Women of reproductive age (beginning anywhere from 11 to 16 years of age) experience cycles of hormonal activity that repeat at about one-month intervals. With every cycle, your body prepares for a potential pregnancy, whether or not that’s your intention. Menstruation refers to the periodic shedding of your uterine lining when pregnancy doesn’t occur during that cycle. Many people call the days that they notice vaginal bleeding their “period.”
• The average menstrual cycle takes about 28 days and occurs in phases. These phases include:
•1. Menstruation (day 1–5)
•2. The follicular phase (the egg develops, day 1-13).
• 3. The ovulatory phase (egg release, usually around day 14).
•4. The luteal phase (hormone levels decrease if the egg doesn’t implant, day 15-28).
• There are four major hormones (chemicals that stimulate or regulate the activity of cells or organs) involved in the menstrual cycle. These hormones include:
• Progesterone.
• Follicle-stimulating hormone
• Leutinizing hormone
• Estrogen
1. Menstruation
Menstruation is commonly known as a period. When you menstruate, your uterus lining sheds and flows out of your vagina. Your period contains blood, mucus, and some cells from the lining of your uterus. The average length of a period is three to seven days.
You can use sanitary pads, tampons, period underwear, or menstrual cups to absorb your period. It’s advisable to change pads and tampons regularly (preferably every three to four hours), while menstrual cups should be changed every eight to 12 hours.
2. Follicular phase
• During the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, the following events occur:
• Two hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and leutinizing hormone, are released from your brain and travel in your blood to your ovaries.
Hormones prompt the development of approximately 15 to 20 eggs within your ovaries, each enclosed in its own protective structure known as a follicle.
• These hormones (FSH and LH) also trigger an increase in the production of the hormone estrogen.
• As estrogen levels rise, like a switch, it turns off the production of follicle-stimulating hormone. This careful balance of hormones allows the body to limit the number of follicles that will prepare eggs to be released.
• As the follicular phase progresses, one follicle in one ovary becomes dominant and continues to mature. This dominant follicle suppresses all of the other follicles in the group. As a result, they stop growing and die. The dominant follicle continues to produce estrogen.
3. Ovulatory phase
• The ovulatory phase (ovulation) usually starts about 14 days after the follicular phase starts (the exact timing varies). The ovulatory phase is the second phase of your menstrual cycle. Most people will have a menstrual period 10 to 16 days after ovulation. During this phase, the following events occur:
The increase in estrogen from the dominant follicle stimulates a surge in the production of luteinizing hormone (LH) by the brain.
• This causes the dominant follicle to release its egg from the ovary.
As the egg is released (a process called ovulation), finger-like projections on the end of the fallopian tubes (fimbriae) capture it, sweeping the egg into the fallopian tube.
• For one to five days prior to ovulation, many women will notice an increase in egg-white cervical mucus. This mucus is the vaginal discharge that helps to capture and nourish a sperm on its way to meet the egg for fertilization.
