This is a subject area I am not well vexed in because I am not a gynaecologist, neither am I a medical expert or a trained nurse who deals in issues related to women’s health. I am only a simple and common journalist, but with curious and inquisitive mindset who always wants to probe into issues involving all spheres of national life. It can be politics, education, agriculture, sports, corruption, graft, family planning, mining, forestry, oil and gas extraction among other subject areas of the economy, that need to be highlighted for the benefit of the entire citizenry. Therefore, the medical experts, should pardon me if I am not able to delve deep into the subject area, I have chosen to write on.

RESEARCH INTO

UNFAMILIAR AREAS

Many of my readers and patrons will ask me this vital question; You have admitted that you are not fa­miliar with the subject area you have chosen to write on, why then, do you have to waste your time and energy to thread on that path? They, may be rightly so in asking me that question, but as a trained journalist, you have to muddy through the waters and research into unfamiliar areas and present the facts as they should in your write-ups.

My interest in this very topic, “Pains during ovulation and menstru­ation” was premised on the ground that I recently visited a male friend of mine, (the location of which I will not disclose in this article) whose wife was experiencing severe and excruciating pain in the abdomen at the time of my visit. Realising the condition of the woman and being so inquisitive, I decided to engage my friend (her husband) in a short con­versation about what was going on with regards to pain by the lady. It was in our conversation that he told me point blank that, it was a regular monthly feature for her during her ovulation and menstruation. I felt bad for both of them. I lost my wife so many years back and even when she was alive, I did not witness such a situation from her.

BAD AND PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

The bad experience I witnessed from my friend wife’s condition, com­pelled me to delve into that subject area by doing a bit of research work to establish the causes of pains during ovulation and menstruation among women and probably the antidote.

To the lay man or woman on the street, menstruation or what is com­monly referred to as period, is the bleeding that occurs after ovulation, if you don’t get pregnant. During menstruation, blood mucus and tissue flow out of the cervix and vagina each month. Ovulation, on the other hand is when the egg is released from your ovaries to be fertilized. In an average, 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation typ­ically occurs about 14 days before the start of next menstrual period.

LUTEAL PHASE OF MENSTRUATION

The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle starts when the eggs have been released during ovulation, so around 14 days before your period starts, the eggs leaves behind its shell which starts to produce progesterone to hold the lining of the uterus mature. In the medical world, menstruation happens when an egg that is released from your ovary is not fertilized, so the uterus sheds its lining. In view of this, you cannot technically menstruate with­out ovulating. However, you can still bleed and experience your period without ovulating.

Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next peri­od. You are most fertile at the time of ovulation which usually occurs 12 to 14 days before your next period starts. A girl can get pregnant during her peri­od. This might happen when a girl has bleeding that she thinks is a period, but it is bleeding from ovulation. A woman’s ovulation cycles can vary so it is statistically possible, she can become pregnant while on her period. While pregnancy is less likely in the earlier days of her period, the chances increase in the later days.

ONE-SIDED PAIN IN LOWER ABDOMEN

Some women get one-sided pain in their lower abdomen when they ovu­late. It happens about 14 days before your period, when an ovary releases an egg as part of the menstrual cycle. Once ovulation occurs, your eggs travel through your fallopian tube and it is in your tube that your eggs meet the sperm for fertilization. If conception occurs, the fertilized egg travels down your uterus.

During your menstrual period, your uterus contracts to help expel the lining. 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. Having painful period is a condition called dysmenorrhea. It is the most commonly reported menstrual disor­der.

More than half of menstruating women report pain. While painful periods themselves may not be linked to fertility issues, some of the causes behind the pain are associated with infertility. Some of these conditions can get worse over time which is why getting diagnosed and treated early is important.

CONDITIONS THAT

CAUSE PAIN

Conditions that cause abdominal pain during menstruation and also impact negatively on fertility include endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts and pelvic inflammatory diseases. It appears that not all women expe­rience pain during menstrual peri­ods, some may have theirs easy and smooth sailing while that of others can be unbearable.

Like I stated earlier, I am not an expert in that field and therefore, I cannot say much about the subject but at least my little research on the subject will be of interest to my readers and patrons, especially wom­en, more importantly the adolescent girls who may not understand the causes of this painful menstruation.

TEACHING OF HEALTH SCIENCE IN BASIC SCHOOLS

I will advocate the infusion of this particular subject area in the curricula from the Junior to Senior high schools, so that the female child is kept abreast of issues relating to the emergence of pregnancy from in­fancy to adulthood in order to avoid lifestyles that will inhibit their future and progression.

We need to intensify the teaching of health-related issues in our edu­cational institutions especially at the lower level as it is done in the case of health and applied science in our tertiary institutions because children in their formative years, can pick up easily on what they are taught as they progress to the higher level in their education.

We have to use textbooks or open discussions to create awareness about menarche. Social support includes, providing moral support to girls and spreading knowledge to other sectors of the population so that menstruating girls are not treated as outcasts. Giving the multiple challenges women and adolescent girls face, it is evident that promoting menstrual hygiene manage­ment is not only a sanitation matter. It is also an important step towards safe­guarding the dignity, bodily integrity and overall life opportunities of women and girls.

MENSTRUAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT

Menstrual health management is a critical component of reproductive health and an important entry point for adolescent sexual reproductive health programming. Factual information on mental health management and puberty is part of the school curriculum and the capacities of teachers are built to teach these issues with comfort.

There is the need for us as a country to intensify and highlight the impor­tance of good menstrual hygiene on May 28 each year, a day designated as Men­strual Hygiene Day which is celebrated across the world.

Contact email/WhatsApp of author:

ataani2000@yahoo.com 0277753946/0248933366

By Charles Neequaye