Hormone production depending on the day of a woman’s cycle. Phases of the menstrual cycle and female sex hormones

The phases of the menstrual cycle are of great importance not only when planning pregnancy, since their correct alternation characterizes the entire female reproductive system. Knowing these phases day by day allows you to understand in more detail the needs of a woman’s body and plan your actions based on this.

During each menstruation, significant changes periodically occur in the body, which are intended by nature for the generation, preservation and development of new life. Normally, the cycle is 28 days, with slight deviations in one direction or another. Even for the same woman with an established cycle, its duration can sometimes change for various reasons. But these fluctuations should not occur frequently and should not exceed 3–4 days. At this time, continuous complex processes occur in the ovaries, which are characterized by the appearance of a new state - either pregnancy or anticipation of the next menstruation. The beginning of the cycle is considered to be the beginning of menstruation, that is, its first day, and the end is considered to be the last day before the next menstruation.

The phases of the menstrual cycle by day are as follows.

Follicular phase

The cycle begins with the follicular phase, lasting on average about 14 days. In the first 4 to 5 days, menstruation occurs, after which the body begins to prepare for a possible pregnancy under the influence of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), produced by the pituitary gland. In the ovaries, follicles develop, the shell of which produces estrogen. Several follicles can develop in them simultaneously, but under the influence of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone, only one of them reaches a dominant size and can continue development. The rest are regressing. In addition to the development of the follicle, during this period the exfoliated layer of the endometrium is removed from the uterus, which is excreted with secretions, that is, menstruation occurs. A new layer of endometrium grows in the uterus, designed to receive a fertilized egg.

Ovulatory phase

From the 15th day, the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle begins, which is considered the shortest by day. The existence of an egg capable of fertilization is short - only a day, but according to some data it can last up to 2 days. At this time, there is an increase in the level of the hormone LH, and the concentration of FSH, on the contrary, decreases. But it is at this time that the egg is ready for fertilization. It moves along the pipe with the help of epithelial villi. Further fate offers two options: fertilization and further development, or without waiting for fertilization, death and dissolution in the endometrial mucosa.

Despite the short period of time allotted, the exact time of the beginning of the ovulatory phase can be traced by the increased basal temperature. With an anovular cycle, this phase does not occur. In this case, the follicle develops and matures, but does not burst, but dissolves.

Luteal phase

The period that lasts after ovulation of the egg until pregnancy occurs (in cases of a fertilized egg), or until the start of the next menstruation, is considered, or another name, the corpus luteum phase. This phase begins between days 15 and 17 and lasts approximately 14 days. When the egg leaves the ruptured follicle, it transforms into the corpus luteum, a gland that exists temporarily and is necessary for the production of progesterone, which prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains it. At this time, the uterus receives the fertilized egg and secures it in its membrane.

This phase also has a second purpose - secretory, due to the fact that under the influence of progesterones, the glands located in the endometrium begin to produce a special secretion that nourishes the embryo throughout pregnancy. An increase in progesterone and estrogen causes breast swelling, preparing it for the upcoming feeding. If fertilization does not occur, the endometrium is gradually rejected and excreted along with a new menstruation. This is the beginning of the next cycle.

According to this scheme, each menstrual cycle develops in a woman’s healthy body; all three phases in it are closely connected and pass one after another.

WHO SAID THAT IT IS HARD TO CURE INFERTILITY?

• Have you been wanting to conceive a child for a long time?
• Many methods have been tried, but nothing helps...
• Diagnosed with thin endometrium...
• In addition, for some reason the recommended medications are not effective in your case...
• And now you are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that will give you the long-awaited baby!

Before we talk about the phases of the menstrual cycle, we must say what it is. The menstrual cycle is a monthly physiological change in a woman's ovaries and genitals that occurs in order to prepare the body for a possible pregnancy. Not only the reproductive organs take part in this process; an important role is played by the brain and the hormonal system.

The entire cycle can be divided into four segments. Some scientists talk about the incorrectness of this division and distinguish only two phases: follicular and luteal. In fact, both classifications are almost identical. The first classification, which distinguishes four phases of the menstrual cycle, most accurately reflects the processes of preparation for a possible pregnancy. They will be discussed below.

The first two phases reflect preparation for the formation of the egg, the last two - the formation of the egg, preparation for conception and the conception/death of the egg. Let's consider each of them separately.

The first phase of the cycle begins at menstruation itself. At this time, the endometrium is rejected, and the body directs its attention to the formation of a new egg. In terms of time, this process takes from three to six days, but even before the end of menstruation the next one begins.

The second period of the cycle lasts approximately two weeks after your period ends. The cycle in this segment is focused on the development of follicles under the influence of the hormone, in one of which (dominant) the egg will later mature. At the same time, estrogen renews the lining of the uterus and makes cervical mucus impervious to sperm.

The duration of the next period, the ovulation phase, is approximately three days. At this time, the level decreases and gives way to luteinizing, which makes cervical mucus receptive to sperm. In addition, this hormone influences the completion after which it is released from the follicle (ovulation occurs). The mature egg moves into the fallopian tubes, where it waits for about two days for fertilization.

It is replaced by the fourth phase of the menstrual cycle - the luteal phase. After the egg is released from the follicle, it is sent for fertilization, and the follicle itself begins to produce progesterone. The role of progesterone is to prepare for the absorption of a fertilized egg. At the same time, production stops, which again makes the cervical ligament immune to sperm. The duration of the fourth phase of the cycle can last up to 16 days. The body is waiting for the uterus to absorb a fertilized egg, which occurs 6-12 days after fertilization.

If the uterus has accepted the egg, a special hormone immediately begins to be produced, under the influence of which the corpus luteum will function throughout pregnancy. It is this hormone that pregnancy tests are sensitive to.

If fertilization does not occur, the egg, along with the corpus luteum, dies, stops producing progesterone, and this is inevitably followed by destruction and rejection of the endometrium. In other words, menstruation begins, and all phases of the menstrual cycle again replace one another.

The following fact is noteworthy. All four phases of the menstrual cycle develop under the influence of hormones that affect not only the physiology, but also the emotional state of a woman. The ancient Chinese believed that knowledge of the characteristics of each stage of the cycle was directly related to a woman’s well-being. Thus, energy accumulation occurs before ovulation, therefore, if a woman retained energy in the first half of the cycle, this allowed her to live in harmony with herself and the world around her.

November 09, 2012 13:46

What is this article about and how to use the information received?

This article contains answers to many questions that girls and women have about (menstruation).

Any woman should have information about the nature of the occurrence and characteristics of such an important physiological process. Our article will help you understand these concepts.

This information will be especially relevant for the following audiences:

1. Young girls who have just started menstruating and don’t know much about it;
2. Adult women who are concerned about the nature of their menstrual cycle, who want to know how correctly everything is happening in their body;
3. Adult women of any age if there have been some changes in their menstrual cycle;
4. Adult women, in case of unusual occurrences;
5. Pregnant women, when menstruation occurs during pregnancy (at any stage).

What is menstruation? Why and why is this happening?

Very often, women wait with horror for the onset of their critical days, since for them it is a useless torment that unsettles them for a week, and sometimes even longer. However, it is important to treat this as a normal physiological mechanism. After all, all the processes that occur in the female body before and after menstruation are nothing more than evidence of her reproductive function. That is, it is the woman in whose body a normal menstrual cycle occurs that is capable of bearing a child.

And now we will tell you why and why menstruation occurs, and what it should be like for a healthy woman.

Thus, menstruation represents the rejection of the mucous membranes of the female uterus, which are not useful for the development of pregnancy. This is the principle of operation of a healthy woman’s body. But various diseases and certain conditions of a woman can disrupt the correct course of this process. They can cause cycle disruption and change the nature of menstruation.

Severe pain as a symptom of the disease

It happens that the pain is so severe that it makes a woman completely unadapted to normal life during this period. Severe pain often indicates a disorder and is called dysmenorrhea.

This diagnosis is confirmed if, along with pain, there are also signs such as:

• Headache;
• Dizziness;
• Nausea;
• Loss of consciousness;
• Constipation or diarrhea.

The presence of such signs is definitely a reason to immediately contact a gynecologist. Let's look at what this means below.

Pain during menstruation. When should you see a doctor?

So, if you have severe pain during your period, you should seriously think about your health.

Pain can signal a number of diseases:

• Uterine fibroids;
• Uterine cancer;
• Uterine polyps.

In addition, you need to pay attention to the changes that have been happening to you lately.

So, if you have the following signs, you need to urgently contact a gynecologist:

1. Your periods are more painful than before;
2. The pain in the lower abdomen is very strong (you constantly take painkillers);
3. In addition to the pain, the discharge itself has become more abundant (one pad lasts you less than 2 hours);
4. Along with pain, other disorders occur (weight loss, cycle disruption, inability to get pregnant).

How to relieve pain?

As we have already said, the presence of some pain during menstruation is normal.

Therefore, to alleviate your condition, you can use some common techniques:

1. These days you need to get a good night's sleep. But just lying down all day is not an option. Staying without movement, on the contrary, worsens the condition;
2. Transfer complex mental and physical stress to the period when your period is over;
3. These days you need to move more, walk, play sports. You only need to avoid heavy physical activity. The ideal option would be either Pilates;
4. Sex helps relieve pain (thus reducing muscle tension in the uterus);
5. If the pain is very painful, you can take a painkiller (, analgin, naproxen). It must be remembered that girls under 16 years of age cannot take aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid).

If menstrual pain is constant, every month, and if your doctor does not see any abnormalities in your health, he may prescribe preventive medications. They will help reduce pain during the onset of menstrual periods.

Period of the menstrual cycle. How regular should it be?

Ideally, a healthy woman menstruates regularly; there is a certain period of her cycle. But minor deviations from the average cycle length are not always the result of any health problem. A fluctuation in the onset of menstruation, earlier or later, by a few days (approximately 3 to 5 days) is not significant.

Particular attention should be paid to understand that a regular menstrual cycle is not the fact that menstruation arrives on a certain day. Menstruation should not start on the same day every month. The regularity of the cycle consists in observing the period of the break itself between the previous and next menstruation. This is influenced by the number of calendar days in a month, the onset of a leap year and the time of day when the previous menstruation occurred.

Let's give an example. A woman's normal menstrual cycle is 27 days. Last month, my period started on March 1st. Thus, the beginning of the critical days of the next month should fall on the date of March 27th (but not on April 1st). But next month it will be April 23rd. And so on.

Violations and failure of a stable cycle. What can delayed menstruation mean?

If disturbances in the cycle are minor, or they are isolated in nature, there is no cause for concern. But frequent and prolonged symptoms, as well as its irregular nature, may indicate many gynecological diseases. Unpredictable onset of menstruation and frequent delays should be a reason to immediately consult a doctor.


If a delay occurs in a woman whose cycle was previously stable, this may indicate the following changes:

• Pregnancy;
• The result of exposure to certain factors (nervous strain,);
• Disease.

The normal state of a woman after menstruation

After the bleeding stops, a woman may notice some symptoms.

The following symptoms may persist for several days after menstruation:

1. Mild pain in the lower back, lower abdomen and side;
2. Mild headache, nipple tension, slight tingling in the chest;
3. Slight when pressed;
4. Weak bloody discharge (spotting). Their color can be brown, pink, yellow or transparent.

If at the end of menstruation you feel pronounced pain in the abdomen or lower back, you should immediately see a gynecologist. If the discharge described above does not go away on the 3rd - 4th day after the end of menstruation, this may also be a signal of illness. Especially if, along with this, other symptoms appear (fever,

What is the second phase of menstruation Not every woman knows, but it depends on how ready the body is to bear a fetus. During the second phase, the process of formation of the corpus luteum in the ovary occurs, which is why this phase is also called the luteal phase. All phases of menstruation take place under the control of hormones, under the influence of which the maturation of the egg and follicular apparatus occurs. If fertilization occurs, the woman carries the child. If fertilization does not occur, then unnecessary tissue is rejected, which is called menstruation. But it is worth remembering that the second phase of the menstrual cycle is the period when disturbances that arise can lead to pathological conditions.

Second phase: processes in the uterus

During the luteal phase, changes occur both in the ovaries and in other organs of the reproductive system. The average duration of this period is 14 days, starting from the ovulation process. A day before the onset of the luteal phase, the percentage of hormones in the blood changes - the content of estradiol increases, which contributes to a sharp increase in the release of luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones are responsible for the timely rupture of the follicle and the release of the egg. From this moment the development of the second phase begins. In other words, we can say that the formation of the corpus luteum or endocrine gland is what the second phase of the menstrual cycle means. The corpus luteum synthesizes a hormone such as progesterone, which controls the preparation of the mammary glands for pregnancy and suppresses uterine contractions.

Second phase failure

Some may not know what the second phase of the menstrual cycle means and how it can affect pregnancy. Experts clearly answer this question, saying that pregnancy suffers from insufficiency of the luteal phase. That is, the pregnancy will be under constant threat of miscarriage. Since hormones are the main thing during this period, doctors prescribe hormonal correction.
It is best to take natural progesterone analogues that will not harm the body. The most widely used non-hormonal drug is Remens. It contains substances that can not only restore hormonal balance, but also affect the entire process occurring in the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian system.
This drug was developed by the famous Austrian company Richard Bittner GmbH and is used in the complex treatment of all menstrual disorders. Its use does not cause side effects and guarantees the achievement of positive results. Knowing the processes that the second phase of the menstrual cycle entails and what it is, you can avoid many problems and not worry about future pregnancy.

Every month, a woman’s reproductive system undergoes certain changes that leave an imprint on both her physiological and psychological state. They are necessary so that the female body can prepare for conception - and then for pregnancy. Such changes are regular and are called the menstrual cycle - which, in turn, consists of several phases.

Let's take a closer look at how they pass, how long they last, and what signs indicate the onset of each phase.

The first phase of the menstrual cycle is called menstruation

What should you know about menstruation?

Its duration is approximately 3-7 days.

It is characterized by the following symptoms:

1. Bloody vaginal discharge.
2. Breast augmentation.
3. Pain in the abdomen.
4. Irritability.
5. Pain in the lumbar region.
6. Changeability of mood.
7. Nausea and sometimes vomiting.
8. Headache.

Not all of the above signs will necessarily accompany “critical” days. For many girls, they pass quietly, and the only thing that indicates menstruation is the presence of uterine bleeding.

The cause of painful and heavy periods, nausea, chills, and headaches may be an increased level of prostaglandins in the blood during this phase. These chemicals are produced by the tissue of the uterus and cause it to contract.

The menstrual cycle begins from the day on which the spotting began from the genitals. During it, the old endometrium is rejected.

Uterine bleeding indicates that pregnancy did not occur in the previous cycle.

At the same time, the ovaries begin to develop follicles. This is the name given to bubbles filled with liquid. Each of them contains one egg. Under the influence of follicle-stimulating hormone, they begin to mature.

How thick should the uterine mucosa be during menstruation?

Day	Meaning
5-7

What happens during the second, follicular (proliferative) phase of the cycle?

After the end of menstruation, the female body begins to prepare for the possible conception of a baby. All processes occurring during this period are caused by follicle-stimulating hormone - which, in turn, is produced by the pituitary gland.

Thus, FSH has a huge impact on the level of estrogen in the blood. Starting from the 1st day of menstruation, it rapidly grows upward. Thanks to this, the endometrium, which has grown in the new cycle, is saturated with blood and various nutrients. This is necessary so that, in the event of a successful conception, the fertilized egg can receive in the uterus everything it needs for further growth and development.

Immediately after the end of menstruation, one follicle “overtakes” its comrades in its development, as a result of which the latter stop growing and return to their previous state. The “winning” vial of liquid continues to grow the egg.

Size of liquid bubble in diameter

Day	Meaning
14

About a woman’s well-being during this period

During the second phase the girl:

1. Efficiency increases.
2. Your mood improves.
3. Sexual desire increases.

Endometrial thickness in the proliferative phase

Day	Meaning
11-14

Third, ovulatory phase of the cycle

The ovulatory phase, unlike the others, lasts very little - approximately 24-36 hours. It is during this phase that women have a chance to get pregnant.

The level of the hormone estrogen in the third phase is at its highest level. During ovulation, the level of luteinizing hormone in the blood increases, but the concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone decreases.

What happens to the mature egg during this phase?

First, it destroys the wall of the follicle - and, with the help of epithelial villi, begins to move into the fallopian tube.

Then, if she meets a sperm, she is fertilized.

Otherwise, the egg dies just a day after leaving the ovary, after which it dissolves in the uterine mucosa.

In addition, you can determine the presence or absence of ovulation using home tests.

The beginning of the ovulatory phase can also be detected on ultrasound examination, during which the doctor will have to find out what the size of the ovaries and cervix is, and in what condition they are now.

The thickness of the endometrium during the ovulatory phase should be within 1-1.3 cm.

The fourth phase of the menstrual cycle is the corpus luteum phase, or luteal phase.

Its duration is fourteen days.

After the egg leaves the vial of liquid, a yellow body begins to grow at the site of its rupture. It produces estrogens, androgens, and the “pregnancy hormone” progesterone.

If the corpus luteum produces progesterone in small quantities, then fertilization of the egg may not occur for a long time.

In order for a woman to become pregnant and then give birth to a child on time, doctors may prescribe her to take special hormonal drugs.

What other function does progesterone perform?

Thanks to it, the endometrium softens, becomes loose, and increases in thickness. This is necessary so that the fertilized egg can penetrate into it.

Whether pregnancy has occurred or not can only be determined at the end of the luteal phase. Menstruation, if conception has occurred, will not begin. Basal temperature will remain at 37.3.

You can use home test, which can be bought at any pharmacy, or by donating blood at the clinic to check the hCG level.

Nausea, dizziness and other signs of conception that have occurred appear much later.

Signs and symptoms of the luteal phase

If the egg was not fertilized by a sperm, then in the first days of the luteal phase the girl will feel great. A “pregnant” woman will feel the same way.

The only sign that can indicate to her that conception has occurred is the appearance of a few drops of blood on her underwear - 7-10 days after intimacy.

If pregnancy does not occur, then a few days before menstruation the woman’s condition may change. She may have PMS syndrome, which is often associated with a woman’s irritability and anxiety. Her mammary glands may swell and she may experience minor abdominal pain.

How thick should the endometrium be during the luteal phase?

Day	Meaning