WOMEN’S BODIES: QUESTIONS ABOUT MENSTRUATION
Common questions about menstruation
How long do periods last?
They usually continue for three to six days. The most common pattern is for the discharge to be slow and darkish for the first few hours; then a steady, brighter red flow; for the next day or so; becoming slower: and darker over the next couple of days.
How much blood is lost at menstruation?
First of all, the menstrual flow is not all blood, though there is blood in the endometrium when it is shed, plus some more that leaks from the raw surface it leaves behind. The flow also contains the liquefied endometrium and some secretions from the cervix and vagina.
The average blood loss per period is around 40 ml, though it seems like more when it’s spread out on pads and tampons (but pour just 10 ml – 2 tsp – of coloured liquid onto a pad and see what a wide area it covers). A loss of more than 80 ml is abnormally heavy bleeding.
How can menstrual flow he measured?
The usual way has been to get women to save all the tampons and pads used during a period, and to extract the blood pigment (haemoglobin) they contain. By measuring the amount of haemoglobin per ml in each woman’s blood, her blood loss during the period can be calculated. Measuring the total amount of fluid in the Sow is more difficult. One way would be to weigh all pads and tampons before and after use and attempt to calculate the weight of the fluid, but this doesn’t give an accurate measurement.
Why doesn’t menstrual blood clot?
This is because the liquefied endometrium contains substances that dissolve blood clots. If there are clots in the menstrual flow it means that blood is flowing so quickly that it dilutes these substances I too much for them to be effective.
How long is the menstrual cycle?
It’s conventional to describe a menstrual cycle as covering 28 days, and in the majority of women menstruation does occur around every four weeks. However, anything from 22 to 35 days is within the normal range, and for most of us the cycle can vary by a few days from one month to the next.
Other questions about the menstrual cycle
Do other animals menstruate?
Only mammals (animals that breast-feed their young) have reproductive functions similar to those of humans. In cycles where there is no conception most other mammals absorb the dead lining of the uterus back into their bodies. Apes and some species of monkeys menstruate.
Can you tell when you’re ovulating?
Some women can. They notice brief lower abdominal pain at mid-cycle (also called mittelschmerz - German for ‘middle pain’) when the ovarian follicle ruptures. The pain may be followed by 12 hours or so of a tight feeling and tenderness in the lower abdomen due to irritation of the pelvic lining by the fluid released with the ovum. A few women regularly have a spot or two of bleeding from the vagina with ovulation.
If you’re watching your cervical mucus and basal body temperature, ovulation is near the time of peak fertile mucus, and you’ll know that ovulation happened 12-24 hours before the mucus becomes thick and sticky and the temperature rises.
Do women ovulate every month?
Regular periods don’t necessarily mean that you ovulate every month. The ebb and flow of hormones can lead to bleeding even if the ovarian follicles don’t ripen completely and release an ovum. This is called an anovulatory cycle. Without ovulation, bleeding may be somewhat heavier and longer and is usually painless.
Anovulatory cycles are very common for a year or so after the menarche and in older women approaching the menopause.
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Categories: Women's Health | Tags: Women’s Health
