IT’S TIME FOR the truth. The truth about period pain…
The pain comes from something being PUSHED OUT OF THE WOMB
Every month the lining of a woman’s womb builds up and then, unless the woman is pregnant, is shed again during her period.
The muscles of the womb contract (as when a woman is in labour, but less severe, although try telling that to a woman in bad period pain) to help the lining of the womb to detach and flow out. The contractions cause the pain.
“Hormone-like substances” are to blame
The Mayo Clinic says:
Hormone-like substances (prostaglandins) involved in pain and inflammation trigger the uterine muscle contractions. Higher levels of prostaglandins are associated with more-severe menstrual cramps.
Severe contractions may constrict the blood vessels feeding the uterus. The resulting pain can be compared to the chest pain that occurs when blocked blood vessels starve portions of the heart of food and oxygen.
“Blocked blood vessels starve portions of the heart of food and oxygen” = an accurate synonym for period pain.
The medical name for period cramps is dysmenorrhea
dysMENorrhea
Seems unnecessary.
Around ninety per cent of women say they’ve experienced it
All hail the other ten per cent!
One study found that period pain was reported in ninety per cent of women of reproductive age in the mid nineties. Another put that number at 97 per cent. An Australian study reported 71 per cent of women suffered from it. The lucky galahs.
Fifty-one per cent of women in a Canadian study said that their “activities had been limited” as a result of period pain.
You can pass out from the pain
Or at least feel like you’re going to.
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And buying the required painkillers can be an added frustration
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But even mentioning period pain can make some people uncomfortable
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You can vomit
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Sometimes the cramps are not just coming from the uterus
Hormonal changes during a woman’s period can also lead to diarrhea and other bowel issues… and the associated cramps.
Period pain can attack in later life
Period pain is often at its worst when a girl is in her teens or early twenties. In fact, many girls report missing school days because of period-related pain or vomiting.
However a 2010 study identified that secondary dysmenorrhea can present years after a girl’s first period as a result of disorders like endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts etc.
We’re sure it’s not worse than labour, but it sure feels like that sometimes
