good bunch of books that share this history way more in depth and into really acute detail. And actually, the statues that were built in recognition of him have been taken down and destroyed due to the ugliness of how he became “the Father of American Gynecology.”

He once wrote, "If there is anything I hated, it was investigating the organs of the female pelvis.”

This is the man who forged the way for “women’s health”? This is the honored and accredited start to helping women heal? This is the foundation of the practices that are still in place today?

There is so much more to say and I realize and am very aware of how history gets twisted, how things get turned around and are really hard to track down and decipher what is truth and what is not.

The bottom line is — modern medical gynecology has the tools only to offer surgical procedures and intervention or pharmaceutical medications.

The overarching skill amongst gyn’s (most, not all) is to cut the “problem” out, and when that doesn’t solve the issue, “Sorry about your bad luck.”

Let me be clear — I am not inherently against medical care when it is warranted and welcomed. An incredibly wise friend of mine, who I hold in my heart as an elder mother that I can trust and gain so much insight from, herself is a gynecologist of 30 years. I’ll say she hates the system, but she stays because she feels she’s not finished with her assignment there yet. She longs so fiercely to offer women more comprehensive care and to plant the seeds that there’s more to the story, for example, when we meet menopause and suddenly are reevaluating our marriage. It’s not necessarily a matter of needing HRT or even bio identical hormones. But, I digress.

The point I am highlighting is that what monopolized medical licensure has done is force people to subscribe to the belief that modern medical practices are the only “acceptable” health care models, AND that any other form of supporting the function and vitality of the body is less-than, dangerous, or “ineffective at best.” This trails all the way back to the beginning days of when “medical practices” became the social standard and the women’s wisdom that had been passed down through innumerable generations was outlawed and deemed “heathen.”

Which is hilarious actually, considering the numbers of women who’ve been frequent repeat-clients within the medical system and have been unduly mocked, completely disregarded when surgery and pharmaceuticals do not help them, and drug through years in and out of office visits while still in pain and still seeking answers.

We now are a good handful of generations removed from this wisdom that would have been given to us, and this shines so clearly in the fact that women stay on the merry-go-round of medicalized care, desiring to “trust the authorities”, and because they simply don’t know what else there is to do.

This is where I’d love to invite you to another way of looking at things. Because, dear sister, there are other ways and it can be both, either, or all — it is wholly your choice.

Coming home to the truths and direct messages of your body, learning her language, and how to respond compassionately to her requests versus feeling overwhelmed, confused, or afraid of what they might mean, will create a shift for you.

I’d love to hold your hand through the process and work as a translator if you’re feeling unable to tap into the meaning behind the symptoms you’ve experienced.

This is the intent with my womb care sessions — where we explore the history of your cycle and with curious minds see how the pieces of your story have woven together and been connected all along, how it’s not at all separate from one another. Life, health, everything in between.

With so much love and warmth,

G