Period, also known as menstruation is a release of blood from a girl’s/woman’s uterus, out through her vagina. When you menstruate, your body discards the monthly buildup of the lining of your uterus (womb). Menstrual blood and tissue flow from your uterus through the small opening in your cervix and pass out of your body through your vagina.
During the monthly menstrual cycle, the uterus lining builds up to prepare for pregnancy. If you do not get pregnant, estrogen and progesterone hormone levels begin falling. Very low levels of estrogen and progesterone tells your body to begin menstruation.
Your menstrual cycle helps your body prepare for pregnancy every month. It also makes you have a period if you’re not pregnant. Your menstrual cycle and period are controlled by hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Here’s how it all goes down:
You have 2 ovaries, and each one holds a bunch of eggs. The eggs are super tiny — too small to see with the naked eye.
During your menstrual cycle, hormones make the eggs in your ovaries mature — when an egg is mature, that means it’s ready to be fertilized by a sperm cell. These hormones also make the lining of your uterus thick and spongy. So if your egg does get fertilized, it has a nice cushy place to land and start a pregnancy. This lining is made of tissue and blood, like almost everything else inside our bodies. It has lots of nutrients to help a pregnancy grow.
About halfway through your menstrual cycle, your hormones tell one of your ovaries to release a mature egg — this is called ovulation. Most people don’t feel it when they ovulate, but some ovulation symptoms are bloating, spotting, or a little pain in your lower belly that you may only feel on one side.
Once the egg leaves your ovary, it travels through one of your fallopian tubes toward your uterus.
If pregnancy doesn’t happen, your body doesn’t need the thick lining in your uterus. Your lining breaks down, and the blood, nutrients, and tissue flow out of your body through your vagina. Voilà, it’s your period!
If you do get pregnant, your body needs the lining — that’s why your period stops during pregnancy. Your period comes back when you’re not pregnant anymore.
Why is my period late?
Missed or late periods happen for many reasons other than pregnancy. Common causes can range from hormonal imbalances to serious medical conditions. There are also two times in a woman’s life when it’s totally normal for her period to be irregular: when it first begins, and when menopause starts. As your body goes through the transition, your normal cycle can become irregular.
Most women who haven’t reached menopause usually have a period every 28 days. However, a healthy menstrual cycle can range from every 21 to 35 days. If your period doesn’t fall within these ranges, it could be because of one of the following reasons:
Contraceptives: You may experience a change in your cycle when you go on or off birth control. Birth control pills contain the hormones estrogen and progestin, which prevent your ovaries from releasing eggs. It can take up to six months for your cycle to become consistent again after stopping the pill.
Chronic diseases: Chronic diseases such as diabetes and celiac disease also can affect your menstrual cycle. Changes in blood sugar are linked to hormonal changes, so even though it’s rare, poorly controlled diabetes could cause your period to be irregular.
Stress: Stress can throw off your hormones, change your daily routine, and even affect the part of your brain responsible for regulating your period — your hypothalamus. Over time, stress can lead to illness or sudden weight gain or loss, all of which can impact your cycle.
Low body weight: Women with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia, may experience missed periods. Weighing 10 percent below what’s considered a normal range for your height can change the way your body functions and stop ovulation.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that causes your body to produce more of the male hormone androgen. Cysts form on the ovaries as a result of this hormone imbalance. This can make ovulation irregular or stop it altogether.
Early peri-menopause: Most women begin menopause between ages 45 to 55. Women who develop symptoms around age 40 or earlier are considered to have early peri-menopause. This means your egg supply is winding down, and the result will be missed periods and eventually the end of menstruation.
Thyroid issues: An overactive or underactive thyroid gland could also be the cause of late or missed periods. The thyroid regulates your body’s metabolism, so hormone levels can be affected as well. Thyroid issues can usually be treated with medication. After treatment, your period will likely return to normal.
How To Induce Period
There several ways you can induce your period and make it come faster they include:
Medications: Using hormonal contraception, such as birth control pills or the ring, is the only reliable method of taking control of the menstrual cycle. The combined pill, which contains both estrogen and progestin, is the most effective method for controlling periods. People take hormonal pills for 21 days, then stop taking them or take a dummy pill for 7 days. They have their period in these 7 days. High dose vitamin C can also hasten the arrival of your period. Vitamin C supposedly raises estrogen levels and lowers progesterone levels, causing the uterus to contract and the lining of the uterus to break down and exit your body.
Doctors also use medications like Primolut-N Tablet which contains norethisterone, treat various menstrual flow problems.
Foods: Snacking on dates, almonds and walnuts can be a good way to induce your period. These foods are rich in fibre and proteins; their function in inducing internal heat can further be a basis for regulating periods. Eating a handful of these before periods can be good for your health and consequently your fertility. The presence of Caffeine in coffee is reported to stimulate oestrogen, which causes your periods to come early.
Herbs: Emmenagogues are herbs that some people believe can bring on a menstrual period. People sometimes use chamomile, parsley, cinnamon, rosemary, sage, and oregano for this purpose. Some also say that pomegranate, celery, papaya, fenugreek, and chicory are emmenagogues. Ginger tea is one of the most powerful emmenagogue.
