48 Understanding Our Bodies
Monthly
Bleeding
Around the world,
women have many
different names
for their monthly
bleeding.
I have a
visitor from
Russia.
About once each month during her reproductive years, a
woman has a few days when a bloody fluid leaves her womb
and passes through her vagina and out of her body. This is
called ‘monthly bleeding’, the ‘monthly period’ or ‘menstruation’.
It is a healthy process and is part of the way the body gets
ready for pregnancy.
I see the
moon.
My monthly
habit is here.
I have my
monthly
bleeding.
I have my
period.
María is
crying.
A friend is
visiting.
Most women think of their monthly bleeding as a normal
part of their lives. But often they do not know why it happens
or why it sometimes changes.
The monthly cycle (menstrual cycle)
The monthly cycle is different for each woman. It begins
on the first day of a woman’s monthly bleeding. Most women
bleed every 28 days. But some bleed as often as every
20 days or as little as every 45 days.
The amount of the hormones estrogen and progesterone
produced in the ovaries changes throughout the monthly
cycle. During the first half of the cycle, the ovaries make
mostly estrogen, which causes a thick lining of blood and
tissue to grow in the womb. The body makes the lining so a
baby would have a soft nest to grow in if the woman became
pregnant that month.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012