Your areola is the colored area around each nipple. Like breasts (and people!), areolas come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Areolas aren't just accessories for your nipples; they actually serve a function. Areolas have tissue and fiber that contracts so that nipples can get erect when you're chilly, aroused, or breastfeeding. When estrogen levels are elevated (during the follicular phase of you menstrual cycle or during pregnancy/breastfeeding), your areola can darken or grow.
For new mamas, the areolas act as a "bullseye" for a baby to find your breast and get milk (because babies have horrible eyesight), so the stark contrast between the areola and the color of the breast helps focus the baby's eyes on where to look.
(👆🏾That is def one of my Top 3 favorite facts about the female body! ) The body is incredible!
I’ll be doing #HumpDayAnatomy weekly to explore the reproductive and sexual body, so let me know if you have any body part questions!
I typically have moderate pain during my periods, but for the last few months I’ve had intense cramps and back pain (largely due to change of environment, change of diet, and my struggle to manage my stress during the transition of moving back to the states). Because of this, I have been exploring more natural ways to manage my pain before I reach for the ibuprofen (or wine).
Enter castor oil packs! Not only are they super relaxing, castor oil is an anti-infammatory that helps to detoxify the liver and support uterine + ovarian health by improving circulation.
Castor oils packs can be used preventatively during your luteal phase (from end of ovulation until period begins) in the days leading up to your period. You can also use them during your period as a pain treatment. If you are preparing for conception, it may be best not to use castor oil packs during ovulation or on your period, follicular and luteal phases are going to be your jam.
The idea is to keep castor oil on a piece of cloth on the skin for at least an hour with a heat source (while you journal, mediate, drink tea, watch Netflix, talk to your bestie—it’s your world).
To make a castor oil pack, you’ll need a hot water bottle or pack, castor oil (organic is best), flannel cloths, and a spare towel.
—Apply castor oil to one side of a piece of flannel or cloth, so it’s saturated, but not dripping.
—Place saturated side of cloth on your lower abdomen
—Take a large cloth or towel and cover soaked flannel. It is best to have a towel underneath you to catch any leaks (castor oils stains, so make sure this is material that you don’t mind getting dirty).
—Apply the hot water bottle or electric heating pad on top
—Relax with feet elevated
Castor oil packs can be beneficial to those experiencing uterine fibroids, cysts, PCOS, or endometriosis. 📷: @fertilealchemy
Have you tried castor oil packs? Let me know below!
Yellow milk, golden milk, creamy milk, green tinted milk, watery milk. All milk is different because all babies are different. Our bodies modify the vitamin and nutrient levels in breastmilk (and thus the color, consistency, and even quantity) according to the nutritional and immunological needs of our baby. Aren’t our bodies amazing?! There’s absolutely no need to compare. No matter the color, quantity, or duration, you’re doing great mama! #atldoula #liquidgold #atlantadoula #blackbreastfeeding #doulaofcolor 📷: @paulalopezdroguet
What does sisterhood mean to you?
“Eventually I landed on the word Maternity. There are so many river that can flow into maternity. Interchangeable are the words friend and sister, friend and mother, mother and sister; to be a sister is to be a friend to an exponent—and vice versa. And within that exponent is the infinite. I have stood in the gap for my own mother to care for my younger sisters both by blood or by journey. I have been cared for in maternal ways by my older sister. I love my friends as a mother; to be a woman is often times an instinctual need to rescue, protect and guide to safety...a responsibility to see love through which is sometimes a weary yet satisfying service.”
words + visuals: @hiaj
creative dir: @coolandbrown + @amazing_li18
glowing mama: @pinc.events
For more of this beautiful piece, check the link in @hiaj’s bio 💛
Launching Flora & Fauna has been an extreme lesson in vulnerability, the uncomfortable and scary kind (is there another type?). I decided to create a space where women of color could gather with the idea that we all have vulnerabilities that would be better shared. Because we are all going through something. And connection heals.
This was my way of changing just a little piece of the world. We talked and sipped lots of wine. We shared stories about our wombs and reproductive experiences. We cried and laughed. We made new connections and supported other black women.
Sometimes we're pushed to do things before we really understand the true why. Me? The woman who has mastered the art of deflecting attention for the sake of caring for others. Put myself and my visions out to the world? How? Why? To heal. To change. To care for self. This first event was so special and I cant wait for the next.
Special thank yous to @antylc and @forkeepsbooks for opening her space for us, to my sisters @mellimelatl and @mayatable for showing up and showing out, to @__rita.p for your camera skillssss, to @thisishermarket for contributing custome female-designed gift bags, to @lowdownbrown and @deemingo who surprised me in the flesh and to everyone who was present. I appreciate you all forever.
If you don’t have one, you know someone who does. Which of these #HumpDayAnatomy did you already know?
- The clitoris is actually close to four inches in length (kinda like the average non-erect penis), but three-fourths of it is hidden from view within the female body
- Anatomically, it’s sole purpose is pleasure, but endorphins released as a result of an orgasm can help to dilate the cervix in preparation for birth
- Most womxn need clitoral stimulation to reach an orgasm
- It grows through the female lifetime—increasing in size by almost 25% from puberty to menopause
When we know better, we do better 😉 | 🎨 + 📷: @sophiawallaceartist