Why do ladies menstruate? Why can't males menstruate?

Women menstrate because they have to prepare an egg in order to get fertilized. Men can not menstruate because they do not produce eggs. Menstruation begins around 15 and ends around a stage in the female life cycle called menopause. Menopause occurse anywhere between 45 to 55. This is the stage in which a woman stops ovulating and menstruating and can no longer get pregnant.

What is menstruation?

Menstruation is a woman's monthly bleeding, also called a period. When you menstruate, your body is shedding the lining of the uterus (womb). Menstrual blood flows from the uterus through the small opening in the cervix, and passes out of the body through the vagina. Most menstrual periods last from three to five days.

What is the menstrual cycle?

Menstruation is part of the menstrual cycle, which prepares your body for pregnancy each month. A cycle is counted from the first day of one period to the first day of the next period. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long. Cycles can range anywhere from 21 to 35 days in adults and from 21 to 45 days in young teens.

Body chemicals called hormones rise and fall during the month to make the menstrual cycle happen.

What happens during the menstrual cycle?

In the first half of the cycle, levels of estrogen (the “female hormone”) start to rise and make the lining of the uterus (womb) grow and thicken. At the same time, an egg (ovum) in one of the ovaries starts to mature. At about day 14 of a typical 28-day cycle, the egg leaves the ovary. This is called ovulation.

After the egg has left the ovary it travels through the fallopian tube to the uterus. Hormone levels rise and help prepare the uterine lining for pregnancy. A woman is most likely to get pregnant during the three days before ovulation or on the day of ovulation. Keep in mind, women with cycles that are shorter or longer than average may ovulate earlier or later than day 14.

If the egg is fertilized by a man’s sperm cell and attaches to the uterine wall, the woman becomes pregnant. If the egg is not fertilized, it will break apart. If pregnancy does not occur, hormone levels drop, and the thickened lining of the uterus is shed during the menstrual period.

In the picture below, the egg has left the ovary and is on its way through the fallopian tube to the uterus.

What is a typical menstrual period like?

During your period, the thickened uterine lining and extra blood are shed through the vaginal canal. Your period may not be the same every month and it may not be the same as other women's periods. Periods can be light, moderate, or heavy, and the length of the period also varies. While most periods last from three to five days, anywhere from two to seven days is normal. For the first few years after menstruation begins, longer cycles are common. A woman's cycle tends to shorten and become more regular with age. Most of the time, periods will be in the range of 21 to 45 days apart.