Five Things You Need to Know About Your Cervical Fluid - First Moon Circle School Menstrual cycle coach

how to confidently teach children positive menstrual education

February 22, 2023 4 Comments

At first moon circle school we train people to confidently share holistic period and puberty education in a positive, empowering and special events called a first moon circle. Hi I’m Charlotte Pointeaux, the Founder of First Moon Circle School which trains women to confidently share holistic period and puberty education in a positive, empowering and special event called a first moon circle.

I’ve been hosting workshops and circles for young people for over a decade, and in 2019, I brought all my passions for menstrual cycle awareness, and giving back to children the kind of guidance I craved as a young person, I used my education program design and facilitation skills, and added into the cauldron my experience and capacity as an internationally award winning menstrual cycle coach and circle keeper, to create First Moon Circles events for 9-12 year olds.

I’m so excited to share with you my approach to being able to confidently create nurturing, powerful experiences that help lots of children really understand how their body, feelings and sense of selves is changing during pubescence, in an age-appropriate, supportive and inclusive way.

in this 3 part mini series i’m answering the most commonly asked questions i get from women who want to share with children what they missed out on, by doing menstrual cycle education. i’ll be giving you tips and best practice to get out there and join the period positive movement yourself!

Check back here over the next few days as I’ll have new videos every two days from now until March 1st. Be sure to leave your comments, questions and reflections, so I know you’ve watched, and so I can get back to you!

With love

Charlotte Pointeaux

Coming of Age Wisdom for Mothers and Daughters with Arahni Lion and Jo Rockendorfer

January 25, 2023 No Comments

imagine a world where mothers were given sacred space to welcome their daughters intentionally into their coming of age rite of passage. and where girls were welcomed into circle with other mothers and daughters to find deep wisdom, loving support and a chance to experience true sisterhood all before their 13th birthday. there is a place on earth: it’s called the seeding wisdom journey held annually in the illawarra (nsw) by wise women arahni lion and jo rockendorfer. If you’ve ever wished you were more supported, more seen and heard, more understood and respected in your own maiden years, this is a truly special way of healing that part of you, and to give your child the best start to a conscious, empowered, embodied and connected womanhood. I know that when my daughters are of age, we will be taking the journey together, one by one.

Arahni and Jo share the story of why and how they created this potent experience, what happens within the journey, and why this kind of initiatory journey is needed now, more than ever.

Why You Should Track Your Menstrual Cycle And How To Do It

November 14, 2022 No Comments

Did you know that on average, Australian females experience between 450-500 periods in her lifetime, with the average cycle spanning between 21-35 days, and the average bleed lasting between 2-7 days?

Once we begin menstruating (at menarche – pronounced “men-ar-kee”) which occurs anywhere these days between roughly the ages of 8-15, and commonly around ages 12-13, we begin our monthly bleed (menstrual cycle) until we reach menopause which occurs approximately at the age of 50 (although again, this can occur much earlier or later as it is do individual).

After menarche our periods will be irregular for most of our teen years until the rhythm is established and our hormones settle into their natural, beautiful cycle. You might notice that some months you bleed for longer, or more heavily than other times, or that your cycle isn’t the same length each time. This is all ok – everyone’s cycle is different.

Yep we’re talking about your cervical fluid.

Perhaps you know it as Cervical mucous? Or maybe “Discharge” rings more of a bell for you…

Omitting fluid from the conversation is just NUTS, because understanding what your cervical fluid is, why you have it, how it changes and what that means is essential to understanding your menstrual health and fertility.

In fact, your cervical fluid can tell you so much about your health that its a super power to understand it!

Yep that’s right, your discharge is pure liquid gold magick. Nothing to be ashamed about. In fact its something to love. Truly!

Your cervix is a wondrous thing.

So what actually IS cervical fluid then?

So let’s break down how fluid changes:

During your period you won’t notice any as it’s mixed in with your blood

After your period you may have none and your vagina may feel dry for a few days

Then your fluid will increase but be thick and creamy. This is not peak fertile fluid.

Around ovulation, you’ll notice a LOT of thin, wet, stretchy cervical fluid and you can feel very wet. This is very fertile fluid that helps sperm survive and fast track their race to your egg.

After ovulation your fluid will dry up again, becoming thicker, drier, perhaps chalky, perhaps stopping altogether before your next period.

Why is it important to understand? Know thy fluid and you know thyself. Getting familiar with the pattern of changes gives you all kinds of insights into what's going on under the hood, so you have these five powers...

1: protect your long-term HEALTH

Ovulating is actually critical for the protection of your long-term health. Know if you ovulate or not, which gives you a window into your overall and long-term health. Ovulation is the main event of your cycle and is essential for producing the hormones that boost your long term health.

Creating natural forms of oestrogen and progesterone through your menstrual cycle helps you to:

– prevent osteoporosis, and reduce the risk of some cancers,

– support your cardiovascular, brain, breast, thyroid and muscle health,

– reduce insulin sensitivity which protects against diabetes,

– and boost your immune system.

2: PREDICT YOUR PERIOD BY KNOWING WHEN YOU OVULATE

Predict when your period may be due by counting forward 2 weeks from the last you noticed fertile fluid. This is especially awesome if you have an irregular cycle and therefore can’t be sure that your period will come approximately at the same time every month.

So instead of knowing your period comes every 28-30 days for example, instead you can look for when you have fertile fluid. If you have wet, followed by dry fluid, then you can guess you may have ovulated, and you can count forward 2 weeks and expect to see a period.

This method is incredibly empowering – especially if you have irregular periods, which is common when:

you’re in your teens and are in the first few years of having a menstrual cycle,

you’ve just come off hormonal contraceptives and your body has to practice making your own hormones again,

if you’re postpartum or breastfeeding, because ovulation has been naturally suppressed for some time and has to begin ovulating again,

if you’re peri-menopausal, and the level of oestrogen that your body is making is declining, meaning you might not ovulate every cycle or “on-time” anymore,

or if you have an underlying health condition such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) or have an underachieve thyroid, which impact the production of oestrogen which is needed for your body to ovulate.

Since high levels of oestrogen is needed to create the wet fertile cervical fluid, and for the egg to be released (aka ovulation), its a good sign you’re about to ovulate, so your period should come approximately 2 weeks later from this point.

3: FERTILITY: know when it’s TIME TO CONCEIVE

Your cervical fluids can tell you exactly where in your menstrual cycle you are, even if you’ve lost track of counting days since your last period.

It’s especially helpful to watch your changing cervical fluid when you’re trying to conceive because your have a very special kind of cervical fluid at the time of your peak fertility, aka, ovulation.

Your most fertile fluid is wet, thin, clear, it maybe stretchy like melted mozzarella cheese – or so wet and thin that your underwear feels very wet.

When you notice this fluid and if you’re hoping to conceive, this is go-time. If you’re not trying to conceive, this is the time to use contraception.

4: NATURAL CONTRACEPTION

If you don’t want to fall pregnancy then you can learn to track your fertile signs properly and accurately (cervical fluid being one sign) to practice natural contraception, instead of going onto hormonal contraception.

5: CHECK YOUR overall HEALTH

So tell me: is this news to you? How did you feel about your cervical fluid when you were young? How do you feel about it now?

SHARE THE LOVE

If this blog lands with you, let me know! Your feedback, questions and aha moments help me create informative tips and content that serve you, so drop me a message on Instagram or listen to my Wild Flow Podcast for so much more on menstrual cycle awareness.

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Charlotte Pointeaux

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