• Question: What causes a period?

    Asked by anon-193414 to Carl, Emma, Heidi, iainstaniland, Jamal, Morwenna on 11 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Emma Crawford

      Emma Crawford answered on 11 Nov 2018:

      Natural body chemicals, or hormones, cause your ovaries to release one egg about once a month. Most months, the egg and the lining of your uterus come out of your vagina as your period. This is part of your menstrual cycle. This cycle is what makes it possible for a woman to have a baby. During sexual intercourse, the egg can get fertilized by a male’s sperm and then attach to the lining of the uterus and grow into a baby.
      See more here: https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/puberty/Documents/fpa-periods-PDF.pdf

    • Photo: Heidi Gardner

      Heidi Gardner answered on 12 Nov 2018:

      Exactly as Emma said. If the egg that’s released isn’t fertilised, then levels of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone drop, so that the lining of the uterus (called the endometrium) starts to break down. The bleeding is caused by the breaking of small blood vessels within the womb as the lining detaches itself.

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