Not everyone is blessed with cycles that function like clockwork though (I’m not one of them – my cycles have been unpredictable ever since I first started my periods). If you are not sure where you are in your cycle, and especially if you do not know whether you ovulated at all, which is not uncommon for those with irregular periods, it can be that much harder to determine if your spotting is an implantation bleeding or simply the start of your period.

In such case, observing the the quantity and appearance of the blood you are passing is the best way to learn more about its cause. As every woman is aware of, a menstrual period normally starts suddenly and normally involves lots of heavy bleeding at the start, only to subside in the days to come.

An implantation bleeding is not the same, and it’s important to stress that implantation spotting often literally does not consists of more than a few drops of blood. If you have go to the rest room and see something pink, brown or black in your underwear and think, “Huh? What’s that!?” – that is probably your implantation bleeding right there.

Would you like to share details of what your implantation bleeding looked like? How did you know it was implantation and not your period? And how soon after the implantation bleeding did you get a positive pregnancy test?

Not every newly pregnant woman has an implantation bleeding. In fact, only roughly a third of all of those who conceived will ever have one. Fertilized eggs make their way down from the fallopian tubes to the uterus, where they will try to implant into the lining of the uterus. Because this lining contains rather a lot of fleshy and bloody tissue, implantation is sometimes marked by a bit of bleeding.

The most notable difference between an implantation bleeding and your period is that it normally occurs before your period is due. Most sources will tell you that it will happened any time from seven to ten days after your ovulation, but it has happened to me even sooner than that. Whatever the case, implantation bleeding will strike before you expect your period.

Menstrual flow usually starts off with a few drops of blood, and then quickly progresses to larger amounts. The spotting that you notice with implantation bleeding is different in that it will stop at a few drops, and never progress. If you notice heavy blood flow before your period is due, and especially if you have other symptoms like pain and cramping, it is wise to get in touch with your healthcare provider. These symptoms could be connected to an early miscarriage or even a chronic health condition, like endometriosis.

When a fertilized egg implants itself into the lining of your womb, the tissue that is released needs a few days to travel down and come out. By the time you notice the spotting, it is likely to be dark red or brown in color, because it is already old blood.

Some women have slight cramping along with their implantation bleeding, and those who are charting to conceive might notice another shift in their basal body temperature. For most, light spotting is the only symptom though.

Of course, most people find practicing sex during menstruation unclean and unhygienic… and then again, there is almost half of population who do practice sex during menstruation because they believe it is the safest way to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Sex during menstruation is not 100% safe practice for those who want to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Surprised?

It is possible to avoid unwanted pregnancy if a woman and a man follow the menstruation cycle calendar, but there’s no other alternative to using contraceptives such as condoms in order to avoid pregnancy and other infections.

And there is another scary fact – the possibility of being infected (not only uterus infection) but hepatitis, HIV or with any other STD is high – not higher than it would be if woman wouldn’t have menstrual bleeding, but just as high.

On the other hand, some gynecologists claim that there is a higher chance of getting STDs indulging in sex during menstruation.  STD do not spread only through infected partners but the cervical tissue can become very sensitive during women’s menstruation, so even the smallest dirt particles in the air and the pollution around one can invite STDs.

Additionally, the chance of getting uterus infection is higher than normal. Here is a reason why: the mouth of uterus in often wide open during the period which is the main risk of being contaminated with different kinds of uterus infections. This is the main reason possibility if infection is higher than during the rest of the month, so it is better to avoid contact. Another reason is that female pelvic tissue is extremely soft during menstrual bleeding, so the physical intercourse could cause injury, which could result in infection.

What did women use for menstruation in 18th century for example? Have you ever thought of that?

Actually it is almost impossible or at least very hard to say for sure how women managed their periods not so long ago. Perhaps the reason men rule(d) the world is the fact very little is recorded about female issues such as menstruation.
Some women even used tampons, pads (“rags” and commercial ones), sponges, grass and other absorbent materials that were very probably popular for thousands of years. And very possible most American and European women used nothing: they were bleeding into their clothes or wore nothing!?

Sabine Hering and Gudrun Maierhof, in Die unpäßliche Frau (“The Indisposed Woman,” Pfaffenweiler, Germany, 1991) write that most women made their own pads. Besides, German women almost never used commercial menstrual pads in the late 19th century. Or in some cases, just like rural German women, urban women wore nothing at all – which means when they were menstruating, they were leaving a trail of blood behind them.

I would also like to bring out that we should keep in mind that prior 20th century due to life style women menstruated less frequently comparing today. To begin with, they started menstruating later – most often in late teens and they also stopped earlier, of course if they lived long enough to experience menopause.

Women married earlier, used less contraception and had more children, which reduced menstruation for longer periods of time. Additionally, they breastfeed their children for longer time which also contributed to the fact they weren’t menstruating every month.

I never thought the history of menstruation could be so… interesting? It is shocking to be remembered that what seems to be completely normal and necessity today, seemed a luxury and even non-existent century ago.

In this short article I am going to describe luteal phase defect or LPD, which is also one of the considerable causes of infertility.

Luteal phase defect can impact your fertility by inability to conceive or by having problems to maintain pregnancy or causing an early miscarriage.
It is considered that woman suffers from luteal phase defect if her luteal phase is shorter than 10 days or if she is unable to produce enough progesterone during the luteal phase even though luteal phase itself is long enough. Luteal phase defect is also defined in cases when endometrium does not respond appropriately to the progesterone stimulation therefore causing endometrial lining not being ready for implantation, which is the main reason women have problems conceiving.
What causes luteal phase defect?

It is difficult to point what exactly is the cause for luteal phase defect as there are so many factors that can affect woman’s menstrual cycle and therefore also production of progesterone and consequently luteal phase.
In some cases luteal phase defect is caused by thyroid problems or hyperprolactinemia, which is the caused by abnormally high levels of prolactin (the hormone that is responsible for milk production).

What are the symptoms of luteal phase defect?

Some women may experience light but frequent periods, but most women will not be able to notice any symptoms of luteal phase defect, and they will identify they have problems in a period of trying to conceive, or simply if making hormonal test. Since progesterone raises body temperature, and is the hormone that increases during luteal phase, women with luteal phase defect may notice they basal body does not rise during luteal phase.

First of all, you can’t determine yourself you have LPD, but if you have been faced with the defect, do not desperate, because there are luteal phase defect treatments available.

Luteal phase is that time of the month when woman’s egg develops and is released with the next menstrual cycle.
The luteal phase is named after the corpus luteum, which in Latin means yellow body. It symbolizes a structure that grows on the surface of the ovary where a mature egg was released at ovulation. This yellow body produces progesterone, and is preparing the body for pregnancy.

In average woman’s luteal phase is approximately 14 days long, and fertility specialists say that luteal phase that is between 10 and 16 days long is still considered normal for healthy for pregnancy. Length of luteal  phase varies significantly form woman to woman, however, for the same woman the length of luteal phase may be quite stable in every menstrual cycle.

Despite the facts that luteal phase with 10 days is still considered a healthy one, women with  luteal phase that is shorter than 12 days may find it harder to get pregnant, while women who have luteal phase shorter than 10 days, are considered to have luteal phase defect and definitely considerable problems with getting pregnant. Women with luteal phase defect hear the words no one ever want to hear: “you are infertile”.   This is because luteal phase defect interferes with the implantation of embryos.

Luteal phase defect is also considered if progesterone levels during the luteal phase are below normal, despite the fact the length of luteal phase is average.

If you have been wondering what exactly is happening during luteal phase, here is the explanation. When ovulation ends, the pituitary hormones FSH (Follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (Luteinizing hormone also known as lutropin) cause the remaining parts of the dominant follicle to transform into the corpus luteum, or said above ‘yellow body’ (yellow structure). Corpus luteum continues to grow after ovulation and also produces significant amounts of progesterone, and much smaller amount of estrogen. Progesterone is the hormone that plays a main role in making the endometrium receptive to implantation of the blastocyst. Progesterone is also the hormone that is supportive of the early pregnancy, this is the reason that women with luteal phases shorter than 10 days have trouble conceiving. Progesterone is also the hormone that is responsible for raising the woman’s basal body temperature.

If you want to determine the lengths of your luteal phase, the only way to do so is with the use of hormone-specific blood tests, otherwise you can only assume it is 14 days long, which is as said above the average length of luteal phase for most women.

Ovulation is a period in a month, when woman is most fertile. This is the period when woman’s egg matures and is ready for conception of a child, which also means this is also a period of a month when the chances of getting pregnant are the highest.

There are 2 basic information needed, if woman wants to calculate when approximately her ovulation will occur, and when comes that period when she is most fertile.

First of all woman has to know how long is her menstrual cycle. Statistically, average female has a cycle 28 days long, but basically anything from 20 to 40 days is still considered normal. Length of menstrual cycle is considered from the first day the menstruation started to the day before the menstruation in the next cycle starts. But if woman has irregular periods, this method is not the most appropriate.

Second important data is length of luteal phase, which is calculated in number of days. Luteal phase is also referred as ‘days past ovulation’ and is actually that part of the menstrual cycle that starts after the ovulation day and ends one day before your next menstruation starts. Lutheal phase actually represents that time of the month when new egg starts to develop. Statistically, average woman’s lutheal phase is 14 days long, but anything between 10 and 20 days is still considered normal for healthy egg maturation.

Calculating ovulation date is pretty easy, and all you have to do, is to apply following formula:

Number of days of menstrual cycle – Number of days of luteal phase = Ovulation day

For example, if you have a menstrual cycle that 30 days long (30 days from your first day of menstruation to the one day before the next cycle begins), and if you luteal phase is 14 days long (days past ovulation until the next cycle starts), then your most fertile day will be on the 16th day since the beginning of your menstrual cycle.

Third data that is useful is the exact date when your menstruation started – add 16 days (from the calculation above) and you get the date of your ovulation.

This method is not the most precise, but nevertheless works very well for women who have regular periods and of course for women that do not have any medical conditions that may affect their ability to conceive. For more accurate and precise technique I recommend ovulation kits that measure luteinizing-hormone.