Menses or Vaginal Bleeding

Pelvis | Gynecology | Menses or Vaginal Bleeding (Symptom)


Description

Menstruation is a woman's monthly bleeding, also called period. When menstruation is occurring, is shedding the lining of the uterus (womb). Menstrual blood flows from the uterus through the small opening in the neck of the uterus and leaves the body through the vagina.

Most menstrual periods last from three to five days. Menstruation is part of the menstrual cycle, which prepares the body for pregnancy each month. A cycle is counted from the first day of a period and the first day of the next period. The average menstrual cycle lasts 28 days. Cycles can vary from 21 to 35 days in adults and 21 to 45 days in adolescents.

Causes

Menstruation is a major stage of puberty in girls and is one of the many physical signs that a girl becoming a woman. And like many of the other changes associated with puberty, menstruation can be confusing for girls (and boys). Some girls can not wait to start their periods, while others may feel fear or anxiety.

In the first half of the cycle, levels of estrogen start to rise and make the lining of the uterus (womb) grow and thicken. At the same time, an egg (ovum) in one of the ovaries starts to mature. At about day 14 of a typical 28-day cycle, the egg leaves the ovary. This is called ovulation.

After the egg has left the ovary it travels through the fallopian tube to the uterus. Hormone levels rise and help prepare the uterine lining for pregnancy. A woman is most likely to get pregnant during the three days before ovulation or on the day of ovulation.

If the egg is fertilized by a man’s sperm cell and attaches to the uterine wall, the woman becomes pregnant. If the egg is not fertilized, it will break apart. If pregnancy does not occur, hormone levels drop, and the thickened lining of the uterus is shed during the menstrual period.

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