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.
Menstruation is a normal and healthy part of life for most women. Roughly half of the female population -- around 26 per cent of the global population[i] -- are of reproductive age. Most women menstruate each month for about two to seven days. Yet, as normal as it is, menstruation is stigmatized around the world.
If girls have never had a period (primary amenorrhea) and have normal secondary sexual characteristics, testing begins with hormonal blood tests, a physical examination, and ultrasonography to check for birth defects that could block menstrual blood from leaving the uterus.
These include: Infertility and problems with pregnancy. If you don't ovulate and don't have menstrual periods, you can't become pregnant. When hormone imbalance is the cause of amenorrhea, this can also cause miscarriage or other problems with pregnancy.
In your 40s, your menstrual periods may become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent, until eventually — on average, by age 51 — your ovaries stop releasing eggs, and you have no more periods.
If your daughter hasn't had her first menstrual cycle by 15, or if more than three years have passed since she started developing breasts, she should see a physician.
See a GP if your periods have not started by age 15 (or 13 if you do not have any other signs of puberty). Your GP may suggest a blood test to check your hormone levels.
Yes, you may have a missed period for many reasons other than pregnancy. The reasons why you miss your period for a month may include stress, low body weight, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), use of birth control, certain chronic diseases, early perimenopause, and thyroid issues.
As a young teen or pre-teen, irregular periods are normal. If a girl is otherwise free of health problems, there's no cause for concern. Many factors can affect menstruation, including the onset of puberty, growth spurts, and others. For example, some girls experience what's called dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB).
It's common, especially in the first 2 years after a girl starts getting her period, to skip periods or to have irregular periods. Illness, rapid weight change, or stress can also make things more unpredictable. That's because the part of the brain that regulates periods is influenced by events like these.
Menarche usually happens 2 to 2 to 2 ½ years after your breasts begin to develop. You can get your period as early as 9 or as late as 15. Many factors influence when menarche begins, but it's common to get your period at around the same time your mother or birthing parent did.
If a girl starts menstruation at a young age, it's usually because the hormones in her body responsible for puberty are being produced earlier.
Most girls begin their periods between ages 9 and 18. The average is around 12 years old. If no periods have occurred when a girl is older than 15, further testing may be needed. The need is more urgent if she has gone through other normal changes that occur during puberty.
Pubic hair – Once her pubic hair starts growing, you can expect her period to develop in one to two years. It may begin soft and thin but it will become courser and thicker towards the end of puberty.
Say something like "I know I've been moody this week. I'm actually on my period right now and sometimes it makes me a little sensitive. I just wanted to let you know what was going on with me—I'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anyone else."
Your first few periods may be very light. You may only see a few spots of reddish brown blood. Anywhere from 2 to 7 days is normal. If your period lasts for more than 7 days, you should talk with your doctor.
Knowing when your last period was can give your gynecologist (or nurse practitioner) a lot of information. For example, it can help pinpoint where you are in your menstrual cycle, which can affect your vaginal discharge, your breast exam, and things like bloating and cramps.
They might need to see a gynecologist or endocrinologist about their menstrual cycle. If by your child's 16th birthday they still haven't started their period, it's time to make an appointment with a doctor. The sooner you get in there, the better.
Yes, a girl can get pregnant before she gets her first period. Getting pregnant is related to ovulation. Because a girl can ovulate before having her first period, it is possible to become pregnant if she has sex.
Sometimes a person will have no menstrual bleeding for more than three cycles despite having had regular periods until then. If there is no natural cause for this, such as pregnancy, they have secondary amenorrhea. Secondary amenorrhea occurs in approximately 3–5 percent of adult women.
By age 15, 98% of teens have started their periods. If you're not one of them, make an appointment to talk to your doctor. They can ask you and a parent about your family history, daily activity level, and examine you to figure out the causes for your delay.
While it is important for your boy to know about periods, you do not have to give him all the information at once. It may be helpful to increase his knowledge over time. Below is a guide for how to slowly build your boy's knowledge about periods.
Although men will not bleed, nor will they experience all of the same symptoms as women, these hormonal shifts can have some pretty notable side effects, especially with mood and irritability. Some call it the “man period” others call it Irritable Male Syndrome, either way, it can be quite similar to a woman's PMS.