The Menstrual Cycle: Beyond the Period
- Victoria Johnson
- Oct 20, 2015
- 4 min read
Everyone who’s taken a course in sexual education has heard about the menstrual cycle, which is the regular cycle that the uterus and ovaries in women go through. The cycle is necessary to produce ovocytes, and helps prepare the uterus for pregnancy. This makes pregnancy is possible.
The menstrual cycle occurs toward the end of puberty for girls, and continues through a woman’s lifetime until menopause occurs.
However, the majority of people are only familiar with the menstruation stage of the menstrual cycle, and not so much they other three… Many people only know vague details about the others, but not the names or the particulars. Because of this, here is a crash course about all the phases of the menstrual cycle:
Phase 1: Menstruation
Again, this is the phase that we are all acquainted with, some of us through living it. It is also referred to as a period, and people have various nicknames for this stage. This is generally the phase that people who menstruate have the most complaints about. Menstruation is when the uterus gets ride of the thickened lining inside it. The lining contains blood, endometrial cells from the uterus, and mucus, and exits the body through the vagina. Most menstruation periods last for about three days to one week.
To contain menstrual flow, women use sanitary pads, tampons, or menstrual cups. Often, they will use a combination of both. People who menstruate have to be attentive to changing or handling their menstrual flow management regularly throughout the course of their period. Their management will vary depending on the flow.
This phase of the menstrual cycle can have side effects, such as abdominal pain, abdominal cramping, acne, anxiety, mood swings, bloating, breast tenderness, effects to the digestive system, headaches, nausea, and exhaustion, to name a few. These can be managed with over the counter painkillers, heat to the abdomen, and more sleep. For more extreme side effects, please talk to your general doctor or gynecologist about management.
Phase 2: Follicular Phase
The day after your period, the follicular phase begins. This stage lasts between four and six days. It received this label because the hypothalamus indicates to the pituitary gland that it should release the follicle-stimulating hormone, commonly abbreviated to FSH. FSH directs the ovary to produce nodules or cysts, which develop on the surface of the ovary. These nodules and cysts contain undeveloped eggs. Only about one egg will mature fully by the ovulation phase, resulting in the death of the others.
When the follicles are growing, it notifies the uterus that it should start thickening the lining, in case of pregnancy. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with the nodules/cysts, which is why “ovarian cysts” carry such a negative connotation for many women. If the reproductive system does not react appropriately to this phase, it can result in polycystic ovaries, endometriosis, or cystadenomas.
Polycystic ovaries are the result of eggs failing to open after they have matured. Endometriosis occurs when the uterine lining extends to the ovaries. Cystadenomas are when fluid-filled cyssts develop on the surface of the ovary. These situations can become serious and cause a lot of pain, and can affect fertility. You should consult your general doctor or gynecologist if your pain becomes unmanageable, or if you are having trouble conceiving.
Phase 3: Ovulation
The ovulation stage occurs when the follicular phase concludes. During the follicular phase, the pituitary gland also releases high amounts of luteinizing hormone, which eventually triggers ovulation. Ovulation involves the ovary releasing the egg that has matured, which travels through the fallopian tube and into the uterus. The ovulation phase lasts about five days.
During the follicular phase, the pituitary gland also releases high amounts of luteinizing hormone. The egg will only last about 24 hours once it has been released; it will not form a fetus unless sperm fertilizes it during this period of time. However, it is important to note that sperm can survive within the female body for about five to seven days. Ovulation is the phase with the least amount of potential complications… unless you consider pregnancy to be a complication for you.
Phase 4: Luteal Phase
The luteal phase is the most involved phase of the menstrual cycle, immediately following the ovulation stage. The luteal phase is also the most complicated phase of the cycle, and lasts about two weeks. Once the follicles have released any mature eggs and have done away with eggs that were not able to mature, they remain upon the ovary for the next couple of weeks. They form into “corpus lutea”, which release progesterone and estrogen.
This thickens the lining of the uterus, which will help any fertilized eggs to attach to the wall of the uterus. After a few days, if the egg is not fertilized or does not properly attach to the uterus, the corpus lutea degenerate. The decrease in progesterone from the corpus lutea causes the uterus to shed its lining, resulting in menstruation. Corpus lutea are flushed out with menstrual discharge.
It is during this period of time that premenstrual syndrome (PMS) occurs in most women. Like period side effects, PMS effects can include insomnia, exhaustion, bloating, acne, depression, appetite changes, and extreme mood swings. If these symptoms are unmanageable, it is possible that you premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD. PMDD occurs when PMS symptoms become unbearable. If this is the case, your doctor should be consulted as soon as you can.
I hope that this post helped to shed some light on all of the different phases of the menstrual cycle. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. If you’d like to learn more about the menstrual cycle, feel free to contact me and I can send you some more educational articles.
Comentários