Celebrating Women's History Month: New books on women's health

There are a ton of new books in our collection about key issues in women's health. The list below is by no means exhaustive.

If we don't have a particular title, feel free to recommend a book for purchase.

All in her head : the truth and lies early medicine taught us about women's bodies and why it matters today
Elizabeth Comen draws back the curtain on the collective medical history of women to reintroduce us to our whole bodies: how they work, the actual doctors and patients whose perspectives and experiences laid the foundation for today's medical thought, and the many oversights that remain unaddressed. 

Black and menopausal : intimate stories of navigating the change
Editors Yansie Rolston and Yvonne Christie draw on the historical and cultural importance of storytelling traditions in African and Caribbean ancestry. This anthology breaks through a taboo topic that has too often been mired in shame and silence with courage and vulnerability. 

Bleed : destroying myths and misogyny in endometriosis care
Tracey Lindeman uses extensive interviews and research to track the modern endo experience to the origins of medicine and how the system gained its power by marginalizing women.

Blue : a history of postpartum depression in America
By breaking new ground with the first book-length history of postpartum mental illness in the twentieth century, Rachel Louise Moran brings mothers' battles with postpartum depression out of the shadows and into the light.

Experiences of menstruation from the global south and north : towards a visualised, inclusive, and applied menstruation studies
This edited collection takes a multidisciplinary perspective, based on academic research, activism, and creative work, to look at the varied and diverse lived experiences of menstruators. Menstruation is inextricably entangled with the body, cultured concepts of gender, religion, economics, and of course, life itself. 

Exposed : the hidden history of the pelvic exam
Drawing on previously unpublished archival sources, along with interviews with patients, providers, and activists, Kline traces key moments and movements in gynecological history, from the surgeons of the nineteenth century to the OB/GYNs of today. This powerful book reminds us that the pelvic exam is has never been "just" a medical procedure, and that we can no longer afford to let it remain unexamined.

Hot flash : how the law ignores menopause and what we can do about it
Taking US law regarding pregnancy and breastfeeding as an entry point, the authors suggest changes in existing legislation and workplace policies that would incorporate menopause as well. More broadly, they push us to imagine how law can support a more equitable future.

Policing pregnant bodies : from ancient Greece to post-Roe America
A history of the old medical and philosophical traditions that influence the politics of women's health and reproductive autonomy today.

Pregnant at work : low-wage workers, power, and temporal injustice
The stories of the pregnant workers featured in this book underscore the urgency of movements towards temporal justice and a new politics of care in the twenty-first century.

The cycle : confronting the pain of periods and PMDD
A groundbreaking exploration of a debilitating disorder that's underdiagnosed and misunderstood. 

Tits up : what sex workers, milk bankers, plastic surgeons, bra designers, and witches tell us about breasts
Blending sociology, reportage, and personal narrative with refreshing optimism and wit, Thornton has one overriding ambition--to liberate breasts from centuries of patriarchal prejudice.