#Man Only: 5 Things You Must Know About Your Woman Menstrual Period

Chances are you’ve learnt one or two things during biology class in secondary school about the physiology of a woman’s body. Things like women get to bleed every month and that when this happens, she’s probably not pregnant.
However, even though this information is true, it is not as simple as it appears to be.

As a man you will never have to go through menstruation but it pays to know what actually goes on down there.

Follow this guide and see what we mean.

It’s not just blood

A lot of men probably don’t know that there’s more to just blood in what women lose during their menstrual period. The truth is during a woman’s menstrual cycle, the linings of her endometrium get shed off in preparation for fertilisation of the eggs. If fertilisation does not occur, the body has no need for the extra endometrial tissue and as such, it gets released during her period which usually lasts for between 2 to 7 days.

Her period could make her hornier or kill her mood

When a woman commences her period, there’s an increase in the levels of oestrogen and progesterone which have a direct effect on certain symptoms like irritability, breast tenderness and mood swings. As a result, women may feel an improvement in their moods. Cramps however make sex lose its appeal given the social stigma associated with having sex during a woman’s menstrual period coupled with the self consciousness or disgust she may have about it.

Some women however experience increased arousal during this period as their pelvic organs become more sensitive due to increased blood flow to them.

She can get pregnant while she’s menstruating

You’ve probably have heard that it’s safe for you to have sex with her while she’s on her period but this is not entirely true. Not all women have regular menstrual cycles and as such, one with a short menstrual cycle may ovulate shortly after she stops bleeding which may result in a pregnancy if you have sex with her on the last day of her period.

More so, if she has an irregular cycle, there’s a chance that you will confuse the light spotting that occurs during ovulation with the beginning of her menstrual cycle. Doing so may cause you to have unprotected sex with her which may result in pregnancy. As such, if you don’t want a child yet, use some form of protection every time you have sex irrespective of if she’s on her period or not.

Menstrual cramps are terrible

A study conducted in Italy found that about 80 percent of young women reported menstrual cramps with their periods. Cramps are caused during menstrual period because of an increase in the release of prostaglandins which helps in the contraction and release of uterus linings. This also causes cramps which come up as a form of dull and constant ache radiating from her lower abdomen to her thighs and back.

Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)

About 20 percent of women reported having Premenstrual syndrome a week prior to their menstrual period which may make them feel touchy and crappy. The exact cause of PMS is unknown but it has been linked to alternating levels of oestrogen and progesterone hormones.

Some of the symptoms associated with PMS include mood swings, cramps, aches, food cravings and fatigue.