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Menstruation
Menstruation
refers to the periodic vaginal discharge of blood and bodily cells that
are shed from the lining of a woman's uterus. Menstruation begins at
puberty and marks the onset of a woman's capacity to bear children,
although other health factors may limit this capacity. Menstruation
usually begins between 10 and 16 years of age, depending on a variety of
factors, including the young woman's general health, nutritional status,
and body weight relative to height. Menstruation continues approximately
once a month until a woman is about 45 to 50 years of age, again
depending on health and other influences. The end of a woman's ability
to menstruate is called menopause
and it marks the completion of a woman's childbearing years. The average
length of the menstrual cycle is 28 days, but ranges from 21 to 40 days.
The length of the cycle may also vary for a woman during different
phases of life, and even from one month to the next depending on a
variety of factors, including the woman's physical, emotional, and
nutritional health.
Menstruation is part of
the regular process that prepares a woman's body each month for
pregnancy.
This cycle involves several phases that are controlled by the
interactions of hormones
secreted by the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary gland, and ovaries. At
the beginning of the cycle, the cell lining of the uterus begins to
develop and thicken. This lining will serve as the anchor for the
developing fetus if the woman is impregnated. Hormones signal an ovum or
egg in the ovary to begin developing. Soon, an ovum is released from the
woman's ovary and begins to move through the Fallopian tube toward the
uterus. If the ovum is not fertilized by a sperm during the course of
vaginal intercourse (or through artificial insemination), however, the
lining of the uterus separates from the uterine wall and begins to
decompose. The blood system washes the lining away and it and the blood
are discharged through the woman's vagina.
The period of discharge or bleeding, known as the menstrual period (or
just "period"), lasts from three to seven days. If a woman
becomes pregnant, her monthly menstruation ceases for the duration of
the pregnancy. Consequently, missing a menstrual period is a likely
although not a definitive sign that a woman is pregnant. Pregnancy can
be confirmed with a simple blood test.
Unless a girl has been
prepared for the onset of menstruation, this can be an upsetting time.
Girls who are ignorant of their body and normal reproductive processes
may assume that menstruation is evidence of a disease or even a
punishment for misbehavior. Girls who are not taught to think of
menstruation as a normal body function may experience considerable shame
and a feeling of being unclean during their first menstruation. Even
when menstruation is finally recognized as a normal process, feelings of
uncleanliness may linger well into adulthood. In recent years, however,
better education about anatomy and physiology has led to acceptance of
menstruation. In fact, many women have come to view menstruation with
pride as a distinctly female process. Some families even have a private
celebration to honor the maturation of the young woman.
Nonetheless, many women
experience physical discomfort several days before their menstrual
period. About half of all women suffer from dysmenorrhea, which is a
painful menstruation. This is especially common during the early adult
years. Symptoms of menstrual discomfort may include tenderness of the
breasts, sore nipples, retaining fluid (bloating), and irritability.
Some women experience quite intense discomfort, including cramps caused
by contractions of the smooth muscles of the uterus, headaches,
Mittelschmertz or pain in the midsection, nervousness, fatigue, stuffy
nose, and crying spells. In its most severe form, often involving
depression and anger, this condition is known as premenstrual syndrome
or PMS, and may require medical attention.
In several court cases in
Great Britain and France, attorneys have used the occurrence of PMS to
successfully argue for diminished capacity during the commission of
violent crimes. While in the past, PMS was dismissed as a psychosomatic
condition, and continues to be the subject of derisive humor, today it
is recognized as having organic causes. Several medications have been
developed to treat the symptoms of PMS.
Some women experience a
condition known as amenorrhea, or failure to menstruate over a
protracted period of time. This condition can be caused by various
factors including stress, rapid weight loss, regular strenuous exercise,
or illness. Conversely, some women experience excessive menstrual flow,
a condition known as menorrhagia. Not only may the flow of blood be
particularly heavy, but it may extend for a longer than normal period.
Attitudes toward
menstruation vary widely from society to society and even within a
particular society. Many societies view women as contaminated or
polluted during menstruation and seclude them from the community based
on the fear that everything they touch will be polluted. In such
settings, there may be diverse derogatory euphemisms to refer to
menstruation. In U.S. society, examples of the latter include "the
curse" and being "on the rag." Menstruation is one of the
justifications that has been offered for denying women access to
clerical roles in some religions. Cleansing rituals at the end of
menstruation are prescribed in a number of societies. However, other
societies treat menstruation as a natural or normal bodily function and
do not punish or restrict women during their menstrual period.
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Sex
