MENSTRUATION

A period is a release of blood from a girl's uterus, out through her vagina. Again, menstruation is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue (known as menses) from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. It is a sign that she is getting close to the end of puberty. Most girls get their first period when they're around 12. But getting it any time between age 10 and 15 is OK. Every girl's body has its own schedule. However, periods may occasionally start as young as eight years old and still be considered normal.

Most of the time, a girl gets her period about 2 years after her breasts start to develop.

Another sign is vaginal discharge fluid (sort of like mucus) that a girl might see or feel on her underwear. This discharge usually begins about 6 months to a year before a girl gets her first period.

This should be taught or know the basic medical definition of menstruation and that it is a normal process that females go through as their bodies prepare them for potential pregnancy.

Most often that is around the age 12 or 13 years old, but girls can start menstruating as young as 9, or as late as 16. Women usually have periods until about ages 45 to 55.

This discharging process lasts about 3-5 days. Normally this is known as the normal flow. The heavy flow could last for 4-8 days.

Your menstrual cycle stops during pregnancy. During this cycle, your hormones make the lining of the uterus become thicker, getting ready in case of pregnancy. Hormones also cause an egg to be released from an ovary, which is known as ovulation.

If you don’t become pregnant, your periods start about two weeks after you ovulate. The lining of the uterus falls away and, along with some blood, flows out through the vagina.

When does menstruation begin? When does it end?

The menstrual cycle is the hormonal driven cycle; Day 1 is the first day of your period (bleeding) while day 14 is the approximate day you ovulate and if an egg is not fertilized, hormone levels eventually drop and at about day 25; the egg begins to dissolve and the cycle begins again with the period at about day 30. Menstruation begins day 1 and normally ends days 3-5 of the menstrual cycle.

"Periods last around 2 to 7 days, and women lose about 3 to 5 tablespoons of blood in a period," says Belfield.

KNOWING YOUR CYCLE

The menstrual cycle is controlled by hormones. In each cycle, rising levels of the hormone oestrogen cause the ovary to develop and release an egg (ovulation). The womb lining also starts to thicken.

In the second half of the cycle, the hormone progesterone helps the womb to prepare for implantation of a developing embryo.

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