Frequent Asked Question About Menstruation: questions and answers

Is There A Link Between Menstruation And Iron Deficiency ?

Each ml of blood lost with menstruation is accompanied by a loss of approximately 0.5 mg of iron . It is difficult to quantify the volume of these losses: a reasonable average is between 30 and 60 ml per month, but some women can lose much less or much more without bordering on the abnormal. Considering an average value of 46 ml and distributing the total losses (46/2 = 23 mg) over the 30 days of the month, a daily surplus of 0.76 mg is obtained. To meet this quota, approximately 7.6 mg more iron is needed per day, since, again in general, only 10% of the iron ingested with food is actually absorbed.

A correct diet , both from a quantitative and qualitative point of view, is perfectly capable of making up for these losses. Conversely, a low-calorie diet low in foods of animal origin and/or too abundant in vegetables and wholemeal foods favors the onset of deficiency states. The risk increases further if you practice too intense physical activity . In these conditions, after consulting a doctor, an iron-based dietary supplement could be helpful .

Is There A Link Between Menstruation And Fertility? Can I Get Pregnant If I’Ve Never Had A Period?

It is not possible to give a simple answer to these questions: when it comes to the menstrual cycle , fertility and contraception , there are only probabilities and few certainties.
If a girl has never had her period it is highly probable that she cannot get pregnant, but this could happen if sexual intercourse takes place in the days next to or corresponding to the first ovulation (which precedes the menarche by about fourteen days). And again… menstruation is not necessarily synonymous with female fertility. This statement is especially valid for the initial and final phases of the fertile period , during which anovulatory cycles are frequent. Even the menses induced by the temporary suspension of oral contraceptive therapy are only fictitious, because ovulation is prevented by the hormones contained in the pill.
Finally, it is also possible to become pregnant due to sexual intercourse during menstruation.

Can You Play Sports During Menstruation?

During menstruation there is no contraindication to carrying out any sport , with the exception of activities in cold water in the first days of the cycle (which coincide with the onset of menstruation).

Why Can Menstruation Be Painful ?

Some degree of pain or mild discomfort in the pelvic area is quite common at the beginning of the flow. When the painful symptomatology is accentuated to the point of interfering with daily activities, we speak of dysmenorrhea . This disorder manifests itself with pains of varying intensity in the abdomen, with a procession of other manifestations that culminate in a sense of general malaise (cramp-like pains in the lower abdomen, which extend to the lower back, sometimes with nausea and headache ).

Especially young women suffer from menstrual pain , where in the vast majority of cases there are no organic alterations. In fact, painful menstruation is generally a benign event and can only rarely be caused by inflammatory or neoplastic pathologies of the genital system. In the absence of the aforementioned pathologies, painful cramps are often triggered by an excessive secretion of prostaglandins (substances with a proinflammatory action that stimulate contraction of the uterus ).

Often psychological factors also intervene such as a bad relationship with one’s sexuality; these conflicts, combined with anxiety and waiting stress, contribute to fueling a vicious circle from which it is often difficult to get out.

In the treatment of dysmenorrhea, the use of magnesium supplements is frequent , a mineral present in fruit and cereals , which exerts a relaxing and antispasmodic action on the uterus. Magnesium-based dietary supplements, in vials or sachets, should be taken at least one week before the flow.

Even the elimination of stress and inner conflicts is a valid tool to reduce the intensity of hostile manifestations. Yoga classes , a hot water bottle to hold on the abdomen and anything else that helps the woman to relax can help. There are also specific drugs, such as mefenamic acid , that can inhibit the release of prostaglandins.

To combat spasms in the lower abdomen and lumbar pain , hormonal contraceptives can also be useful , which block ovulation and help relieve pain, regulating the cycle and reducing the production of prostaglandins.

Period In The Middle Of The Cycle?

The bleeding that occurs in the intermenstrual period generally coincides with ovulation and therefore appears in the middle of the cycle. Generally it is a question of modest haemorrhages (bleeding) or even very little ones ( spotting ).

Intermenstrual bleeding can also be linked to pathological factors (local organic causes, even serious ones) or to endocrine disorders (they are more frequent in the adolescent and perimenopausal period).

Finally, they represent a side effect of some estrogen-progestin pills with a low estrogen concentration . If this side effect does not disappear within the first three months from the beginning of the therapy, it is advisable to carry out a gynecological examination to switch to a pill with slightly higher estrogen dosages.

What Is Amenorrhea?

Absence of menstrual flow is referred to as amenorrhea. We speak of primary amenorrhea if menstruation has not appeared within 16 years of age, while after a suspension of the cycle that lasts for three or more months we speak of secondary amenorrhea .

In the first case, if the girl is in good health and does not suffer from particular pathologies, there may be anatomical malformations of the genital system. Secondary amenorrhea, on the other hand, is sustained by hormonal disorders or particular diseases (ovarian or pituitary neoplasms, polycystic ovaries , anemia , anorexia nervosa , hypothyroidism , chronic alcoholism , severe obesity , some drugs).

Absence of menstrual flow for one to three months can be a side effect of taking progestogen-based birth control pills (mini-pills) or discontinuing therapy with estrogen-progestogen products . Finally, there is also a physiological amenorrhea linked to situations of pregnancy , breastfeeding and menopause .

Amenorrhea, associated with osteoporosis and eating disorders , is commonly included in a pattern known as the ” female athlete triad “. This condition is commonly found among professional athletes and, more generally, among women who practice a lot of physical activity without eating properly. Like physical stress , emotional factors or psychopathies can also cause secondary amenorrhea.