You are here

Equity Requires Woman-Acceptable, Scientifically Accurate Documentation of Menstrual Cycles and Ovulation

Equity Requires Woman-Acceptable, Scientifically Accurate Documentation of Menstrual Cycles and Ovulation

Despite Canadian and international mandates to include women in all scientific research, many studies in menstruating women are seriously flawed. Current studies do not scientifically assess ovulation, often assuming it in month-apart, predictable cycles. In addition, often participants use of combined hormonal contraception (“the Pill”, CHC) is not identified and women with spontaneous and CHC-cycles are considered the same. Flawed research does women and science a huge disservice. 

Last year marked a significant milestone in the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research centre’s journey toward advancing women's health research. Thanks to the funding support of the UBC Collaborative Research Mobility Award, CeMCOR led a series of events at UBC-O in Kelowna (May 2023) and UBC-V in Vancouver (November 2023). These events aimed to collaboratively understand, examine, and develop scientific methods for studying premenopausal women, focusing on menstruating women or people with ovaries, and ensuring research practices are scientific but also acceptable and informative for women. This effort has the full support of and collaboration with the UBC Clinical Research Ethics Board.

UBC-Okanagan Visit: May 10 - 12, 2023

The first portion of this initiative took place at the UBC-O School of Health and Exercise Sciences, where researchers Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior (Professor of Endocrinology and Founder of CeMCOR), Dr. Sarah Purcell (Assistant Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair with expertise in women’s nutrition), Dr. Philip Ainslie (Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Heart, Lung, and Vascular Health) and Kaitlin Nelson (CeMCOR Research Coordinator and MSc student at UBC-V) engaged in discussions, workshops, and community talks. It began with a dynamic “drop-in” Q&A session on menstrual cycle and ovulation measurement techniques, engaging students in accurate data collection. Dr. Prior also offered valuable insights during lab visits and delivered a compelling community talk at the Sandhill Winery, titled Ovulation Reflects Well-Being and Predicts Women’s Health, highlighting the importance of ovulation in women’s health and practical solutions for menstrual and perimenopausal challenges. The visit concluded with an academic lecture by the trio, marking a significant step in advancing women’s health research. The May visit aimed to initiate precise scientific measurement protocols of menstrual cycles at UBC, paving the way for the second portion of this project at UBC-Vancouver in November 2023.

 

UBC-Vancouver Visit: November 8 - 10, 2023

From November 8 to 10, 2023, we welcomed the UBC-O team to Vancouver for a three-day event series aimed at refining scientifically sound, non-invasive, and woman-centric research methodologies for menstruating and perimenopausal women. The itinerary included an Academic Talk, a Community Event, a Student Workshop, and a Research Ethics Policy Seminar, each designed to deepen insights into menstrual health, nutrition, exercise, and sports. The event began with academic talks by Dr. Prior, Dr. Purcell, and Dr. Ainslie at the UBC Life Sciences Institute, highlighting the importance of accurate menstrual cycle, nutrition, and physical activity data in ethical research. This was followed by a student workshop on simple ways to document ovulation in research design, during which students received expert feedback on their own scientific research projects.

Stride to Wellness: A Community Movement and Knowledge Exchange 

The evening after the academic talk on November 8, 2023, the CeMCOR team hosted a community event at the Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) store in Vancouver. The event included a run/walk led by Filsan Abdiaman, founder of Project Love Run, followed by a participatory design workshop involving community members, researchers, and facilitators. This workshop, a unique initiative by CeMCOR to strengthen community outreach saw the attendance of 18 community members across a wide age group. Participants engaged in collaborative exercises designed to foster conversations and knowledge exchange about challenges, strategies, and practices on topics including diet, exercise, and nutrition in relation to menstrual health and wellness. The event emphasized the significance of combining physical activity, expert knowledge, and community spirit to promote holistic well-being, with participants leaving the workshop feeling informed and supported.

 Following the discussions from the community event, we created a Resource Document which includes helpful tips from the community and expert insights on diet, nutrition, menstrual cycles, and ovulation.

Download the Stride to Wellness Resource Document 

Research Ethics Meeting

 The Vancouver events concluded on November 10, 2023 with a collaborative multi-disciplinary effort to come to some consensus on multiple questions related to research around menstrual cycles and ovulation. We welcomed multiple leaders in UBC clinical research ethics. It was attended by nationally and internationally recognized researchers and community health professionals. Titled Developing Practical, Women-acceptable, Scientific Methods for Study of Premenopausal Women, this seminar-format discussion underscored the commitment to develop ethical research practices in women’s health. An ethics document outlining accurate, woman-acceptable, and simple scientific methods for doing research in menstruating women is currently being drafted in preparation for presentation to the UBC Clinical Ethics Board for eventual province-wide distribution. In addition to the three lead researchers (Dr. Prior, Dr. Purcell, and Dr. Ainslie) in attendance were:

  • Dr. Nicky Keay – Sports and Dance Endocrinologist, University College London (remote participation)
  • Dr. Jackie Whittaker – Associate Professor, UBC Department of Physical Therapy (remote participation)
  • Pia Ganz – UBC Clinical Ethics Research Board Manager (remote participation)
  • Dr. Stephen Hoption Cann - UBC Clinical Ethics Research Board Chair (remote participation)
  • Dr. John Russell – Ethics Philosophy, Professor Emeritus, Langara College (remote participation)
  • CeMCOR Staff and Researchers – in person  
  • Kaitlin Nelson (Dr. Prior's MSc student) – in person
  • Miranda Smith (Dr. Purcell’s MSc student) – in person

 Eventually we will complete a systematic review of the potential ways of monitoring menstrual cycles. Interdisciplinary and lay collaborators will create a simple, woman-acceptable method for menstrual cycle timing of research, how to handle women+ using various systemic and local hormonal (via IUD) contraception, and propose a non-invasive, scientific way of documenting ovulation. With publication of this document, we are looking to lead a scientific way forward in fundamental menstrual cycle/ovulation assessments in women’s health. 

This collaborative initiative is a testament to the commitment of CeMCOR and UBC researchers to advance understanding of menstrual cycles and ovulation, relationships with women’s social/emotional/physical environments, and the effects of cycle and ovulation changes on lifelong health. The exchange of ideas, community engagement, and interdisciplinary discussions marked a significant step forward in promoting awareness and empowering individuals with accurate information.

Thank you to all participants, collaborators, and sponsors for contributing to the success of all our events. Stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to engage with CeMCOR in our shared journey toward promoting an innovative ovulation-related revolution in women’s health.


Your Feedback Matters!

As we reflect on the success of the collaborative research initiative, we value your insights and experiences. If you were part of any of the public events in May 2023 or November 2023—Academic Talks, Community Events or Student Workshops—your feedback is crucial to us! 

Please take a moment to share your feedback through our Feedback Form or write to us directly at cemcor.info@ubc.ca. Your responses help us tailor our efforts to meet your expectations and foster a community committed to advancing women’s health research.

Thank you for being an integral part of CeMCOR’s journey!

Estrogen’s Storm Season: Stories of Perimenopause

Estrogen's Storm Season

by Dr. Jerilynn C Prior

New second edition available

Estrogen’s Storm Season is now available in BOTH print and eBook (Mobi and ePUB) versions!

All royalties are recieved in our Endowment fund (overseen by UBC) and support CeMCOR's research and future.

It is full of lively, realistic stories with which women can relate and evidence-based, empowering perimenopause information. It was a finalist in 2006 for the Independent Publisher Book Award in Health.

Purchase your ebook copy via our Amazon Kindle or
Google Play storefronts!

Paperback copies (with updated insert) still available here.

Join a Study:

Get Involved

Volunteer research participants are the heart of all CeMCOR research. Participants are invited to provide feedback on study processes, to learn their own results and at the end of a study, be the first to hear what the whole study found. Please become a CeMCOR research participant—you can contribute to improving the scientific information available for daughters, friends and the wider world of women+.