How many days does menstruation last normally? Reasons for deviations

There is an old obstetric rule: “The sun should not rise twice over a woman in labor,” and 50 years ago it was actually believed that labor should not last longer than 24 hours.

Now these periods are significantly reduced. According to modern ideas, the time of birth should not exceed 18 hours. However, they usually last even less and take 11–12 hours for primiparous women, and 7–8 hours for multiparous women.

The total time of labor is counted from the beginning of regular contractions until the birth of the placenta.

Labor is considered rapid if it ends in 4–6 hours for primiparous women or 2–4 hours for multiparous women. If the birth ends even faster, it is called rapid. Labor exceeding 18 hours is considered protracted.

In general, the time of childbirth is divided into three periods: the first (dilation), the second (expulsion) and the third (successional). The longest period is the first, but in rare cases, the opening may occur unnoticed by the mother.

The second period usually lasts 45–60 minutes (15–30 for multiparous women). According to WHO recommendations, stimulation should be used when the second period lasts more than two hours (one hour for multiparous women).

What are the dangers of prolonged labor?

Prolonged contractions exhaust a woman, depleting her energy reserves and psyche. The strength to give birth on your own is becoming less and less.

In addition, if the water breaks at the very beginning, and the child cannot be born for a long time, there is a danger of infection. In this case, antibiotics are prescribed.

The entanglement of the umbilical cord also has a bad effect on the child, causing oxygen starvation. In this case, the birth needs to be completed faster.

What are the dangers of fast and rapid childbirth?

Injuries to the child and mother. Strong contractions of the uterus push the baby's head into the birth canal and can damage the cervical spine (prenatal cervical spine injury, PNCIT).

Although the bones of a newborn's skull are soft and mobile, very rapid childbirth can displace them, leading to the development of various abnormalities.

For the mother, a quick and rapid birth is dangerous due to ruptures of the cervix and perineum.

When to resort to stimulation during childbirth

During childbirth, a situation may arise when it needs to be accelerated in order to avoid complications. If the mother does not have enough strength, or the uterus contracts irregularly, she has to resort to drug stimulation. Much depends on the maternity hospital and the doctor leading the birth, as well as on the condition of the woman.

The introduction of stimulants makes contractions stronger and more painful, so the woman additionally has to be given painkillers.

In some cases, drug stimulation cannot be avoided, for example, if the water breaks and contractions do not begin.

How many days a woman’s menstruation lasts is influenced by many factors, including the physiological characteristics of the body and lifestyle. Significant deviations from the norm and instability of the menstrual cycle are symptoms of diseases of the reproductive system. Only a gynecological examination will help determine the cause of the disorders. You should not put off visiting a doctor in the hope that everything will get better on its own. An advanced disease is more difficult to treat, and its consequences can be serious.

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Normal and pathological menstruation in women of reproductive age

The normal duration of menstrual bleeding should be 3-7 days. The body is weakened these days due to blood loss. The woman quickly gets tired and feels weak. A headache occurs. All these ailments are normal, they do not last long and disappear with the end of menstruation. Normal menstruation is characterized by the release of blood with a total volume of 50 to 80 ml.

In a healthy woman, the cycle length ranges from 21 days to 35 days. Moreover, menstruation occurs at approximately constant intervals with a maximum deviation of 2-4 days.

The presence of pathology in the body can be assumed in cases where menstruation lasts 2 days and less or more than 7 days, the volume of discharge is less than 40 ml or more than 80-100 ml. If spotting brown discharge appears before and after menstruation, increasing the number of critical days, this is also a violation.

A normal cycle should not be shorter than 21 days or longer than 35 days. Its beginning is considered the first day of menstruation.

Factors influencing the duration of menstruation

How long your period lasts depends on the following factors:

1. Heredity. For some, menstruation lasts 10 days or even more in the absence of any pathologies. This duration is typical for women of this family.
2. The presence of inflammatory and infectious diseases of the reproductive organs, benign neoplasms (fibroids, polyps, cysts), malignant tumors of the uterus and ovaries. With these diseases, the structure of the mucous membranes of organs is disrupted, damage to blood vessels and tissues occurs, as a result of which menstruation becomes more abundant and lasts longer.
3. Ovarian dysfunction. The cause of this condition can be both diseases of the genital organs and frequent abortions, the use of an intrauterine device, and uncontrolled use of hormonal drugs. With ovarian dysfunction due to insufficient production of sex hormones, menstruation lasts 2 days or less.
4. Deviations in the functioning of the thyroid, pancreas, pituitary gland, adrenal glands - organs responsible for the state of hormonal levels in the body.

In addition, the number of critical days is sharply reduced with intense physical activity (sports, weight lifting). Nervous stress, psychological trauma, and depression cause heavy menstrual bleeding that lasts for 10-14 days.

Fasting and vitamin deficiency lead to hormonal shifts, a reduction in the duration of menstruation or their complete cessation. Smoking, alcohol abuse, drug use, and exposure to an unfavorable environment lead to the same result.

Video: How long does a normal period last?

How long do teenage girls menstruate?

At the age of 12-15, girls experience their first menstruation. During this period, hormonal changes begin in the body associated with the maturation of the ovaries. The first menstruation comes irregularly, with delays of several months. This happens within 1-2 years. The volume of menstruation can fluctuate significantly.

It is difficult to say how many days teenage girls should menstruate until their character is finally established. Their duration can vary significantly, but gradually it returns to normal and is usually 3-5 days. After this, the girl needs to start a special calendar to mark the start and end day of her period.

If any deviations appear (menstruation does not come, ends too quickly, or, conversely, lasts longer than last time), there is no need to panic. There can be many reasons: overwork, dieting, sports overload, teenage mental imbalance, change of environment. Such violations will disappear after their cause is eliminated.

But if the disturbances are persistent, or menstruation is too painful, then you should definitely consult a doctor. Such symptoms indicate the presence of diseases of the reproductive organs and other body systems.

Video: Menstruation in girls and adult women

Menstruation during pregnancy

Once pregnant, most women's periods disappear, but sometimes they come at their usual time, which may cause the woman to not realize that she is pregnant. If menstruation came only during the first 30 days of pregnancy, this is explained by the fact that fertilization occurred at the very end of the menstrual cycle, when the endometrium had already partially exfoliated. Bloody discharge is scanty.

In rare cases, simultaneous maturation of eggs in both ovaries occurs. One of them is fertilized, and the second is brought out. In this case, slight bleeding occurs, which may look like scanty periods that last for 1-2 days.

If during pregnancy during the first 3-4 months menstruation is scanty and short in duration, this may be the result of an incomplete cessation of hormone production in the ovaries, which is explained by the physiological characteristics of the body. But in any case, you should not calm down, since most often the appearance of bloody discharge during pregnancy portends a miscarriage or indicates endocrine disorders in the body.

Warning: If any bleeding occurs, a pregnant woman should immediately consult a doctor. You may need to be hospitalized for several days to maintain the pregnancy.

How long do you miss your period after childbirth?

The timing of the first menstruation after childbirth depends on the nature of its course and general health. If a woman is breastfeeding, she does not have periods during the entire period of lactation. If for some reason the child is transferred to artificial feeding immediately after birth, then the woman’s period begins after about 12 weeks.

In the absence of complications, most often the menstrual cycle becomes more stable. If earlier your periods were too heavy and long, then after childbirth the indicators are close to normal. Menstruation becomes painless and less intense. This is due to a change in the position of the uterus, improving the outflow of blood from it. How long your period lasts depends on the nature of the hormonal changes that have occurred. They usually last from 3 to 5 days.

How many days does menstruation last during menopause?

Menopause (complete cessation of menstruation) occurs in women at approximately 48-50 years of age. After 40 years, the production of sex hormones in the ovaries begins to gradually decline, and the supply of eggs is depleted. Ovulation does not occur in every cycle. All this is reflected in the nature of menstruation. They come irregularly, the duration changes with each cycle. After heavy bleeding that does not stop for 8 days, there may be a long pause (2 months or more), followed by scanty spotting brown periods that disappear after 2 days. Then they stop altogether.

Addition: If spotting was absent for 1 year and then reappeared, it is no longer menstruation. Bleeding of any duration and intensity during the postmenopausal period is a sign of hormonal imbalance, endocrine diseases, or the occurrence of tumors of the uterus or ovaries. It is necessary to urgently contact medical specialists (gynecologist, endocrinologist, oncologist) to identify the pathology.

Menstruation while using oral contraceptives

Birth control pills contain female sex hormones, estrogens and progesterone. Their action is aimed at suppressing ovulation by changing their natural ratio in the body. Within 1-3 months after starting to take the pills, the body adapts to the new hormonal levels. In this case, the nature of menstruation may change compared to usual. How many days menstruation lasts in this case and what its intensity depends on the chosen remedy. They can become abundant and long-lasting, or, on the contrary, they can be scanty and short-lived.

If after 3 months the nature of menstruation does not return to normal, you should consult a gynecologist. You may need to choose a different drug.

Video: Gynecologist about the consequences of using hormonal drugs

Despite the rapid progress of modern medicine, for the vast majority of women, the first birth remains a difficult ordeal. Most often, during the period of bearing her first child, the expectant mother is faced with a large number of concerns, fears and social prejudices. There is no need to panic, because a positive attitude is the main component of a successful birth. Only by pulling yourself together and getting rid of unnecessary fears will you be able to bear the birth of a child calmly and with dignity.

How does the first birth go?

The birth of your first child is both a great stress and a great joy for any woman. Often, having heard a lot of terrible stories from relatives and friends, expectant mothers refuse to have their first birth naturally, thereby only making things worse for themselves and their baby. Experienced doctors insist that the first birth of a baby should take place without medical intervention - this is the only way to understand that there is nothing terrible in the process itself, and to get rid of unnecessary fears forever.

The first time childbirth is quite difficult, since during it the woman has not yet sufficiently developed the birth canal. Gynecologists advise expectant mothers not to worry, because in most cases the birth of a child is successful and without surgical intervention.

The timing of the first birth may be prolonged due to factors such as:

• Malposition;
• The structure of female hips;
• Viral diseases of the mother and pathologies of the infant;
• Fruit size.

Often, even during the last examination, the doctor sees what complications will arise during childbirth, so he can promptly determine the strategy for the birth of the baby.

For women who are preparing to become mothers for the first time, psychologists recommend attending special courses for pregnant women. On them, future mothers learn to behave correctly during labor, choose the most comfortable positions during childbirth, and also receive psychological support from like-minded women. Having completed special courses, the expectant mother will know how the first birth goes, so she will be able to reduce her worries several times.

How long does the first birth last?

Several centuries ago, doctors attending childbirth believed that it should last no less than a day. Currently, the timing of the birth of a baby has been significantly reduced. Experienced gynecologists believe that the period of normal labor should not exceed 18 hours. Most often, the birth of a child occurs much faster and does not take more than 12 hours, but there are exceptions.

The time of childbirth begins to count from the moment a woman begins to feel the first contractions. Labor is considered rapid if it ends within 6 hours. If the mother was able to give birth to a child in an even shorter period, such a birth is called rapid. The timing of the first birth directly depends on the position of the fetus, the state of health of the mother and the structure of the female hips.

Stages of the first birth

Despite the number of children a pregnant woman already has, all births take place in three stages:

• The first stage is characterized by the onset of contractions and dilation of the cervix. Normally, contractions should be monotonous and uniform. It is worth noting that in some cases a lot of time passes between the first contractions. Gradually they become more frequent: depending on the degree of dilatation of the cervix, the woman in labor begins to feel stronger contractions, which are repeated approximately every 10 minutes. During the first period, the cervix should dilate by 10-13 cm. It is at this stage that the baby gradually takes the correct position and begins to slowly move along the mother’s birth canal. During the first stage, the woman must breathe correctly, which will help significantly ease the contractions of the first birth and improve the position of the baby;
• The second stage involves the expulsion of the fetus. If a woman is going through labor for the first time, this period should last no more than 3 hours. At this time, the expectant mother takes the position in which she will remain until the moment the child is born. During the second stage, the woman has the opportunity to help the fetus move along the birth canal with the help of independent pushing. First of all, the doctor sees the back of the baby’s head (if he was in the correct position), then the shoulders come out. After the baby's upper body comes out, the woman in labor may feel relief, as the torso and legs often come out without any problems. To ease the first labor contractions at this stage, the woman should follow the obstetrician's instructions exactly and maintain proper breathing;
• At the third stage, the birth of the placenta occurs. Some time after the birth of the baby, the uterus begins to contract again, and the placenta gradually peels off from its walls. With the help of contractions of the uterus, the blood vessels that previously ensured the functioning of the placenta are closed. After the final stage is completed, mother and newborn remain in the delivery room for several more hours.

To summarize, it should be said that each birth of a child is purely individual, so even the most experienced doctor will not be able to say exactly how long the first birth lasts, and how the expectant mother will cope with the birth of the baby. The birth of a child is the greatest happiness for parents, so do not fill your head with gloomy thoughts, even if you are going through it for the first time. Experienced doctors, support from loved ones and a positive attitude can make even the most difficult childbirth easier.

How long ovulation lasts is important for women planning a baby to know. This period is characterized by the rupture of the follicle and the release of a fully mature female cell, ready for fertilization.

Ovulation is the maturation and release of an egg. At this moment, the woman’s body is ready for conception. When having sexual intercourse with a man, there is every chance of fertilization.

In other words, these are the few days in the middle of the menstrual cycle when a woman of reproductive age has the opportunity to become pregnant.

When planning a child, it is important to know not only how to determine favorable days, but also when ovulation begins and how many days it lasts.

There is a standard: this is approximately two weeks before the start of menstruation. However, much depends on the duration of the cycle and its regularity. This method of determination is more suitable for women with a 28-day regular cycle. For those whose cycle exceeds 28 days and is 35 days, for example, the period before the release of the egg increases accordingly.

If you have an irregular cycle, other ways can help:

When the egg matures, a serious hormonal change occurs in the female body. As a result, the amount of hormones in the blood changes, as well as basal temperature (BT). Measuring it daily and charting it allows you to accurately determine the days suitable for conception.

When the female reproductive cell matures, there is first a decrease and then a sharp increase in temperature by several tenths of a degree. The periods before the egg is released are characterized by lower temperatures.

The highest accuracy in determining days favorable for conception is using a test and ultrasound procedure. However, they are more expensive in contrast to drawing up a BT schedule.

How long does ovulation last?

To successfully plan a pregnancy, you should know how long ovulation lasts in women. This period accounts for about 16-32 hours.

Indicate the numbers more precisely, how long ovulation lasts. Everything here is individual. And it is worth noting that 16-32 hours is the preparation period, and the rupture of the follicle and the release of the finished egg occurs in a matter of minutes.

In addition to using special detection methods, a woman can feel it based on characteristic signs if she listens carefully to her body.

the following:

• noticeable increase in sexual desire;
• pain in the lower abdomen (more on the left or right, depending on in which ovary the egg matures);
• transparent mucous discharge (streaks of blood may appear).

No less important is the question of how many hours the egg lives. Her life span and fertilization ability range from 12 to 48 hours. Then it is either fertilized in the presence of sperm, or comes out with menstrual blood. After mucus, cessation of vaginal discharge and other symptoms, we can talk about the cessation of ovulation.

The lifespan of male reproductive organs is up to 72 hours. Therefore, the favorable time for conception is considered to be 48 hours before and after the release of the female reproductive cell.

What does it depend on?

The presence of regular maturation of a female cell, once per menstrual cycle, indicates the reproductive health of the girl and her ability to become pregnant.

A variant of the norm is the absence of maturation of a female cell for one month a year or the maturation of two eggs in one menstrual cycle.

A number of factors influence how many days ovulation takes place in a 28-day cycle or with a longer cycle:

• hormonal balance in a woman’s body;
• taking hormonal contraception;
• antibacterial therapy;
• bad habits;
• way of life in general.

Changes in the process of maturation of the reproductive cell or its absence are possible after artificial termination of pregnancy, after childbirth, as well as upon the onset of premenopause.

If there is no ovulation for several cycles, you need to visit a doctor and undergo an examination. Non-ripening of the egg may indicate the presence of hormonal or gynecological problems.

Early and late maturation of the egg

Early ovulation is characterized by the release of a female cell, ready for fertilization, 7-9 days after menstruation.

Late occurs approximately 10 or 8 days before the start of menstruation.

In some cases, early or late maturation of the female reproductive cell is not a deviation from the norm. The reasons vary from person to person and may include the following:

• infectious diseases;
• chronic diseases;
• stressful situations;
• diets;
• hormonal disbalance;
• excessive physical activity or lack thereof.

The question about the duration and period of maturation of the reproductive cell, the possibility of conception, is often asked by young women in order to become pregnant. The maturation of the egg is considered an important indicator of the female body’s ability to reproduce. To achieve successful conception, a woman needs to determine the onset of ovulation and its duration.

Video about determining the day of ovulation

The duration of normal labor is determined by the individual characteristics of the body, and also differs between primiparous and multiparous women. According to the scientific literature, the duration of labor for first-time mothers should be at least 7 hours and no more than 18 hours. And for multiparous women, at least 3 hours and no longer than 8 hours. The duration of labor depends on factors such as the strength and effectiveness of uterine contractions, the speed of opening of the cervix and the fitness of the abdominal muscles. When talking about how many hours a normal birth lasts, we mean the time from the start of regular contractions to the birth of the placenta.

How long does labor last for a person on average?

The entire birth process is divided into three periods:

1. The period of opening of the cervix, or the first stage of labor. It begins with the establishment of regular uterine contractions and ends with the complete opening of the cervix. How long the first stage of labor will last depends on the efficiency of uterine contractions and on the structure of the cervix (a soft, well-extensible cervix opens quite easily and quickly). In primiparas, the duration of the first stage of labor is on average 6-8 hours, and in multiparas it is 5-6 hours.
2. Second stage of labor (pushing or expulsion period). It begins with the moment of complete discovery and ends with the birth of a child. How many hours the second stage of labor will last depends on the fitness of the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall and the strength of uterine contractions. In primiparous women, the duration of the second stage of labor is, on average, 40-60 minutes, and in multiparous women, 15-30 minutes.
3. Third stage of labor (successional). Accompanied by separation and release of the placenta. In a normal course, its duration is up to 30 minutes in both primiparous and multiparous women. If the placenta is not separated, or after its release a placental defect is diagnosed, then they resort to manual separation of the placenta and its parts. This significantly lengthens the third stage of labor.

Prolonged labor - causes, diagnosis, consequences and treatment

If the labor process continues for more than 18 hours, then they speak of prolonged labor or weak labor. The reason for this phenomenon may be an insufficient level of oxytocin in the blood of a woman in labor, weak muscles of the uterus and anterior abdominal wall. The consequence of weak labor may be exhaustion of the woman’s strength, deterioration of blood circulation in the placenta and fetal hypoxia. To treat weakness, a drug called oxytocin is used, which is placed in a vial of saline and injected into a vein by drip. When oxytocin is administered intravenously, contractions become more painful and the woman may require pain relief. If there is no effect from the stimulating therapy, a caesarean section is performed.

Rapid labor – its cause, possible complications

Labor is considered rapid if it lasts less than 6 hours for primiparous women and less than 4 hours for multiparous women. The reason for this trend childbirth, there may be an increased level of hormones that help accelerate labor. The consequences can be injuries to the child (skull, cervical spine, limbs), and for the mother - ruptures of soft tissues.

Thus, we looked at how long labor itself lasts and what its duration depends on. In order for the birth to proceed smoothly and successfully, a woman can attend classes at the antenatal clinic, where she will be told how to behave correctly during childbirth. Also, a positive attitude and support from relatives are important, one of whom may be present in the delivery room.