That Time of The Month: A Lady's Cycle

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Menstrual Health (The Apothecaries).pdf

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*Introduction*

A lot of female do not know how to calculate their monthly cycle, and many young girls are not well enlightened on the topic "Menstruation" as it is as important as caring for your body. In this article, we have seen to it that explicit and simplified details on what to know concerning the monthly flow " Menstruation". We hope this article enlighten and broaden your knowledge on Menstruation.

Menstruation is the periodic discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the uterus, occurring approximately monthly from puberty to menopause in non pregnant women and females of other primate species.

Many people have the wrong notion that the ‘menstrual cycle’ and a ‘period’ are referring to the same thing.

A period is when you bleed (or menstruate).

Whereas, A menstrual cycle starts on the day when a period starts (day 1) and ends the day before the next period. The length of A woman's menstrual cycle is considered normal if it’s between 21 and 35 days. Although, They can vary between different women and from one cycle to the next.

"Menstruation is a normal function of a woman's body, you should not be ashamed about your period and your period shouldn't interfere with your lifestyle. If you are having problem with menstruation see a doctor."

Your menstrual cycle helps your body prepare for pregnancy every month. It also makes you have a period if you’re not pregnant. Your menstrual cycle and period are controlled by hormones like estrogen and progesterone.

Every female have 2 ovaries and each one holds a bunch of eggs. The eggs are super tiny; too small to see with the naked eye.

During your menstrual cycle, hormones make the eggs in your ovaries mature — when an egg is mature, that means it’s ready to be fertilized by a sperm cell. These hormones also make the lining of your uterus thick and spongy. So if your egg does get fertilized, it has a nice cushy place to land and start a pregnancy. This lining is made of tissue and blood, like almost everything else inside our bodies. It has lots of nutrients to help a pregnancy grow.

At some point during puberty, blood comes out of your vagina, and that's your first period. Most people get their first period between ages 12 and 14, but some people get them earlier or later than that.

Most people stop getting their period when they’re between 45 and 55 years old — this is called menopause. Menopause can take a few years, and periods usually change gradually during this time. After menopause is totally complete, you can’t get pregnant anymore.

Most persons ask when they can get pregnant during their menstrual cycle, normally, ovulation(the release of an ovum from the ovary) usually happens about 14 days before your period starts, but know that everyone's body is different. You may ovulate earlier or later. The ‘fertile window’ is the day an egg is released from the ovary (ovulation) and the five days beforehand. Having sex (intercourse) during this time gives you the best chance of getting pregnant.

There is a general view or belief that A woman can get pregnant any time of the month but in reality, A woman can only get pregnant on a few days during her menstrual cycle. This is because Eggs and sperm live for a short time, sperm can live up to 5 days and egg, 24hrs after being released from the ovaries and so Eggs and sperm need to come together at the right time i.e during the fertile window for fertilisation to happen to create an embryo. So for couples in need of a baby or couples who want to avoid getting pregnant, this information can prove useful.

AMENORRHEA

Amenorrhea is the absence of menstrual period in a woman of reproductive age.

Primary Amenorrhea : is the absence of menstrual bleeding and secondary sexual characteristics in a girl by age 14 or the absence of menstrual bleeding with normal development of secondary sexual characteristics in a girl by age 16 years.

Secondary Amenorrhea : Is the absence of menstrual bleeding in a woman who had been menstruating but later stops menstruating for three or more months.

CAUSES OF ABSENT MENSTRUATION

Primary and secondary amenorrhea can occur for numerous reasons, some causes are natural, while others are medical conditions that need to be treated.

🔥 Natural causes of amenorrhea include pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause

🔥some birth control pills may cause missed periods or the absence of menstruation

🔥physical defect such as structural problems in the female reproductive organ might be responsible for absent or delayed menstruation

🔥Hormonal imbalance may cause amenorrhea. They are usually triggered by tumors on the pituitary or thyroid gland, low estrogen level or high testosterone level can also cause it.

🔥 lifestyle factors may include excessive exercise and stress, Also having too little body fat or too much body fat may also delay or stop menstruation.

🔥Genetic disorders or chromosomal disorders such as Turners syndrome and sawyer syndrome can sometimes cause late menstruation.

By: Edwin C . Meshack , Aghahowa James O. And Ehonwa Aisosa