Menstrual 101
We invited Jan Bowden, a lecturer in midwifery at King's College London to contribute to the first in our series of podcasts on BLOOD. Unfortunately she wasn't able to meet us but she sent us this brilliant menstrual 101. He's, she's and they's listen up!
Detail shot of 'You Beaut' by the Hotham Street Ladies who are creating a new menstrual mural for the BLOOD: Life Uncut exhibition.
Let’s call it the menstrual cycle, although it should be called the fertility cycle. The bleeding part is only 2-7 days of a monthly cycle. This full amazing cycle lasts between 24-35 days and involves a series of changes in a woman’s body in preparation for a possible pregnancy.
Usually all women will commence the cycle (the posh name for this is menarche) from 10 years old and upwards, though the average age in the UK is 12. It usually finishes when the woman reaches between 50-55 years old (the posh term for this is menopause), the average age in the UK is 52.
These changes occur mostly to the ovaries in developing an ovum, (the posh term for an egg), the Fallopian tubes in preparing to catch an egg and transport it to the uterus, and the uterus in developing the endometrium (the posh term for the inner lining of the uterus) to receive a fertilised egg.
Approximately mid-way through the cycle ovulation occurs with an egg, which is the size of a grain of sand but 16 times bigger than the male sperm, being released from an ovary into a Fallopian tube.
If fertilisation occurs (the posh term for when the egg meets the male sperm), usually in the widest part of the Fallopian tube, pregnancy may occur if you are not using contraception. The now fertilised egg will move into the uterus and implant itself in to the endometrium.
If fertilisation does not occur, the part of the endometrium that has grown ready to receive a fertilised egg comes away and both the endometrium and the egg pass out of the body in the form of a bloody loss we call a period (the posh term for menstruation). This loss is about 3-5 tablespoons of blood in total and can be accompanied by cramp-like pains.
This is something that all women should be proud of. It is not dirty, nor something we should hide and be ashamed of. None of us would be here without it.
Be open, ask questions about it and realise how special women are.
Casey Jenkins knitting with her menstrual blood. You can listen to a full interview about her work here.
We asked some questions of our own. Listen to our blog 'What happens when we talk about periods?' here.
May 24, 2017