How Many Years Does A Woman Have Her Period

How Long Does A Woman Usually Have Periods

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On average, women get a period for about 40 years of their life.6,7 Most women have regular periods until perimenopause, the time when your body begins the change to menopause. Perimenopause, or transition to menopause, may take a few years. During this time, your period may not come regularly. Menopause happens when you have not had a period for 12 months in a row. For most women, this happens between the ages of 45 and 55. The average age of menopause in the United States is 52.

Periods also stop during pregnancy and may not come back right away if you breastfeed.

But if you dont have a period for 90 days , and you are not pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor or nurse. Your doctor will check for pregnancy or a health problem that can cause periods to stop or become irregular.

How To Help Your Child Through A First Period

Many parents feel uncomfortable talking with their child about puberty and their first period. Parents might have grown up feeling ashamed by periods and might not want to embarrass their child by having that conversation now.

However, a first period is part of overall health and development, and having an honest conversation about it is an important way to help your child as they grow up.

Some tips to help your child through a first period include:

  • answering any questions your child has about periods honestly and directly
  • using times like when you are buying menstrual products, discussing family pregnancies, or other natural moments to start the conversation with your child
  • asking your child what questions they have about getting periods
  • asking your child if they have any questions about menstrual products or thoughts about what type theyd like to use
  • explaining some of the pros and cons of types of menstrual products
  • emphasizing that periods are typical and natural
  • using clear, concrete words for body parts and body functions

It can help to have the conversation slowly over the course of several years rather than all at once. For instance, you can first mention that some people bleed every month to prepare for pregnancy during a conversation about where babies come from when your child is very young. Over the next several years you can answer additional questions and provide more information.

Ive Been Using Contraception Will This Affect My Cycle

This depends on what type of contraception youve been using. If youve been taking the pill, your period may be irregular when you first come off it, so try to give yourself up to 3 months for your natural menstrual cycle to get back to its normal routine.

The first period after stopping the pill is known as a withdrawal bleed. The next one after this is your first natural period.

The contraceptive injection can also affect your cycle. Your periods may change and become irregular, heavier, shorter, lighter or stop altogether. This can carry on for some months after you stop the injections.

If you use the contraceptive implant your fertility will return to normal as soon as it is taken out.

Also Check: Can I Get Pregnant A Week Before My Period

Im Pregnant But Have Some Bleeding Is This My Period

Implantation bleeding sometimes happens in pregnant women around the time their period would have been due. Implantation is when the developing embryo plants itself in the wall of your womb. An implantation bleed is very light bleeding that is usually pinkish and sometimes brown. Not everyone will have an implantation bleed.

Its common to have light bleeding or spotting without pain before 12 weeks. This isnt often serious, but you should contact your doctor, midwife or Early Pregnancy Unit immediately to be checked, just in case.

Does The Age My Mother Reached Menopause Mean Anything

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Most likely your moms age at menopause will provide a clue. When we look at the things that are the greatest determinants for when someone is going to go through menopause, genetics seems to be one of the most important things, says Streicher.

A womans race or ethnicity can influence when she goes through menopause, too, she says. Findings from the Study of Womens Health Across the Nation indicate that women of color tend to begin perimenopause and menopause at earlier ages than white women.

RELATED: What Experts Want BIPOC Women to Know About Menopause

The question I always ask women when they ask when theyre going to go through menopause is, When did your mom go through menopause? because that is very often predictive, says Streicher.

Theres a lot of truth in that. You may follow what happened with your mother if she went through menopause early or late, you may, too, she says.

Certain medical conditions such as autoimmune problems, thyroid issues, and lupus can make a woman go through menopause earlier, adds Streicher.

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What Else Affects When A Woman Will Finally Stop Having Menstrual Periods

Researchers continue to explore a number of factors that may influence the timing of menopause.

The level of education a woman has completed is one thing that seems to correlate with menopause timing, says Faubion. Women who have more education tend to go through menopause later, she says.

A study published in January 2020 in JAMA Network Open found that pregnancy and breastfeeding may reduce the risk of early menopause.

How frequently a woman has sex has also been correlated with early menopause. A study published in January 2020 in Royal Society Open Science found that women who had sex at least once a week were less likely to go through menopause compared with women who had sex less than once a month.

RELATED: Will Not Having Sex Trigger Early Menopause?

How Soon Can I Get Pregnant After Coming Off The Pill

You can get pregnant as soon as you come off the pill but if youre trying to get pregnant, its a good idea to wait until youve had a natural period. This will give your body time to adjust and give you a chance to make sure youre ready for pregnancy. Make use of our pregnancy planning tool to see what else you can do.

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Can A Girl Get Pregnant As Soon As Her Period Starts

Yes, a girl can get pregnant as soon as her period starts. A girl can even get pregnant right before her very first period. This is because a girl’s hormones might already be active. The hormones may have led to and the building of the uterine wall. If a girl has sex, she can get pregnant, even though she has never had a period.

At What Age Do Most Women Reach Menopause

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The medical definition of menopause is no menstrual bleeding for a year, according to Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the medical director of the Northwestern Center for Menopause and the Northwestern Center for Sexual Medicine in Chicago.

Most women experience menopause between age 40 and 58, and the average age at menopause is 51, according to the North American Menopause Society.

Many women are surprised when they go through menopause in their forties because they think theyre too young, but its not unusual, says Dr. Streicher.

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Why Should I Keep Track Of My Menstrual Cycle

If your periods are regular, tracking them will help you know when you ovulate, when you are most likely to get pregnant, and when to expect your next period to start.

If your periods are not regular, tracking them can help you share any problems with your doctor or nurse.

If you have period pain or bleeding that causes you to miss school or work, tracking these period symptoms will help you and your doctor or nurse find treatments that work for you. Severe pain or bleeding that causes you to miss regular activities is not normal and can be treated.

Will Being Super Healthy Help Delay Menopause

Although maintaining good overall health is important for a variety of reasons, it wont necessarily translate to later menopause, says Streicher. I have women who tell me, I have a healthy diet, Im thin, I work out all the time, and I look young. Im sure Im not going to go through menopause early, and when I do, I wont have hot flashes and other symptoms. I wish I could say that was true, but its not, she says.

Body weight might matter, though. We do know that the extremes of weight, in someone who is very obese or someone with very low body weight, may impact the onset of menopause, but for the majority of women in the middle it doesnt seem to have a big impact, says Streicher.

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When To Go To The Doctor

Some Medical Terms

A girl’s first menstruation is called menarche. This is pronounced MEN-arc or MEN-arc-y. When a girl passes certain milestones in her development, but does not start having periods, this is called Primary Amenorrhea. This is pronounced A-men-or-rea or Ah-men-or-rea. The word primary is the part that means the girl has never had a period. The amenorrhea part means lack of periods . This is to distinguish it from Secondary Amenorrhea, which is when a woman has had periods and then stops.

The Standards For Going To The Doctor

These standards were developed long ago. Meanwhile the average age of puberty and menarche has dropped. So, Estronaut’s opinion is that checking with a doctor a year or so earlier is not a bad idea. Also, girls of African descent mature sooner than Europeans, by about a year. So, these girls should substract another year.

On age alone: Age 15 1/2 to 16 1/2 for whites, age 14 1/2 to 15 1/2 for blacks.

If no breast or hair development: Age 13 to 14 for whites, age 12 to 13 for blacks.

If there is breast development or hair two years after either of these started.

Here’s How Much A Woman’s Period Will Cost Her Over A Lifetime

Reasons for Missed Periods When Not Pregnant

Lifestyle Editor, The Huffington Post

A recent experiment shed light on the “pink tax,” or the price discrepancy that comes with purchasing female-branded products that are essentially identical to male products. But how about the extra cost that comes with a biological function women cannot control?

Women’s monthly periods are costing them much more than the pain of menstrual cramps. Between tampons, pain relievers and heating pads to soothe the aches, the costs associated with that magical time of the month add up. Aunt Flo is one expensive lady.

Though the numbers may vary slightly for you due to local price changes, or your superhuman ability to avoid unwanted stains, having a period is a hefty cost that half the population will never have to pay — and this doesn’t even include the cost of the regular doctor’s exams to keep your birth control prescription up to date, and your reproductive health in check.

On average, a woman has her period from three to seven days and the average woman menstruates from age 13 until age 51. That means the average woman endures some 456 total periods over 38 years, or roughly 2,280 days with her period — 6.25 years of her life.

MidolYou can only take up to six caplets a day, and cramps usually persist for two days. There are 40 caplets per package of Midol, which costs $8.99 at Walgreens.

12 caplets x 456 periods = 5,472 caplets. At 40 caplets per container, that’s 136.8 Midol purchases x $8.99 = $1,229.83

2 heating pads x $20 = $40

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When Are You Most Fertile

“Theoretically, there’s only a short time when women can get pregnant, and that is the time around ovulation,” says Belfield.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when ovulation happens but in most women, it happens around 10 to 16 days before the next period.

“It’s not accurate to say that all women are fertile on day 14 of the menstrual cycle,” says Belfield. This might be true for women who have a regular, 28-day cycle, but it won’t apply to women whose cycles are shorter or longer.

Are Women Who Arent Experiencing Menopausal Symptoms Still Fertile

No matter when you experience natural menopause, your chances of getting pregnant after the age of 40 are low, says Faubion. But you can still become pregnant as youre transitioning to menopause, and you still need to use birth control if you don’t want to conceive, she adds.

Streicher confirms, saying, Fertility and menopause are not the same thing there are plenty of women who are pumping out estrogen and menstruating and are not fertile. If youre sexually active, its important to consult with your doctor before making any decisions about birth control to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

On the other hand, dont assume that just because you are still menstruating that you can get pregnant. Women who are concerned that they may have trouble conceiving or think they may experience menopause early and still want children should discuss options such as egg freezing with their doctor, says Streicher.

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Understanding The Menopausal Transition

Menopause is a point in time 12 months after a woman’s last period. The years leading up to that point, when women may have changes in their monthly cycles, hot flashes, or other symptoms, are called the menopausal transition or perimenopause.

The menopausal transition most often begins between ages 45 and 55. It usually lasts about seven years but can be as long as 14 years. The duration can depend on lifestyle factors such as smoking, age it begins, and race and ethnicity. During perimenopause, the body’s production of estrogen and progesterone, two hormones made by the ovaries, varies greatly.

The menopausal transition affects each woman uniquely and in various ways. The body begins to use energy differently, fat cells change, and women may gain weight more easily. You may experience changes in your bone or heart health, your body shape and composition, or your physical function.

When Does Menstruation Start

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On average, a young woman in the U.S. has her first menstrual period at about age 12. This is generally 2 to 3 years after her breasts start to grow. This is also soon after she notices pubic and underarm hair. Stress, strenuous exercise, and diet can affect when a girl first has her period.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that a young woman consult her healthcare provider if she has not started to menstruate by the age of 15, or if she has not begun to develop breast buds, pubic hair, or underarm hair by the age of 13.

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What Causes A Period

A period happens because of changes in in the body. Hormones are chemical messengers. The ovaries release the female hormones and . These hormones cause the lining of the uterus to build up. The built-up lining is ready for a fertilized egg to attach to and start developing. If there is no fertilized egg, the lining breaks down and bleeds. Then the same process happens all over again.

It usually takes about a month for the lining to build up, then break down. That is why most girls and women get their periods around once a month.

First Menstruation: Average Age And Physical Signs

When will girls get their first period? The ages vary, but there are two signs of puberty that generally precede first menstruation.

Physical Signs That Precede First Menstruation

While girls vary in the ages that they are when they start their periods and when the other signs of puberty occur, the order is fairly consistent. The two things that are most closely tied to the age when a girl starts her periods, that she can readily assess herself are: first real bra and armpit hair. A “real” bra means one with a cup size attached to it, as opposed to small, medium, large distinctions. Armpit hair is self-explanatory. Any amount will do. At this point, a girl will probably start her periods within 3-6 months, if she hasn’t already.

It also occurs right after the growth spurt of adolescence. So, if a girl grew, grew, grew, last year and has slowed down then periods are right around the corner.

Average Ages And Average Time Between Stages

Take this as the starting point or adolescence. Here is the sequence and time frame of events for an average girl. The girl will also begin her growth spurt about this time. She will notice pubic hair about 6 months later. About 6 months after that she will be in her peak growth spurt, growing faster that she ever has. She will probably get her first training bra at this time. About a year after all this , she will get a real bra and armpit hair. First period will come about 4 months before or after these events.

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How Many Eggs Does A Woman Have At 30

After puberty the number of eggs that die decreases to around 1,000 each month. Females are most fertile in their 20s and fertility begins to decline more steeply after 30.

Its estimated that 95% of females will have around 120,000 eggs remaining at 30 years old, while at 37 this will have decreased further to around 25,000 . At age 30, your chance of

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