Menstrual Cycle: Know how your Hormones work for you!
If you’re reading this in the year 2021, you must be very well aware of the concept behind menstruation already. To sum it up in one sentence; Every month the female sex hormones prepare the body to support a pregnancy, and without fertilization, there is a menstruation cycle or a period.
The menstrual cycle, like every other thing in the human body, is a result of hormones. In this particular case, A menstrual cycle is the result of a hormonal dance between the pituitary gland in the brain and the ovaries.
During the menstrual cycle, a lot of hormones fluctuate in your body. Let's take a look at how hormones fluctuate during the menstrual cycle and its phases.
Estrogen (the principal female hormone) and progesterone (the secondary female hormone) levels are low on the first day of the menstrual cycle.
Low estrogen and progesterone levels cause the pituitary gland to secrete the hormone FSH. FSH kicks off the maturation of a follicle, which is essentially a container for the egg.
To prepare the uterus for pregnancy, the follicle generates more estrogen. Increased estrogen levels prompt a fast spike in Luteinizing Hormone (LH) from the pituitary gland at ovulation, which causes the egg to be released from the follicle.