The menstrual cycle, also known as "mzunguko wa hedhi" in Swahili, is the scientific term that represents all the physical changes that occur in the bodies of menstruating women, enabling or supporting reproduction. Normally, the menstrual cycle is 28 days long, although it can be shorter or longer depending on various factors such as health conditions, climate, and other factors.
Most women begin to experience menstruation, the shedding of the uterine lining, between the ages of 10 and 16. The onset of menstruation is a sign that significant changes are happening inside a woman's body. It is also an indication that she can become pregnant if she engages in sexual intercourse with a man.
During the onset of menstruation, hormones stimulate the ovaries, which are two egg-containing organs, to mature and release an egg at the end of each month. Every woman is born with these tiny eggs that are not visible to the naked eye and can only be seen under a microscope.
As the ovaries mature, the uterus lining also thickens, creating a soft skin-like layer around the uterus. This prepares the uterus to receive a fertilized egg. If no fertilized egg is present, the soft lining surrounding the uterus breaks down and is expelled through the vagina, resulting in menstrual bleeding or what is commonly referred to as "periods." Since the soft lining of the uterus is made up of blood vessels, the expelled blood is called menstrual blood. The menstrual cycle represents all the physical changes that occur in the bodies of menstruating women, enabling or supporting reproduction. Normally, the menstrual cycle is 28 days long, although it can be shorter or longer depending on various factors such as health conditions, climate, and other factors. Women who have started menstruating refer to this cycle as their "monthly cycle."
In the early years, many girls have irregular menstrual cycles, making it difficult for them to predict when their next period will occur. There is no specific pattern, and sometimes they can go several months without menstruating at all. This is normal, and the cycles usually regulate themselves within a few years.
Some women do not have their periods according to the regular monthly cycle, which is also considered normal.
However, even in regular cycles, the duration of the menstrual cycle varies from woman to woman. For some, the cycle is short, around 21 days or even less, while for others, it can be longer, around 35 days. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days.
SAFE AND UNSAFE DAYS
The menstrual cycle is counted from the first day of menstrual bleeding. From day 3 to 7 of the cycle, the uterine lining sheds, and blood flows out through the vagina. During this time, the body realizes that there will be no pregnancy that month and prepares for the release of another egg. Another egg starts to develop within the ovarian follicles.
Around day 14 or in the second week since the bleeding started, the ovarian follicles release an egg, which travels towards the fallopian tubes. This is the fertile period when the chances of getting pregnant are highest. If the egg meets sperm in the fallopian tubes, fertilization can occur, resulting in pregnancy.
Approximately two weeks later, when the body recognizes that the egg was not fertilized, the soft lining of the uterine wall breaks down again, resulting in menstrual bleeding. The cycle repeats itself.
If the egg is not fertilized, meaning it doesn't meet with a sperm, it enters the uterus through the cervix and vagina, and then leaves the body. This usually happens around day 20 since the start of the menstrual cycle.
About two weeks later, the body recognizes that the egg was not fertilized, and the soft lining of the uterine wall breaks down, resulting in menstrual bleeding. The cycle repeats itself.
Many women believe that the fertile period is in the middle of the menstrual cycle, but this is only true for women with a 28-day cycle. For women with shorter or longer cycles, it's not possible to pinpoint the exact middle. This is because ovulation (the release of the egg) occurs approximately 14 days before the start of the next menstrual period. So, a woman with a 21-day cycle may ovulate on day 7 after starting her period, while a woman with a 35-day cycle may ovulate on day 21 after starting her period. If a woman has a 28-day cycle, she should avoid intercourse from day 11 after starting her period until day 17 if she wants to prevent unplanned pregnancy. If she wants to conceive, she can consider this period as the time to try for pregnancy.
The menstrual cycle in young women tends to be irregular and can be influenced by factors such as stress, sadness, travel, and other changes in a woman's life. Therefore, it's very difficult to know when the fertile period will occur. Many young women unintentionally get pregnant because of this issue, as they engage in intercourse on what they believe are safe days, assuming that the likelihood of pregnancy is low when, in fact, the situation is different due to changes in their bodies.
Many young girls have heard about "safe days," but there are no "safe days" for adolescent girls. This is because the menstrual cycle varies significantly during adolescence.
Education about the possibility of pregnancy includes all methods used to determine when a woman can or cannot get pregnant in her menstrual cycle. These methods are used for contraception, conception, or as a means of tracking a woman's reproductive health.
The following are the methods used to identify the days when a woman is most likely to get pregnant:
1. Basal Body Temperature: This is the body temperature of a woman taken in the morning upon waking up (or after a long sleep during the day). Among women, the drop in temperature caused by the release of the egg results in a rise in body temperature by 0.3 to 0.9 degrees Celsius or 0.5 to 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which remains elevated throughout the cycle until the next period. These changes in temperature can be used to identify the beginning of the infertile phase before the egg is released.
2. Cervical Mucus: The appearance of cervical mucus and vaginal lubrication are signs that are described together as two ways to detect this sign. Cervical mucus that indicates the possibility of pregnancy promotes the survival of sperm by reducing vaginal acidity. It also helps guide sperm through the cervical canal into the uterus. The production of fertile cervical mucus is caused by the hormone estrogen, which also prepares the woman's body for the release of the egg. By observing cervical mucus and paying attention to how it feels when it passes through the vagina, a woman can determine when her body is preparing to release the egg and when the release has passed. After the egg is released, estrogen production decreases, and progesterone levels start to rise. The increase in progesterone levels causes changes in the quantity and quality of the cervical mucus present in the vagina.
3. Cervical Position: The position of the cervix changes due to hormonal stimulation, causing the cervical mucus to dry up.
Opening the door to the generation.
The appearance of cervical mucus and vaginal discharge are signs that are collectively explained as two ways of determining that sign. Cervical mucus indicating the possibility of pregnancy enhances the life of sperm by reducing the acidity of the vagina.
The cervix also helps guide sperm through the cervical opening into the uterus. The production of fertile cervical mucus is caused by the hormone estrogen, which also prepares the woman's body for egg release. By observing cervical mucus and considering the sensation of its passage through the vagina, a woman can determine when her body is preparing to release an egg and also when the egg has been released. When the egg is released, estrogen production decreases and progesterone begins to increase. The rise in progesterone levels starts to cause changes in the quantity and quality of the cervical mucus.
Cervical Position
When a woman is in the non-fertile phase of the menstrual cycle, the cervix descends into the vaginal canal and when touched, it becomes firm (like the tip of a nose), and the opening leading to the cervix is narrower compared to other times when it is more open. As the likelihood of pregnancy increases, the cervix rises higher in the vaginal canal, becomes soft when touched (like the lips of a mouth), and the opening becomes more open. After the egg is released, the cervix returns to its normal position during the non-fertile period.
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