In every woman’s life, pregnancy comes with a great joy and also brings lots of misconceptions, confusions, conflicting theories and what not all! To relieve yourself from all this, you must read different books on pregnancy, refer informative websites on the related topics and feel free to ask questions. The topic of menstruation after pregnancy can also create many questions in your mind. Many of you are eager to know when you would be getting your first period after pregnancy, when you would be able to conceive again, and many more of such questions. This article should help you in guiding you about menstruation after pregnancy.
How Does Menstrual Cycle Works?
First, let us understand the way your menstrual cycle works each month. Menstruation is the term given to the periodic discharge of blood, tissue, fluid, and mucus from the reproductive organs of females. The flow usually lasts from 3-6 days each month and is caused by a sudden reduction in the hormones, estrogen, and progesterone. These hormones govern the menstruation process. Also, remember that these hormones are usually only present in small amounts, but the relationship between the levels of the hormones is critical. When the balance between the two is upset, some menstrual disturbances can occur.
In case of menstruation after pregnancy, it is common to get a delayed period after pregnancy. It is quite different in case of every woman. Some women may get their periods right away, while for others, it may take more time. Roughly, you should wait during breastfeeding and six months after that. Of those women who do not breastfeed, about 75 – 80% of them resume menstrual cycle after pregnancy by ten weeks. Breastfeeding can delay menstruation and ovulation for around 20 weeks or more however, cases may vary. Every woman is unique with her hormone levels, so it is difficult to say when period after pregnancy will resume.
You must also keep in mind that the first period after pregnancy is going to be heavy and might even be more painful. Do not worry, things will improve later. Resumption of menstruation after pregnancy is also a sign that your body is getting back to normal and it also means that you can conceive. So protect yourself for unwanted pregnancies. One important fact to remember that, ovulation, and menstruation does not exclusively happen together – you may have your period without ovulation or you may ovulate and then get your first period. The chance that you will ovulate in the first six weeks after childbirth is quite low. When a baby breastfeeds, the sucking sends signals to the pituitary to release prolactin. If you breastfeed frequently enough, so that there are high levels of prolactin, ovulation can be suppressed. Exactly when you start ovulating is hard to estimate. For some women, they may not ovulate until they stop breastfeeding completely.
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One of the most commonly suggested causes of hair loss in both men and women is a genetic defect. The fact it may be inherited means it is not your fault when your hair thins and falls out and, perhaps more importantly, the condition is not necessarily something that can be cured. Of course, there is some evidence that hair loss does run in families, but there is more evidence that our lifestyles and medical decisions can be even more important factors in deciding who loses hair and how quickly. We will ignore the cultural effect of changing hairstyles where too much traction in pulling the hair back into a ponytail or comparable style may accelerate hair loss, the effect of a general anesthetic for surgery (curiously, many who undergo gastric bypass surgery often lose the most hair), increased levels of anxiety and stress, and both chemo- and radiotherapy for cancer. The most consistent cause surrounds the level of different hormones in the body.
In women, for example, the level of estrogen drops during and after pregnancy, and during the menopause. This has been directly linked to both the thinning of hair and its loss from the scalp. Some women also lose hair as a reaction to particular oral contraceptives. For obvious reasons, the level of hormones naturally occurring in the male body tends to be more stable. But, in both genders, thyroid problems can affect the production of hormones and produce early baldness in men. Similarly, for a number of reasons, the levels of the hormones may be affected artificially. The most consistent causes stem from the use of steroids which are commonly used for a variety of strictly medical, e.g. to control asthma, and other purposes, e.g. as supplements to promote growth and for strength while weight training. As an adverse side effect, many weight loss products affect the thyroid and hair suffers. Finally, it is not just athletes who discover some diet and other supplements affect the level of testosterone in their bodies. Many who take “natural” dietary and nutritional supplements find out the hard way that some “natural” chemicals affect hair growth and retention.
This should give you pause for thought. Because there are many possible causes of hair loss, you should not guess what is affecting you and self-medicate. The research evidence shows the majority of people are completely unaware that their own lifestyles or the drugs prescribed to them by physicians may be responsible. Always get a formal diagnosis from your regular healthcare professional. If he or she confirms your hair loss is an adverse side effect of drugs or supplements you are using, the remedies will be clear. But, if male pattern baldness is confirmed, propecia is the tried and tested response (albeit not for Olympic athletes like Zach Lund who were banned from competition if they took this drug). Because this drug was developed some time ago, you will now find both the branded and generic propecia (also called finasteride) freely available from most of the online pharmacies. This will save you some serious money while enabling you to both slow hair loss and often encourage some regrowth. However, two small facts should be borne in mind. Propecia works best when it is taken early in the cycle of hair loss. Secondly, hair loss restarts once you stop taking the drug.
The causes of acid reflux (GERD) are rather simple should they not lead to complications. GERD without complications causes heartburn, nausea, and regurgitation. However, the complications are rather severe, ranging from an ulcerated esophagus, symptoms of coughing and asthma to Barrett’s esophagus which left untreated can lead to esophageal cancer and eventually death. So, it is best to seek treatment for the symptoms of Acid Reflux disease (GERD) before complications have set in.
What is Acid Reflux Disease?
Acid reflux disease is frequent (and sometimes not so frequent) regurgitation (liquid or food being forced in reverse direction in the digestive system) of digestive juices into the esophagus. These juices contain the digestive juices, one of which is a very strong acid (hydrochloric acid, HCL) which burns the lower esophagus and causes much pain and sometimes regurgitation of small amounts of liquid into the mouth. Acid reflux also causes heartburn and nausea.
Should these symptoms persist without monitoring and treatment the disease can lead to precancerous skin cells growing in the esophagus, this is called Barrett’s esophagus and can lead to cancer of the esophagus.
What causes acid reflux disease?
There are several causes of GERD. Acid reflux disease can be caused by any one of several disorders of the upper digestive tract. It is also a possible disturbance pregnancy because both hormones and the growing fetus are pushing on the digestive tract and can cause relaxation or opening of the lower esophageal sphincter which can cause a reflux of digestive juices into the esophagus and thus acid reflux disease. Hiatal hernia, which is a hernia or distention of the walls of the lower esophagus weakens the lower esophagus and thus sometimes causes GERD. The reason it only causes this in some cases is not known. There are several others such as congenital weakness or other abnormalities in the lower esophagus.
Signs and symptoms of acid reflux disease
The chief signs and symptoms are heartburn, a pain in the lower esophagus caused by the acid having prolonged contact with the unprotected lining of the lower esophagus. Nausea and regurgitation are the common symptoms which are caused by some of the digestive juices being forced up into the mouth.
Burning feeling in chest or heartburn after taking your food, burning sensation in throat, becoming croaky and even loosing voice, lingering bitter acidic taste in mouth, continuous coughing, finding it difficult to swallow are other few common symptoms.
The larger problem with GERD is with the possible complications that can occur with prolonged damage of the lower esophagus. Barrett’s cells have been discussed and are a serious complication that can lead to esophageal cancer. Other complications are an ulcerated esophagus, and coughing for unknown reasons, either because of the irritation in the region of the lungs and esophagus, or because an asthma attack has been triggered.
Treatment of acid reflux disease
The treatments for GERD (acid reflux disease) are certain medications, and a change of diet and other minor lifestyle changes that assist in decreasing the symptoms. Acidic foods are eliminated, fatty foods which can lower the LES (lower esophageal sphincter) and thus open it and cause acid reflux. Changes in sleeping patterns are also needed to prevent heartburn at night.