Menstrual Health is your 5th Vital Sign

How much do you know about your period and the days beyond the bleed?

The menstrual cycle is a complex mix of hormone changes, and physical and mental shifts, that reflect a person’s overall health status.

It can be thought of as a “fifth vital sign,” along with blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate.

Menstrual irregularities can indicate hormonal imbalances, gynecological diseases, or infections. Stress, changes in weight or diet, certain medications, and other lifestyle factors can cause temporary changes in the menstrual cycle.

Getting to grips with your menstrual health ‘beyond the bleed’ is important.

We tend to focus a lot on the few days before the period, the bleed itself, but very little thinking about what is happening the rest of the cycle.

The menstrual cycle length is considered to be ‘typical’ (often termed normal) somewhere between 21-35 days. 

Every cycle may be a different length by one to three days, but whatever the difference is, keep a note of it (it will be important later)

The urban myth of a menstrual cycle being on average 28 days was busted wide open by some massive research by Flo Health App. 

Based on self-reported data only 16% of people have a 28 days cycle!

Not every cycle will result in ovulation, and it is considered ‘perfectly normal’ to have between 2-3 cycles a year that are called anovulatory – when the ovaries get ready to release an egg and then don’t.

Anovulatory cycles can be detected by some subtle differences in your bleed pattern, such as really light period compared to normal, or a slightly delayed humdinger of a ‘where did that come from’ period.

The reason for this is that when there is no ovulation, there is no ovarian progesterone produced in that cycle, so the ratio of hormones gets disrupted and can take another couple of cycles to re-calibrate. 

If menstrual health still seems a random market to be thinking about, try this on for size.

Dr Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and author, delivered a great TED Talk back in March 2020.

In this groundbreaking talk, she describes the menstrual cycle as a conversation between the brain and the ovaries.

”The brain speaks to the ovaries and the ovaries speak back to the brain, every single day.”

The hormones in the menstrual cycle change every day. Those same hormones affect all 11 systems in the body, they work way beyond periods, pregnancy, and perimenopause.

Menstrual health is a total body experience and keeping a diary that monitors how you feel at each point in your cycle will be a very valuable daily practice to support your lifetime health and well-being.  As a Menopause Doula, I highly recommend it and wish it was something I had learned to do in my 20s.

About me: 

Fiona Catchpowle is the creator and founder of the Menopause School.

A Menstrual Health Evangelist and Menopause Doula she is on a mission to increase the number of touchpoints in a menstruators life where they can learn how to manage their menstrual health from periods to perimenopause and beyond.

Join a free training and explore the future of menstural health care on the 14th August 6-7pm : Menstural Health 101 Live.