The Pros And Cons Of Menstruation

Nelson (2014) defines menstruation as the shedding of tissue and blood from the lining of uterus through a woman’s vagina. The author also states that menstruation acts as an important sign of puberty among females whereby they normally start having menstrual periods between the ages of 11 to 14 years old, around three to five days per cycle. Marshall (2014) studies that when periods come regularly, it is called the menstrual cycle which also implies the changes that occur in a woman’s body to prepare for fertilization and pregnancy. The cycle usually starts on the first day of the menstrual period and ends the day before the next period starts (Nelson, 2014). Ganong (2003) says the average cycle is 28 days but the length of the cycle is variable

This includes the release of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) from anterior pituitary gland which in turn stimulates ovary to secrete estrogen and progesterone hormone (Nelson, 2014). According to Mtawali et. al (1997), the changes of hormone will lead to changes in the female reproductive organ such as ovaries, uterus and cervix . Additionally, Mtawali et al. (1997) state the menstrual cycle can be divided into phases based on the changes that occur simultaneously in the ovary (involving the follicular and luteal phase) and the uterus (involving the proliferative, secretory and menstrual phase) as shown in figure 2. Based on figure 1, Mtawali et. al (1997) divide the menstrual into several phases, starting with follicular phase and proliferative phase, followed by luteal phase and secretory phase, menstrual phase (if there is no fertilization) and pregnancy (if fertilization

Both of the phases last from day 1 to day 13 of the menstrual cycle. The follicular phase initially involves the growth of primary follicles; these follicles subsequently develop vesicles and become secondary follicles. Towards the end of the follicular phase, one of the follicles gets mature and develops into a graafian follicle. As follicles grow, the granulose cells secrete estrogen. The hormone reaches its highest concentration two days before ovulation, which is at about day 12 of the cycle. According to Fox (1996), the growth of follicles and the secretion of estrogen are stimulated by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), a hormone released from the anterior pituitary gland. It is believed the amount of FSH secreted in the beginning of follicular phase is slightly larger than the amount secreted in the late follicular phase. Proliferative phase signifies endometrial changes, representing the restoration of the epithelium from the previous menstruation (Ganong, 2003). The rising serum estrogen concentration stimulates the proliferation of the uterine endometrium with the thickness of 1-4mm. As the thickness increases, the uterine glands are released so that the endometrium lengthens. However, the glands do not become convoluted or secrete to any degree (Welt, 2015). Estrogen in the blood is produced by the dominant ovarian