So, You Noticed Something Weird When You’re Bleeding: An Intro
Well, it’s happened again. You’ve received a monthly snapshot of your health and wellness in the form of a little reminder that your uterus has gone another month without a fertilized egg planting in the lining. Whether or not this is a celebration, a normal occurrence, or something that you’ve been dreading— the monthly cycle can give you a beautiful snapshot into the way your body has been handling food, stress, and activity for the entire month prior to this moment. Having worked with women in all ages and stages, I have encountered many menstrual cycle and pelvic floor health questions that come up in conversation.
There are so many people in this world who bleed monthly without concerns of “is this normal?” or “is this something that only happens to me?” Before we dive in to the “differences” amongst bodies and their cycles, let’s talk about similarities!
First— let’s talk about the length of the menstrual cycle! It’s absolutely normal (as a matter of fact, expected) that your cycle is not an exact 28-day cycle. It can vary on a scale between 21-40 days. Yep, you read that right. Anywhere between 21-40 days is the normal length of a menstrual cycle. Menstruating people around the world often become a little confused about the length of a cycle because of the way that birth control “regulates” the cycle. (We will absolutely get into birth control and how it changes the hormones in the body, AS WELL AS how it tricks us in to thinking we’re having a period, to begin with— you read that right. If you’re on birth control, it’s not a biological period— we’ll get there soon, I promise.) Due to the regulatory nature of hormonal birth control, and the fact that the hormones are delivered in dosages through out the month, it makes it appear as if the cycle is an exact and perfect 28 days during the month. News flash— that’s basically impossible. The changes in the body during physical development (pre-menstrual, menstrual, peri-menopause, and menopause,) will impact the length of the full cycle. It can and will vary from person to person and from stage to stage, and this is absolutely perfect.
Next— let’s talk about how to look at the menstrual cycle. When beginning to track your menstrual cycle, “day one” would be the day you start bleeding. Then, as you monitor your entire month— you’re going to check each day for changes in basal body temperature (your body temperature before getting out of bed in the morning), cervical mucous/discharge, and timing within the cycle as your average length. (We will get into tracking your cycle, predicting your next cycle, and how to keep track of your fertile window in a future post!)
Finally, for now— we’ll address what happens during menstruation the rest of the month! To make it easy, we’ll look at it in the terms of a 28 day cycle (although we now KNOW very few people actually have a regular and typical 28 day cycle!)The menstrual cycle is composed of four phases.
As stated before, your cycle begins with your first day of menses (aka your “first day of bleeding,”) this is also referred to as menstruation (go figure, I know!), this phase lasts anywhere from 5-7 days in length.
The next phase is called the follicular phase. This is when the egg, in the ovary, begins to mature.
The third phase is called ovulation, when the egg is released into the fallopian tube (this happens approximately on day 14,) and this is our most fertile phase.
The final phase is called the luteal phase, when the lining of the uterus begins to build up, and if there isn’t an implanted. matured follicle— you start the cycle over with menstruation, when then lining and the egg is shed with some blood and evacuated from the uterus and vaginal opening.
The menstrual cycle is way more complicated than this mini break-down, but for ease of conversation, this is a great introduction to what the menstrual cycle is composed of and what types of questions you may have. Each phase has its own set of hormones, ways that it shifts in our bodies, and how it changes how/what we feel. I plan on divulging more of that as we get to know one another more and as you become more familiar with your body and how it shifts and changes.
Now that you have a brief intro to your body and your monthly cycle, you may have less questions… but you also may have even MORE. With that in mind, take a deep breath— in through the nose - feel it fill your lungs and open through the chest wall— and out through the mouth with a great, big sigh!
Know that I’m here for you and we will get any questions answered together! To start, type any question you have for me below or email me here. I’ll happily use it as an anonymous feature question and answer it. If you have a question, please know there are many others who also have the same question and will be SO grateful you asked!
Stay tuned for the series of So, this weird thing is happening when I’m bleeding to answer all of your pelvic floor questions related to the menstrual cycle.