The idea of getting your first period may be a little scary. When will it happen? Where will it happen? Will I know what to do? These are very normal questions. Try not to freak out. Knowing about why it is happening is a good way to deal with it. Every woman has worried about being caught unprepared for her period. The best way to avoid this is to learn about your cycle.
Once your period begins and becomes regular, keep track of the cycle on a calendar. Mark down the day it begins, the amount of flow each day, how many days it lasts, and how long between each period. The entire menstrual cycle is about 28 days long. Some are longer. Some are shorter. Your period is the beginning of the menstrual cycle. Keep track for a few months. Pretty soon you will know about when your period will start. You will be prepared! You will also get a better idea of what kind of flow (heavy or light) to expect each day of your period.
What Happens Each Month
Every month after you have your first period (called menarche) a part of your brain called the pituitary gland releases a hormone that sends a message to the eggs inside the ovaries. The message is, "grow!" Every month, only one egg among all those stored in your ovaries develops fully. When that egg is fully developed, the brain releases another hormone that causes the egg to leave the ovary. When the egg leaves the ovary, that is called ovulation. Ovulation usually takes place about 13-15 days before your period begins. Count the first day of your period as the first day of your Cycle.
While all this is happening, the body is preparing for a possible pregnancy. The body produces a hormone called estrogen. Estrogen's job is to make the lining of the uterus ready for a pregnancy by becoming thicker with tissue and blood vessels, which help the fertilized egg develop. This stage happens before the egg has left the ovary.
Progesterone, another hormone, causes the lining of the uterus to become even thicker in preparation for a possible pregnancy.
Meanwhile, the egg travels down one of the fallopian tubes that lead to the uterus. While in the fallopian tubes, the egg could join up with a male sperm. Sperm greets the egg in the fallopian tube as a result of sexual intercourse.
The process in which a female egg joins with a male sperm is called fertilization. The fertilized egg will continue its journey down the fallopian tube to the uterus, where it will attach itself to the lining of the uterus, which is ready for its arrival. When this happens, a woman is pregnant. The fertilized egg will continue to develop into a baby. If the egg does NOT meet a male sperm by the time it reaches the uterus, it will dissolve. Because there is no pregnancy - no fertilized egg to nourish into a baby - the excess lining of the uterus (extra blood and tissue), called the endometrium, comes off. It leaves the body through the opening of the vagina. That is your period.
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