Embracing the Magic: A Journey Through the Phases of the Menstrual Cycle for Empowered Mama’s by Lauren Curtain

For a lot of women, falling pregnant for the first (or subsequent) time can be a crash course in learning all about the menstrual cycle, hormones, ovulation, when the best time to have sex is, ovulation tests, temperature tracking, it can be a lot to navigate all at once!

Periods and the menstrual cycle are still relatively taboo in our modern culture. Young girls and teens are not always taught the ins and outs of the menstrual cycle, and these girls grow into women who missed out on vital information and education about their bodies, and what is actually going on with this aspect of their health and lives.

If you never got the education you deserve about your period and menstrual cycle, let’s start today.

The Menstrual Cycle

There are four distinct phases of the menstrual cycle:

1. Menstruation
2. Follicular
3. Ovulation
4. Luteal

Menstruation

Aka your period! The period signifies both the end of the previous cycle and the beginning of a new menstrual cycle. Hormone levels have dropped which triggers the shedding of the uterine lining.

Follicular Phase

There is some overlap with the period, as hormonally the follicular phase technically also begins with menstruation. However the energy and experience between the bleeding time of menstruation and the follicular phase are quite different.

During the follicular phase is when the brain starts to communicate with the ovaries via the hypothalamic - pituitary - ovarian (HPO) axis. The brain releases a hormone called follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and it does just that, it stimulates ovarian follicles to grow! Follicles are small fluid filled sacs within the ovaries, that each contain an immature egg cell (oocyte).

As FSH increases, a number of follicles are selected to start growing and maturing. As FSH continues to build, one of these follicles becomes the dominant follicle, and continues growing to maturity whilst the rest recede back.

This follicle produces one of the main forms of oestrogen, called estradiol. As the follicle grows and produces more oestrogen, the rising oestrogen levels begin to talk to the cervix. Small glands within the cervix are very sensitive and responsive to oestrogen, when levels increase, it signals to these glands to start producing cervical mucus.

Cervical mucus lets us know when ovulation is approaching. When trying to conceive, this means go time!

Cervical mucus may look clear, watery, stretchy (raw egg white consistency), thick, milky or lotiony. This is all normal! The amount of days cervical mucus is present varies from person to person, a couple of days to a week or more can be normal. You may see cervical mucus in your underwear, on toilet paper when using the bathroom or you may just experience a wet sensation at the vulva when going about your day. The presence and production of cervical mucus signifies your fertile window opening for that cycle.

Cervical mucus helps to protect sperm and keep them alive. It is due to the presence of cervical mucus that can allow sperm to remain alive inside the fallopian tubes for up to 6 days. This is why having sex prior to ovulation is the best time to conceive, the goal is to have lots of sperm ready and waiting in the fallopian tubes (sometimes for days!) ready for the egg to release.

Ovulation

Once a follicle has reached maturity, another hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH) is released from the brain which triggers the release of the egg from the follicle. This is your ovulation!

After ovulation, the egg will hang around within a fallopian tube for 12-24 hours, if it isn’t fertilised by sperm, it begins to break down and reabsorb.

Luteal Phase

The follicle that released an egg then undergoes a rapid transformation into a temporary endocrine gland called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum then pumps out progesterone. Ovulation is the only way to make high levels of progesterone.

If you are tracking your basal body temperature, this is when you will notice an increase in your temperatures! An increase in basal body temperature is in response to progesterone production and a way to confirm ovulation has taken place as well as the closing of the fertile window for that cycle.

Progesterone is an essential hormone that is not only vital for a healthy menstrual cycle and fertility, but other aspects of the body too. Progesterone has anti inflammatory effects, has a calming effect on the brain helping to lower stress levels and provide a sense of calm, progesterone is also important for the immune system, gut health, metabolism, thyroid health, supports sleep, bone density, muscle growth, healthy breast tissue and hair and skin.

It’s an important hormone! And ovulating is the only way to make it.

The luteal phase lasts ideally for 12-16 days. During the luteal phase is the most common time to experience symptoms with the menstrual cycle. This is when PMS symptoms and potentially period pain may begin, particularly in the few days before the period/end of the luteal phase.

These symptoms will express when there is an underlying imbalance in the body. Otherwise, the period should come and go with ease. Symptoms are always a sign to dive deeper as something will always be driving symptomatic menstrual cycles.

At the end of the luteal phase, if there is no pregnancy, oestrogen and progesterone levels will drop, triggering the shedding of the uterine lining, and the whole process begins again once more.

And that’s the menstrual cycle! Did you learn something new? A wonderfully beautiful and complex rhythm our bodies dance through again and again and the foundations for the creation of new life!

Lauren Curtain is a degree qualified, registered Chinese medicine practitioner, women's health focused acupuncturist and herbalist. She centres her practice around supporting women to navigate their hormones, menstrual cycles and fertility using a combination of education (all the womens health info you didn't get in high school), acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition and lifestyle support. Lauren believes every woman has the right to know how her body works, and what she can do to optimise not only reproductive health, but whole body health. Lauren has seen firsthand with her patients the dramatic improvements that can be made to reproductive health through simple, inexpensive, non-invasive techniques and firmly believes symptomatic periods and menstrual cycles can be a thing of the past and we can embody a thriving fertile life. Lauren works with people 1:1 worldwide, you can find more women's health tips on her instagram @laurencurtain and find her website here.