What Do Estrogen and Progesterone Do in Menstrual cycle?
Actually, your menstrual cycle is the series of changes your reproductive system goes through to prepare for a possible conception of pregnancy. The length of the cycle can vary from woman to woman (about 21 to 35 days). In each cycle, your uterus grows a new. Both your estrogen and progesterone can do & play a key role in each of your menstrual period.
Normal menstrual bleeding is the process of elimination of endometrium (the thickened uterus lining). This can be a sign that there is no any sperm that fertilize the egg released during ovulation.
Typically, the fluids of menstruation contain endometrial cells (these cells comes from the uterus lining), blood, and some mucus. On average, the length of this bleeding is about 3 day to 7 days.
During menstrual flow, it’s important for women to use appropriate tampons or sanitary pads to help absorb the bleeding. And these tampons /pads should be replaced regularly or at least every 4 hours.
The following are 3 major phases of your period [1].
As mentioned before, estrogen is one of the most crucial hormones in regulating the cycle of your menstruation. Estrogen plays a key role in the first half phase of your menstrual cycle.
In general, there are two main functions that your body needs to prepare in this first half phase. These include [2]:
- To prepare maturation of an egg that will be released during ovulation.
- And to thicken the lining of uterus. This is purposed for the place of implantation of fertilized egg.
Estrogen is not the single hormone that plays a key role in this first half cycle. It works with another hormone called follicle-stimulating hormone or FSH.
Follicle-stimulating hormone can trigger the ovary to mature one egg for ovulation. In line with the process of maturing an egg, FSH triggers the cells of follicles to produce and secrete estrogen.
And then estrogen will trigger the uterus lining to thicken, preparing for the possible conception for pregnancy.
When there is an egg within a follicle has fully matured, the female body will release hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH) to cause this egg to get released from the ovary. This fully-ripened egg then will move to the fallopian tube, waiting to be fertilized by sperm.
After ovulation, you then go into the second half phase of your period. In this phase, there are two major possibilities:
- You get a fertilized egg, if you do intercourse (particularly if you do it without protection or birth control). Then this egg attaches /implants to the endometrium (the thickened uterus lining), and your pregnancy begins.
- Or there is no any sperm that fertilize the egg, and you do not get pregnancy. And then your endometrium starts to disappear which then eventually break down in the days of your menstrual bleeding.
Generally, the main function of this second half phase is to support a pregnancy, and this can be a starting point why your body produces progesterone.