betweenthelines-as a gynec I read the silent hidden stories that touch my soul

BETWEEN THE LINES  ·  MENSTRUAL Health and the health of the earth Meet the Menstrual Cup?  From cloth to cups — a forty-year journey through periods, products, and the planet we forgot to protect. ——— I was petrified the first time my period arrived. It came in school and i had no clue. There was no warning, no preparation — just sudden, blood. Forty years ago, mothers didn’t speak openly about it until nature forced the conversation. Schools had their token talks, all words and no visuals, all facts and no feeling. Nobody told you what it would actually be like. “No one warned me. No one sat me down. And yet — most women I know have a kind of same story. The silence was universal.” The Evolution We Lived Through We didn’t just witness the evolution of menstrual products — we lived it, body and all. Each transition came with its own mix of relief and imperfection. THE CLOTH ERA Cloth pads — washed, dried discreetly, reused. Functional. Private. La...

  The Monthly Event - You are the show stopper Disclaimer: Terms and Conditions Apply. Subject to Change Without Intimation. When I speak to women — over coffee, at health talks, in my clinic — I notice something that never stops surprising me. Ask them about the latest fashion trends, they're on it.  The new salon that just opened, the one with that amazing hair treatment? They have the address, the price, and already have an appointment.  Footwear sizes, sale dates, which brand just launched what — all of it, downloaded and stored perfectly. And then I ask one simple question about periods. What's normal, what's not, whether they've heard about any of the newer menstrual products available today. Suddenly — "I'm not sure." "How would I know?" A little laugh, a little look away. "And I think to myself — this is a subscription that auto-renewed every single month. No sign up. No welcome email. No user manual. Just — surprise, here you are,...

 AFTER  BUT WHEN LADY ? Her hands were shaking when she unbuttoned her blouse. "I've been meaning to come," she whispered, not looking at me. "For a year." I could already see it. The asymmetry. The slight dimpling on the left side. Before I even touched her, I knew. "Why now?" I asked gently. "My daughter got married. Then my mother had a stroke. I kept thinking... after. After the wedding. After my mother recovers. After." She finally looked at me. Her eyes were wet. "Am i late, doctor?" She was 51 years old. She felt the lump last August.  Not during a self-exam. Not at a routine checkup. She felt it while trying on outfits for her daughter's wedding. The boutique dressing room. Harsh lights. Mirror on three sides. She was adjusting the drape of a silk sari, lifting her arm, when her fingers brushed against it. A lump. Hard. Unmistakable. She froze. Stared at herself in the mirror. The expensive sari. The wedding shopping bag...

In all my years of medicine, I have seen the human body do extraordinary things. I have read about it, studied it, marvelled at it. But there is one thing that happens to a woman that no textbook has ever truly captured — and that is the moment she becomes a mother. Something changes within you. Something so close, so real, so intimate. Like a slow, divine release of oxytocin that begins the moment you know there is life growing inside you — and honestly, never quite stops. As an obstetrician, I have had the privilege of walking alongside mothers at every stage of this journey.  I have seen the wonder in their eyes at that first ultrasound flutter.  I have watched exhausted new mothers look at their newborns with a love so fierce it fills the entire room.  I have seen toddlers run to their mums after a fall, knowing instinctively that there is no safer place on earth.  And I have sat with mothers of grown children — proud, a little tearful — watching their babies ste...