Period Health & Fertility
- Kwenza Onyenakala
- Jan 6
- 3 min read
"Your menstrual cycle and your periods are a reflection of your reproductive and fertility health" ( "What Your Period Says about Your Fertility"). This is a statement that I wish I had known as a woman from the beginning of my womanhood. It is also a statement that should be at the back of the mind of every woman of child bearing age, especially those who have not experienced motherhood yet.
Growing up, period health was never a part of my education. When I told my mum that I had noticed blood stains, she didn't have much to say except that I was grown up and should be "careful of boys". I was then left to tend for myself after being shown how to use the sanitary towel. School was the same. Growing up in a boarding school, it was the norm to notice stained sheets or a stained uniform as all the girls reached puberty and we knew what was happening, but I don't remember any formal education around period health. Later we were to learn about the normal menstrual cycle, but no one spoke about the bad signs of menstruation and what this would mean for our reproductive health.
This lack of information and none enlightenment was to follow me into adulthood when I suffered with symptoms that led to infertility and never knew what to look out for. There are some conditions that lead to infertility that present symptoms through menstrual cycles but without any knowledge women tend to miss this. Most women become aware of these issues when they are failing to conceive later in life.
Irregular periods or missed periods
At the start of puberty, irregular periods are expected as the body is adjusting reproductive hormones. This however should not be expected to continue for a long time. Irregular or missed periods have been linked to conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome which can be a cause of infertility. Irregular periods can also be a sign of premature ovarian failure/early menopause.
Painful periods
Some degree of pain is expected at the start or during the menstrual cycle. Persistent pain that is activity limiting and requires the individual to take strong painkillers at every cycle needs to be investigated. Painful periods are associated with endometriosis which is another condition that causes infertility.
Heavy bleeding
A lot of women who suffer heavy periods never know that this is the case as they don't know what is meant by 'heavy' in terms of menstrual bleeding. On average a woman should bleed an estimate of 20-90mls of blood throughout the expected 2-7 days of the period ("Overview Periods"). Some women can experience slightly more bleeding than this. Heavier bleeding which is accompanied by extreme lower abdominal pain and backache is associated with endometriosis and fibroids. Fibroids disproportionately affect women from an Afro-Caribbean background and have been known to affect chances of conception.
Period health is not a comfortable subject for most but it is one that is essential at the start of puberty so that women can be empowered to manage their reproductive health. Managing symptoms early and getting a diagnosis may alleviate a lot of heartache when women later struggle to conceive and end up having to go through the difficult path of fertility treatment to start a family.
Works Cited
Miller, Juliette. "What Your Period Says about Your Fertility." Fertilityfocus, 5 Sept. 2019, www.myfertilityfocus.com/what-your-period-says-about-your-fertility/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
"Overview Periods." National Health Service, 5 Jan. 2023, www.nhs.uk/conditions/periods/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
Further Reading
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