Here Is A Lowdown On The Four Phases Of Your Menstrual Cycle

By Author: Harleen Kaur
Total Articles: 89
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Of the many things that you ought to know about your menstrual cycle, know this first – no menstrual cycle is alike. Every woman has a different pattern when it comes to their menstrual cycles. Each and every menstrual cycle is unique to its woman!

You see, the menstrual pattern of a person is essentially determined by a woman’s everyday routine, lifestyle, diet, activity and the likes. Seeing as your routine, lifestyle, diet etc are unique to you, makes your menstrual cycle also unique to you. Everything from our food, emotions and even sleeping routine will help shape your menstrual cycle’s uniqueness.

However, one thing is for sure! With every woman, the menstrual cycle consists of four phases that they should be aware of. Check them out here.

Menstruation Phase
We are sure that you would have understood by now that the menstruation phase is essentially a phase that begins at the start of your menstrual cycle. Let us go through the works of what a period is exactly first.

Menstruation is basically the process that occurs when there is no pregnancy or an egg has not been fertilized ...
... in the body. The lining of the uterus, whose basic job is to cushion any new fetus, sheds and this is what is excreted during the menstruation process. The uterine lining plus the blood that accompanies it is our monthly companion for a few days! This is exactly where products like menstrual tampons and overnight sanitary napkins come into play!

Follicular Phase
This is one phase in the whole cycle that ends up overlapping with another stage, i.e. the menstruation phase. Basically, the follicular stage starts from the first day of your period and continues till the time your ovulation phase begins.

In this phase, the hypothalamus ends up sending a signal to your pituitary gland, telling it to produce a hormone called the FSH or the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone. The basic job of this hormone is to help with the stimulation of the ovaries to help it grow follicles that, in turn, contain eggs inside them.

Over the next few days, the follicle starts maturing, increasing the estrogen levels in the body. This also leads to the thickening of the lining of the uterus. This phase is meant to last around 14 days from the start of your periods.

Ovulation phase
When this phase of your period cycle starts, your estrogen levels will start to rise. As the levels rise, your pituitary glands will begin secreting another hormone called the Luteinizing Hormone or the LH. Post this the ovulation starts in full.

The follicles in the ovaries then end up releasing the egg that has been maturing for some time. This egg then travels down to the fallopian tube waiting to get fertilized. There are a few dead giveaways when it comes to knowing when you are ovulating. Here are some of them.

Spotting
Thick discharge
Pain in the lower abdomen
Slight rise in body temperature

For things like spotting and thick discharges, you can always opt for using pantyliners. These can easily be found with sellers and online stores who also stock up on various period essentials like overnight sanitary napkins or extra-large sanitary napkins.

From days 11 to 14 of your period cycle is when ovulation is said to occur in most women.

Luteal Phase
This is the longest phase among all the phases in a woman’s menstrual cycle. Lasting close to 17 days, this phase brings about a change in the empty follicle upon the release of the egg it had contained. Post the release, the follicle develops into what is called the corpus luteum. This corpus luteum is the one that is in charge of manufacturing the hormone progesterone.

The basic job of progesterone is to prepare the uterus in case of the implantation of a fertilized egg. If the egg becomes fertilized, it travels through the fallopian tube and gets implanted in the uterus. If the egg remains unfertilized, instead of getting implanted, it travels through the uterus, shedding the lining and is excreted in the form of the next period. This is the stage in which you will experience your PMS symptoms.

We hope that you have been able to pick up on what the different phases of your menstrual cycle are and how they affect the cycle as a whole.