Healthy Menstruation

What if you could keep tabs on your hormonal health throughout your reproductive life? What if more awareness was placed on your menstrual cycle, so you knew when to visit your GP with concern, instead of having a hormonal health condition fly under the radar for years, only to have to deal with the issue later in life once you try for a baby.

Well, there has been a movement to include the menstrual cycle as a vital sign as it can give indications of physiological abnormalities. Just as elevated blood pressure can be a warning sign of an increased chance of a heart attack. So your menstrual cycle can be an indicator of your hormonal health.

What are vital signs?

They are measurements of your bodies normal functions that can be used to detect or manage medical conditions. For example, measuring vital signs can indicate if you are at an increased chance for heart attack, cardiovascular abnormalities, anxiety, respiratory disease, fever or hypothermia. (2020 The Johns Hopkins University).

The idea that the menstrual cycle could be a vital sign makes absolute sense, it is a normal bodily function that can be measured on a monthly basis.

Imagine your menstrual cycle as your monthly report card giving you an indication of your reproductive health and wellbeing.

Now that is health sovereignty!

As a woman whether you want to conceive in your lifetime or not having a healthy menstrual cycle is part of having a healthy functioning body. The menstrual cycle is associated with fertility and fertility is vitality and who doesn't want vitality!

The menstrual cycle is made up of four phases

1. Menses: The bleeding phase, is when your uterine lining sheds

2. Follicular: When dormant follicles develop to be released at ovulation </