Fertility, Pregnancy & Post Natal Support
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Women's Reproductive Cycle and Fertility
Periods
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All about Periods
What is a 'Period' and what is a menstrual cycle?
A period is when you bleed from your uterus in your vagina each month. Periods are a very natural part of a female menstrual cycles. The average length of a period is three to seven days.
A period happens because of changes in hormones in the body. Hormones are chemical messengers. The ovaries release the female hormones, estrogenand progesterone which cause the lining of the uterus (or womb) to build up. The built-up lining is ready for a fertilized egg (an egg that has joined with a sperm) to attach to and develop into a baby. If there is no fertilized egg, the lining breaks down and bleeds. Then the same process happens all over again. It usually takes about a month for the lining to build up, then break down. That is why most females get their periods around once a month.
A menstrual cycle refers to the first day of your period to the day before your next period starts. The cycle can be different for women but the average length of a menstrual cycle is 28 days.
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What age do you get your periods?
Most girls get their first period when they're around 12. but can occur be earlier and for some signficantly later.
Every girl's body has its own schedule.There isn't one right age for a girl to get her period.
Usually there are some signs in your body before the periods start including
-breasts starting to develop (periods usually start about 2 years after this)
-hair growing under a girl's arms and in her private parts
-seeing or feeling vaginal discharge fluid (sort of like mucus), which usually begins about 6 months to a year before a girl gets her first period
How much blood do you lose during your period?
It may look like a lot of blood, but a girl usually only loses a few tablespoons of blood during the whole period. Most girls need to change their pad, tampon, or menstrual cup about 3‒6 times a day.
About one in four women have heavy periods (more significant blood loss throughout your period).
Your periods may be considered heavy if:
-you need to change your period product every two hours or less because they are too heavy with blood
-you need to change your period product you are using overnight
- you have blood clots in your blood loss which you notice are bigger than a 50 cent coin
- your periods last eight or more days
- your periods blood flow stops you from doing activities you could normally do.
What are the symptoms?
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How often do you get your periods?
For the first few years after a girl starts her period, it might not come regularly. This is normal at first. By about 2–3 years after her first period, a girl's periods should be coming around once every 4–5 weeks.
What are the treatments for the symptoms?
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What help can I get if I need help with my symptoms?
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What products are on the market for periods
You have many choices about how to deal with period blood. You may need to experiment a bit to find which works best for you. Some girls use only one method and others switch between different methods. Most girls use pads when they first get their period. Pads are made of cotton and come in lots of different sizes and shapes. They have sticky strips that attach to the underwear.'
Many girls find tampons more convenient than pads, especially when playing sports or swimming. A tampon is a cotton plug that you put into your vagina. Most tampons come with an applicator that guides the tampon into place. The tampon absorbs the blood. Don't leave a tampon in for more than 8 hours because this can increase your risk of a serious infection called toxic shock syndrome. Some girls prefer a menstrual cup. Most are made of silicone. To use a menstrual cup, a girl inserts it into her vagina. It holds the blood until she empties it.
When could I get pregnant?
A girl can get pregnant as soon as her period starts. There is potential for a girl to get pregnant right before her very first period because her hormones might already be active. The hormones may have led to ovulation and the building of the uterine wall already.
What is PMS?
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What is PMD?
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How I lost my mojo thanks to Perimenopause
How I lost my Mojo at home and work thanks to Perimenopause!
I was 45 years old and suddenly felt like I had been hit be a tidal wave.
I felt burnt out, sleep deprived, self-conscious and unable to perform as well as I used to at work.
I had surges of hot flushes which periodically drenched me, was a lot more irritable and impatient with fellow staff and clients, had a frozen shoulder and aching knee, had some brain fog, especially with peoples names, and general exhaustion. There were days when I just wanted to walk out of the office and never return. I could barely cope at home with the kids and my husband, let alone deal with co-workers.
I can recall being performance managed for my comments in a workplace meeting which in hindsight were too outspoken, but I just seemed to lose the ability to hold back my opinions which I had once reserved.
Ironically, despite knowing quite a lot at the time about menopause, I still considered myself too young, I only had a 7 year old child, still had consistently heavy periods and there was nothing that made me initially think it was perimenopause. I actually thought I had a very, very long winded case of the flu.
As incredible as it seems, with 50% of the population going through it, most women still don’t know the basic facts about perimenopause and menopause, making it difficult to identify hormonal changes as a potential cause for not feeling well. In turn they are often not seeking the support and treatment options which could really provide them with significant symptomatic relief.
Our mothers were often also uneducated on the topic and/or quiet about it, there was no education at school and most of the medical fraternity have been poorly educated themselves about how to identify, treat and support. My own doctor wrote it off as anxiety caused by life challenges at the time, and prescribed me anti-depressants and melatonin for sleep.
Like me, many of my menopausal workmates, have felt neglected, overlooked, embarrassed and frustrated and opted to simply leave work, retire early, reduce their work hours, not apply for promotional opportunities, merely because they were feeling overwhelmed and insecure as a result of their physical and psychological menopausal symptoms.
As recently highlighted by the Senate inquiry into Menopause, workplaces need to better accommodate women who experience symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.
“All employers have a responsibility to address stigma around menopause in their workplaces. Implementing organisation wide menopause policies, promoting internal awareness for employees and managers about these issues and sharing menopause-specific workplace resources can all help to address menopause stigma.”
We are often in the prime of our careers when perimenopause symptoms strike, with an enormous amount to still offer an organisation. It is an inevitable time in our lives but it can be challenging and we need workplace support to help us get access to information about the symptoms, treatment options and lifestyle changes we may need to continue to be as productive, confident and empowered.
Better psychosocial risk assessments which include support for menopausal employees, menopause awareness training at work, workplace policies and procedures, flexible working arrangements are all steps in the right direction but it is still uncommon to find this level of support in many organisations.
At Corporate Wellness Solutions we look deeper at what amounts to a psychosocial hazard rather than just what the Code guides us on. That is why I decided to add menopause to our psychosocial wellness solutions programs.
We can provide you with all the perimenopause and menopause information and education from the experts, policy templates, conversation guides and prompts to initiate menopause conversations with managers and employees (from both perspectives), symptom trackers, checklist for businesses to compare how menopause friendly their workplace is and a wellness support program tailored to your employee needs.
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