The Menstrual Phase

Menstruation, also referred to as menstrual cycle, menstrual phase or a woman’s period begins a woman’s monthly cycle. Regardless if a woman starts her period on the 1st of a month or the 17th of a month, the day she begins bleeding is considered the first day of her monthly cycle.

Every month, the uterus builds a new lining of blood and tissue in order to nourish a developing baby if you are pregnant. When the lining (endometrium) is not needed for this reason, it sheds and leaves the uterus, resulting in menstruation.

The start of a woman’s menstruation is a key sign that she has not become pregnant. However, if a woman is pregnant she might encounter light bleeding or spotting due to implantation occurring. Unfortunately implantation and a woman’s menstruation happen very close to one another, but if a woman has not had sexual intercourse or knows 100% that she is not pregnant, then the bleeding is obviously due to her menstruation cycle beginning.

A normal or regular menstruation lasts from 1-4 days, usually tapering off through the first 7 days of the monthly cycle. During the beginning of the period cramping in the abdomen, bloating, back aches, fatigue and PMS (premenstrual syndrome) occur. But once menstruation begins, and the blood begins flowing, these symptoms tend to decrease.

Many sanitary napkins, pads and tampons are worn during this phase to prevent the menstrual blood from spreading or transferring to other surfaces. An enzyme called plasmin prevents clotting of the menstrual fluid. Also, a woman is subject to an iron deficiency because of the blood loss (usually 10-80 ml throughout the phase).