The menstrual cycle phases
Each month, your reproductive system repeats a regular pattern of events (your cycle, or your menstrual cycle), all controlled by hormones. The menstrual cycle is defined as the time from the first day of a woman’s period to the first day of her next period.
All about menstrual cramps
If you never suffer from period pain or menstrual cramps you’re extremely lucky. Unfortunately for many women, it’s just a fact of life that before and during a period they may suffer from menstrual cramps. Severe period pain is called dysmenorrhoea.
PMS stands for ‘Premenstrual Syndrome’ – it’s the combination of symptoms that some women suffer from a week or so before their period. Symptoms appear before your period starts (as much as five days), and will disappear during your period. Affecting both body and brain, their intensity can also vary wildly from woman to woman.
First, the good news. Not all women suffer from Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). For those who do, PMS symptoms can range from mild to severe.
For some women, PMS can have a serious impact, even affecting relationships, performance and well-being. It can often get worse during puberty, childbirth, after miscarriage, pregnancy termination or ...
If you’re experiencing heavy bleeding, irregular periods, or unusual bleeding at times you don’t expect, it could be a signal of an underlying health condition.
Charting your cycle
As you probably know, changing hormone levels in your monthly cycle bring with them a whole range of body changes. These include: