Menstrual Cycle – Everything you need to know

Let’s talk about periods – Menstrual Cycle

I still remember, I was 10 years old when my mother explained me about puberty and menstrual cycle but along with that she told me not to say anything about it in front of anyone. At that moment of time,I said OK and never spoke about it or even with my female friends I would discuss this in a low tone. But I never got the reason why we did so? We want males to understand everything about us,but we don’t talk on such topics like periods or sex or desires,all this being taboo.

Isn’t it?

So let’s talk about it and clear all the doubts on it.

What is menstrual cycle?

Menstruation cycle is a natural process which happened with every healthy woman from the age of puberty till menopause. In general terms,we call this “periods”. Periods can be defined as monthly discharge of blood and  dead cells from uterus though vagina. It starts with puberty and ends at menopause.

This complete cycle varies from 21 days to 35 days. A female body goes through a series of periodic changes every month. Every month ovaries releases an egg, this is called as ovulation. During ovulation uterus secrets hormone which prepares the female body for pregnancy. If egg doesn’t gets fertilized, the lining of uterus sheds through vagina, and this is what we call periods.

What is female reproductive system?

The two ovaries, Fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, vulva, mammary glands and breasts together are called as female reproductive system.

Ovaries are a pair of gland. They are almond sized and are located on right and left sides of pelvic region. It secretes estrogen and progesterone and also makes egg(ovum).

Fallopian tubes are pair of muscular tubes connecting the ovaries to the uterus.

Uterus is hollow muscular organ which is located a little above and back to urinary bladder. It is connected to Fallopian tubes on its superior end and to vagina on its inferior end. It supports the developing fetus during pregnancy. The lining of uterus sheds if egg doesn’t gets fertilized.

Vagina is an elastic, muscular tube that connects the cervix of the uterus to the exterior of the body. It is located inferior to the uterus and posterior to the urinary bladder. The vagina functions as the receptacle for the penis during sexual intercourse and carries sperm to the uterus and Fallopian tubes. It also serves as the birth canal by stretching to allow delivery of the fully developed fetus during childbirth. During menstruation, the dead cells and unfertilized egg in the form of  menstrual flows out of  the body via vagina.

Breast are specialized organs of the female body that contain mammary glands, milk ducts, and adipose tissue. Breast and mammary glands are the secondary reproductive organ.

What hormones are secreted during menstrual cycle?

Day 1 of menstrual cycle  starts from first day of periods itself. During this time the level of estrogen and progesterone is low due to which FSH(follicle Stimulating Hormone) is secreted by pituitary gland. FSH is responsible for maturing of follicle. Follicle is a fluid filled sac which contains the egg, the largest cell in human body.

Then after 4-5 days follicle produces estrogen to prepare uterus for pregnancy.

At around 12-14 day, level of estrogen shoots up and it triggers release of LH(Luteinizing Hormone) from pituitary gland. This causes release of egg from follicle.

Then the ruptured follicle secretes progesterone and estrogen so that the uterus prepares itself for pregnancy.

If the egg doesn’t get fertilized, level of progesterone and estrogen decreases and then the lining of uterus sheds and causes vaginal bleeding.

P.S- Estrogen and Progesterone are released from ovaries and adrenal gland.

What is PMS ?

Pre – Menstrual Syndrome – PMS is combination of symptoms that a female suffer for a week or more,before their periods.

It is a set of psychological and physical sufferings. Psychological symptoms include mood swings, anger and depression. While physical symptoms are breast tenderness and bloating and some times muscle cramps too. However these symptoms vary from female to female.

What is the Duration of periods?

The vaginal bleeding varies in every female. On an average it may go for 3-7 days.

In the first three days,bleeding is heavy and declines after that ending on 5-7th day.

Irregular periods- It may be  PCOS

Sometimes the periods may occur before date and sometimes they delay. Bleeding also varies from low in some to high in others. This maybe due to hormonal imbalance. This is called PCOS:- Polycystic ovary syndrome. This is a disorder involving infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods or excess male hormone (androgen) levels.

What are sanitary pads?

It is an absorbent cloth/pad worn by female during periods .
These are common in India. While is some other country tampons are also used during periods. Tampons are also absorbents but they are not large as pads. These are small cylindrical pads that are inserted at the mouth of vagina during periods. Even in today’s scenario women in villages prefer cloths over pads. They say they feel more comfortable when they use cloth as most of the pads causes rashes.However, most girls and women are ill-informed on the frequency of changing sanitary napkins due to which rashes and infections occur. With advertisements of leading sanitary napkin companies stating 12 hour and more protection, majority of pad users changes the pad only once or twice a day. If a pad (or even a cloth) is not changed 3-4 times a day, it might lead to bacterial infections. Also cloth may contains germs if not stored properly and  sometime may lead to infection even after frequent changing.

Being a female,I am not ashamed of talking about periods. Let’s understand this.