What is ovulation?

Ovulation is a process when one of the two ovaries releases a matured egg into the fallopian tube so that sperm can fertilize it to give birth to a baby. Women have more chances to become pregnant if they have unprotected intercourse for the three days before and on the day of ovulation because the male sperm can survive for three to five days in a women’s womb waiting already there to fertilize the egg once it is released.

Whereas a woman’s egg can live in reproductive organs (fallopian tube) only 12 to 24 or a maximum of 36 hours after ovulation. Ovulation has a vital role because without ovulation there is no pregnancy. It is true that the ovulation date is the actual pregnancy date.

Each woman is different and may have a different length of menstruation cycle but the time the period between ovulation and the first day of the next menses cycle is almost the same of 14 to 16 days for all women.

After the onset of ovulation, if women don’t get pregnant then hormones level begins to drop. Normally, after 14 to 16 days very low level of hormone gives a signal to women’s reproductive organs to start menstruation. The women having any length of the cycle can find their ovulation days just tracking their period cycle for few months.

There are many factors that can cause to stop ovulation permanently or for some longer time. These include pregnancy, breastfeeding, birth control methods, perimenopause, and menopause. After pregnancy women don’t ovulate but in rare cases, ovulation may occur after pregnancy; breastfeeding may stop the ovulation process but in some women, ovulation remains to continue during breastfeeding. Birth control methods are another reason to stop ovulation. Perimenopause is a transition phase to menopause, during this period women may not ovulate each month. After menopause women never ovulate.

What is Ovulation and hyper ovulation? Complete guide for menstruation

How do I identify if I’m ovulating? Signs of Ovulation

Ovulation Test: the positive result while using an ovulation test kit.

Cervical Mucus: Mucus gets more slippery and clear.

Sexual Desire: sexual desire may high while you are ovulating.

Body Temperature: A sudden increase in basal body temperature is a big indicator.

The breast can get Tender and sensitive.

Abdominal pain and lower back cramps.

Few days before ovulation, vaginal discharge changes extra slippery and clear, which supports sperm to travel into the fallopian tubes more easily. Women may feel some cramps in one side of the pubic. Luteinizing hormone (LH) triggers about 36 hours before ovulation and gets peak 12 hours before ovulation. So LH level test helps to find ovulation time. Tracking basal body temperature is also helpful, the first-morning temperature after sleep before doing any activity preferably on a sleeping bed. The same procedure is used to calculate the date of pregnancy for the Chinese baby gender prediction calendar.

What is Multiple Ovulation or Hyper Ovulation?

Hyper ovulation or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a situation in which you may ovulate for more than one in a single period cycle. It means that more than one egg is released from one or both of the ovaries within 24hrs of each other.

Symptoms of Hyper Ovulation

It is very difficult to figure out hyper ovulation, some reported symptoms include painful ovulation and a heavy mucus discharge than normal. Hyper ovulation can only be defined with the help of pelvic sonography.

The most common reasons for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome are injectable hormone medications, which stimulate the growth of ova in the ovaries. Excessive hormonal prescription during in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) may cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), as a result some mild to moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome symptoms may develop like:

Mild to moderate pelvic pain

Vomiting

Abdominal bloating

Diarrhea

Ovaries Tenderness

Rapid weight increase

Nausea

What Causes Hyper ovulation?

Why do you Ovulate More than Once in a Cycle?

Usually, ovaries release a single egg on alternate during each cycle but in hyper ovulation, one or both ovaries may release multiple eggs in the same cycle.

These are four common reasons for hyper ovulation, such:

Genetic factor: studies indicate that sibling twin are common in the families as of the mother’s Genetic factor. Due to this reason, some females are likely to have hyper ovulation and can be pregnant with more than one baby in a single pregnancy.

Medical disorders: PCOS often causes irregular periods. There are chances that the following cycle may have hyper ovulation.

Therapeutic treatments: Hormones stimulants are injected during in Vitro Fertilization, egg donation, and IUI procedure to boost hyper ovulation.

Birth Control Pills or Hormonal Contraception: Procedures halt ovulation from happening, getting back to normal can stimulate hyper ovulation.

Other factors may include PCOS, age below 30, and a higher level of the hormone estrogen, low weight, and the release of multiple eggs due to the increased number of follicles.

Menstrual cycle

The menstrual cycle starts on the first day of menstruation or on the day of menstruation [MENstrooAYshuhn] and resumes when the next month's period begins. During your monthly menstrual cycle, your body releases different amounts of chemicals throughout the cycle called hormones in preparation for pregnancy. Levels changes can cause menstrual signs. The menstrual cycle often changes as a woman ages. A normal cycle for healthy women lasts 24 to 38 days.

What is menstruation?

Menstruation is a female's monthly flow of blood, known as "periods, cycle, menses or menstrual periods". During the monthly period, the female reproductive system sheds the lining of women’s fallopian tubes and uterus each month. Blood and menstrual tissue flow out of the uterus through a narrow way in the cervix and discharge out of the body by way of the vagina.

In the course of the periodic menstrual cycle, the lining of the uterus develops in preparation for pregnancy. If you don't become pregnant, your levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone start to drip. Very small estrogen and progesterone levels signal your body to initiate your period phase.

What is the menstrual cycle?

The menstruation cycle is a monthly series of body and hormonal changes that prepare a women’s reproductive system for upcoming pregnancy. Periods are calculated starting from the very first day of the current month bleeding to the first day of the coming month period. These changes in estrogen and progesterone levels remain to continue throughout the menstrual cycle and often can cause menstrual signs.

How long is a typical menstrual cycle?

The usual menstrual cycle length is 28 days; however, each woman’s body chemistry is different. Similarly, the same woman’s period cycle length may be varying from month to month. Normally periods are considered “regular” if they come with the same number of days every month between 24 to 38 days. These are still regular if your menstrual cycle days are not the same every month but remain within a minimum of 24 days to a maximum of 38 days.

Some women have a very regular period length that they can guess the day and time when their periods will begin. While some women stay regular but can only guess the beginning date of their menses within a small number of days.

The particular happenings that take place throughout the menstrual cycle can be defined as follows:

The menses phase: The first phase of the menstrual cycle, and usually continues from the first to the fifth day of the cycle, it’s the time when the uterus sheds out the buildup of the lining through the vagina. Normally, bleeding keeps on for three to five days, but two to seven days is also considered normal.

The follicular phase: This phase starts from day 6 and lasts up to day 14 of the menstrual cycle. During this stage, the level of estrogen hormone begins to rise and causes the lining of the uterus to develop and thicken for the upcoming pregnancy. Meantime, an additional hormone called a follicle (a stimulating hormone) also triggers, causes follicles to grow in the ovaries. During days 10-14, one of the developing follicles will dominate and transform into a mature egg, getting ready to release.

Ovulation phase: This very important phase of the menstrual cycle takes place on approximately day 14 of a 28-day period cycle. A sudden rise in luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulates the ovary to discharge the developed egg into the fallopian tube. This process is termed ovulation.

The luteal phase: The final phase carries on approximately from the 15th to the 28th day. Once the egg is released from the ovary and shifts into the fallopian tube, the level of hormone progesterone surge to support the pregnancy. If the sperm succeeded to fertilize this mature egg, the women get pregnant, egg shift from the fallopian tube to the uterus, attaches to the uterine wall and pregnancy begins to develop. If the sperm could not fertilize the egg, the egg becomes dead within 24 to 36 hours after release from the ovary. The level of estrogen and progesterone hormone begins to drop. After 14 to 16 days of ovulation, a very low level of these hormones causes menstruation to shed off the thickened lining of the uterus.

Signs of Regular Menstrual Periods

Irritability (sudden mood changes)

Face acne

Sleeping difficulty

Abdomen and lower back cramps

Stomach bloating

Sensitivity in the breasts

Food hunger

Unusual Menstrual Symptoms

The period is not started until of 16 years age

Menses stop unexpectedly

Bleeding days are prolonged than normal

Bleeding is more than usual

Painful periods

Bleeding in the middle of the cycle

The sick feeling while using pads

Periods stopped for more than three months without pregnancy

Periods are not started after discontinuation of birth control pills

You feel something questionable about pregnancy or periods

How does the monthly menstrual cycle varying as I become older?

Menstrual cycles can behave in different ways as you become older.

For young girls up to three or four years after the first cycle, a period cycle longer than 38 days is common. Girls generally have more regular periods in three years of the start of their period. If extended or unbalanced cycles last longer, see your health care or nurse to find any health issue, like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

In the middle of the ages of 20 and 30, generally, cycles remain balanced from 24 to 38 days.

At age 40, when a woman’s body begins to shift into menopause, periods may turn irregular. The period may stop to a month or few more months, then start over again. Period’s length may also remain shorter or longer, lighter or otherwise heavier than normal.

Why should I monitor my menstrual phase?

For a regular menstrual cycle, keeping track of it will assist you to know when you are ovulating, when you are most fertile to become pregnant, and when you are expecting to start your succeeding period.

If the period cycle is irregular, monitoring it can advantage you share any complications with your doctor or nurse.

Period pain or bleeding that disrupts your routine job, monitoring these period signs will advantage you and your health provider to select treatments that cure you better. Severe pain and heavy bleeding that harden you to skip daily working is abnormal and require proper treatment.

How do have a track your menstrual cycle?

To keep track of your menstrual cycle, mark the day on which you start your periods on a calendar. A few months later, you will be able to understand either your cycles are regular or have different lengths for each month.

When does a girl typically have her first menstrual period?

In the United States, a girl’s average age to start her first menstruation is 12.6 years. This doesn’t mean that every girl starts menstruation at a similar stage.
A girl can have her first period any time between the ages of 8 and 15. The first period usually begins around two years after the breasts start to grow and pubic hair starts to develop.

A girl must visit her doctor if:

She has got her period earlier the age of 8.

Has not had her first period within 15 years.

Has not begun her first period in 3 years after breast development.

How long do you commonly get menses?

As usual, women have menstruation for almost 40 years of their age. Maximum women get regular periods up to perimenopause, the phase when women’s body starts the transition to menopause. Perimenopause can remain for few years. For the duration of this transition to menopause, the menses cycle may become irregular. Menopause takes place once your period stops continuously for more than a year. Mostly, Menopause starts in the inside of the age 45 to 55.

Periods may stop due to pregnancy, breastfeeding, or birth control methods. But if periods stopped for more than three months without being pregnant, breastfeeding, or birth control, talk to your gynecologist to figure out the reason.