First, we do not suggest that a menstrual extraction group be formed by advertising or by placing a notice on Facebook. Although menstrual extraction has never been ruled illegal and there’s no law against it, as far as we know, it is controversial and the new group might be infiltrated by law enforcement officer or anti-abortion zealots. Groups have arisen out of women’s health courses, college women’s groups, N.O.W. chapters, and midwife and doula groups. It is very helpful to the group to have someone to come speak in the community about abortion and menstrual extraction. The speaker, if she is experienced in menstrual extraction, can be an invaluable resource to the group.
Successful ME group should start with at least 4 or 5 people (an ideal of 10). In order to learn how to do uterine size checks, the group has to meet over a period of at least 2 months. It is not vital to have every single person at every single meeting, but it would be great and expected for women to recruit more women, friends or family, etc. to be a part of a meeting. These participants do not have to be committed to the ME project but should be willing to contribute their uterus for viewing through self-exam. It takes two months to examine a few women throughout a complete menstrual cycle.
In the first meeting we will need to exam each other’s cervixes, in addition to learning about each other’s cycles and menstrual and birth history. Women in the group do not have to become close friends, although many do. They need to develop trust of one another and learn enough about each other’s personal circumstances to work together collectively.
CAUTION: The group needs to know if any of the women attending might be pregnant. Examining each other’s cervixes and sharing our health history will assure them that they will not be inadvertently dealing with an advanced pregnancy. Of course, if someone is pregnant, they need to decide if they wish to keep the pregnancy. If so, they are not candidates for menstrual extraction, however the group may benefit from doing uterine size checks as the pregnancy advances.
The group may want to discuss why they want to learn menstrual extraction and why learning about our menstrual cycles and how to control them is important. We have various reading materials that we can suggest. See Resources (hyperlink).
Some menstrual extraction groups have been meeting for years; they don’t need to meet that often; maybe they only get together when someone has a concern or when a friend or a friend of a friend needs a menstrual extraction.