Every woman is "visited" by a great aunt every month. Many little fairies are very afraid of her coming, always bringing a bunch of trouble; but even more afraid that she will not come, once she does not come, she will start to think: Am I sick, pregnant, or amenorrhea...
Especially for girls who are trying to get pregnant, even the number of days that the great aunt comes every time is different: other people's great aunts come 5 days at a time, why am I 3 days over, and my girlfriend's 7 days have not left?
Today I will talk to you about the menstrual cycle.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
What is a normal menstrual cycle for women?
Menstruation, which is a phenomenon of vaginal bleeding accompanied by periodic proliferation, secretion, and shedding of the endometrium under the action of estrogen, is achieved by the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis system through neuroendocrine activity.
The menstrual cycle refers to the number of days that the great aunt has from the first day of the last month to the first day of the next visit. For example, if you come to your aunt on October 1st and your aunt on October 29th, your menstrual cycle is 28 days. The menstrual cycle is normal between 21 and 35 days.
The length of each woman's menstrual cycle varies from person to person, and even for the same woman, the menstrual cycle varies at different times of her growth.
The average age of a Chinese woman coming to her aunt for the first time (menarche) is about 12 years old. For the next 37 years, my aunt would come and see us once a month.
Clinical observations have found that it takes about 5 to 7 years after the first menstrual period [1] (probably when you are 17 to 19 years old and are fighting for the college entrance examination) to form a typical menstrual cycle pattern for women during the reproductive period; and near menopause, due to the decline in estrogen secreted by follicles, the menstrual cycle is irregular.
That is to say, adolescent girls and "middle-aged girls" who are close to menopause, menstruation is not regular is normal!
The menstrual period refers to the number of days that your aunt comes to accompany you each time, generally 2 to 8 days. Therefore, the big aunt comes for 3 days or 7 days is within the normal range [2], as long as your menstrual flow and regularity are normal, you don't have to worry.
Why are our great aunts so changeable?
Studies have found that both physiological and environmental factors can affect changes in a woman's menstrual cycle [3].
1. Physiological factors
Menstruation is a phenomenon caused by the proliferation, secretion and shedding of the endometrium under the action of estrogen.
If your uterine lining is thicker, the longer it takes to repair after shedding, and the longer the menstrual period;
Conversely, if the endometrium is thin, the repair time is short and the menstrual period is short.
In addition, a woman's entire menstrual cycle is divided into follicle phase and luteal phase.
Source: Zhanku Helo (Tencent Medical Dictionary Translation)
Schematic diagram of the menstrual cycle in women
Follicular period: including menstrual period and proliferation period (also called proliferation period), this period of follicle maturation in the ovary into eggs;
Luteal phase: the secretory phase, during which the empty follicles after ovulation become luteal and then gradually atrophy.
Since the luteal phase is fixed, about 11 to 14 days, the length of the menstrual period mainly depends on the maturity of the follicle, but the time it takes for the follicle to mature varies from person to person, mostly determined by genetic factors.
Since the development of follicles is "my own way" and is not controlled by hormone regulation, the follicle period has a distinction between fast and slow, so that the menstrual cycle of different women has a length and a short point.
2. Environmental factors
Your nutritional status (such as excessive weight loss leading to malnutrition), changes in the working and living environment, experiencing major traumatic events, emotional agitation, etc., will have an impact on the menstrual cycle, and from this point of view, girls are indeed a sensitive creature.
Fairies must maintain a positive and healthy attitude, maintain a normal nutritional state and weight, work and rest rules, and take good care of their bodies, so as to maintain the regularity of the menstrual cycle, in order to better upgrade the fight monsters, pregnant and baby.
A short menstrual cycle does not mean that eggs are depleted quickly and menopause is premature
Although only one egg is released per menstrual cycle, each follicle period is like a draft competition, there are several follicles participating in the audition each time, and finally only one dominant follicle can "C debut", mature and ovulate, and the remaining follicles can only degenerate on their own.
In a woman's lifetime, about 400 eggs are released, and there are a total of 300,000 to 600,000 follicles in the ovaries on both sides. Yes, you read that right, in order to reserve "talent", there are a large number of basal follicles in the ovaries, and these basal follicles are a strong reserve force for eggs.
In other words, the number of eggs you release in a lifetime is only one thousandth of the total number of follicles. And some rumors that "only 400 eggs can be laid in a woman's lifetime" is a completely confusing concept, and the 400 here is just a statistical average.
Therefore, a woman's short menstrual cycle does not mean that "eggs are consumed quickly", nor does it mean that there will be early menopause.
In addition, as we said earlier, the length of the menstrual cycle mainly depends on the time it takes for the follicle to mature. Your short menstrual cycle simply means that your follicle takes less time to mature than others.
The total number of follicles in a person is fixed, but the number of follicles available varies. Your follicle maturation ability is stronger than others, and you will discharge dozens of more follicles than others in your lifetime, but the reserve capacity of the total follicle number is still very strong, and you will not prematurely menopause because of dozens of more follicles.
What's more, not every period is accompanied by ovulation. In the first few years of our puberty, imperfect ovarian function can lead to anovulatory menstruation; also, some menopausal women, due to decreased estrogen, also produce occasional anovulatory menstruation.
Image source: Tencent Medical Code
In addition, the age of menopause is also affected by genetic factors. Most women have menopause between the ages of 40 and 50, and if your mother is 45 years old, you are likely to be menopausal at that age, and you will not cause early menopause because of the short menstrual cycle.
Unless it is premature ovarian failure due to various diseases, it is early menopause before the age of 40.
Compared with the length of the menstrual cycle, we need to pay more attention to the ability of the ovarian reserve follicle, that is, the reserve strength of the egg and the symptoms of premature ovarian failure.
Having said all this, the fairies should understand, right? As long as your menstrual cycle (21 to 35 days) and menstrual period (2 to 8 days) are within the normal range, even if it is not a fixed number of days occasionally, there are some floating changes, do not worry too much.
With a little more knowledge, we will not be so "trembling" about the number of days that the great aunt came. Women who are trying to conceive can also calculate and record the time of ovulation through menstruation to make pregnancy smoother.
So, treat your "great aunt" well, she is our friend, not our enemy!
bibliography:
Niu Zhihong. Physiological regulation of the menstrual cycle[J]. Chinese Journal of Practical Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2008, 12(24):937-940.
ZHANG Jun. What you think of as irregular menstruation is actually normal uterine bleeding. Reproductive Health, 2018
[3] Jeffrey Gassen, Hannah K, Bradshaw, et al. Mating effort predicts human menstrual cycle frequency. [J]. Evolutionary psychology, 2018, 1-10
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
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