It is important for every woman to know about the menstrual cycle and ovulation. Having knowledge about what happens in your body will help you achieve pregnancy or prevent it if desired. But try to understand what happens during the menstrual cycle and ovulation can be confusing and even overwhelming for some women. To answer frequently asked questions about the menstrual cycle and ovulation, here is some information you should know.

What is the Menstrual Cycle?

The menstrual cycle is the term used to refer to the cycle, usually monthly, in which the woman’s body releases an egg, ready for fertilization and creates the right environment in the uterus if the egg is fertilized by the sperm. If fertilization occurs the egg, the egg is implanted in the uterus and embryo development begins. But if the egg is not fertilized, the lining of the uterus is removed from the body in what is known as the menstrual period.

The menstrual cycle length is calculated from the first day of bleeding as day 1 until the last day before the next bleeding or period. Typically, a menstrual cycle can be 28 days. A variation of a few days or less, may be normal and slight variations may occur in a menstrual cycle to another.

Phases of the Menstrual Cycle

The menstrual cycle can be seen in several separate phases: a period or bleeding, follicular phase, ovulation and luteal phase.

1. Menstrual Period (Day 1 to Day 5): Most women bleed from 3 to 5 days. If at this stage the egg is not fertilized, the lining, or endometrium, the uterus is shed and the blood and tissues are expelled through the vagina. In a normal period lost about 35 to 50 milliliters of blood to broken blood vessels in the endometrium. Periods can be mild, moderate or strong in terms of how much blood comes from the vagina.

2. Follicular phase (day 6 to day 13): During this phase the follicles, which are little sacs in the ovary, grow and form an egg or ovum. 3 to 30 follicles grow and form an egg, only 1 more than the others and reaches to mature properly. The correct stage of maturity of the follicle occurs around day 10 to day 14, when ovulation occurs.

3. Ovulation (Day 14): Ovulation occurs around day 14 in a 28-day cycle, in response to an increase in luteinizing hormone (LH), when the egg is released from the ovary. The increase of this hormone stimulates the mature follicle to release the egg. When this happens, some women experience pain in one side of the abdomen. An egg is released from the ovary right or left to chance and takes about 5 days of travel through the fallopian tubes to the uterus.

4. Luteal phase (Day 15 to Day 28): After ovulation occurs and the egg is released, the follicle closes and forms what is called a corpus luteum. The corpus luteum secretes progesterone on endometrial glands and causes them to produce a discharge. This secretion is intended to feed the embryo for several days until the placenta is formed, that if the egg has been fertilized.

If pregnancy does not occur, the corpus luteum begins to decompose after 14 days. The production of progesterone decreases and estrogen levels decrease. With the lack of hormones occurs a spasm of blood vessels in the endometrium and cut the blood supply to it. Endometrial cells begin to die, tissue breaks down and damaged blood vessels cause bleeding. This is how the menstrual cycle begins again around day 28.