I've said it a million times and i'll say it again... Having a period DOES NOT MEAN you're ovulating!
You can still have a period bleed each month without ovulation occurring, this is known as an anovulatory cycle (a cycle with no ovulation), and the bleed is not a period, it's a withdrawal bleed.
Ovulation is a key indicator of our state of health which let’s us know whether our hormones are operating as they should be, or not. It also is the key to fertility, if we are not ovulating, our eggs are not releasing eggs and therefore without this happening in a cycle, we simply cannot get pregnant (that month, not in general).
Factors that can affect our hormones and our bodies ability to ovulate are: Stress, poor diet, over exercising, undereating, PCOS, Endometriosis, Thyroid issues, alcohol, caffeine, and many other factors. Stress is a key factor in our hormonal health.
An anovulatory cycle means there is no luteal phase, in which case the entire cycle is follicular (pre-ovulatory).
Fertility is not the only compromise. When we think of ovulating, we think fertility, but we also have to consider how anovulatory cycles affect our bones, heart health, mental health, sleep and general health and wellbeing, due to the hormones not operating optimally.
One of the most important examples I can give is:
Imagine you are having a regular bleed each month, no issues. You decide to start or add to your family. You try to get pregnant. A year goes by. Nothing. Two years, nothing. All that time, energy, stress, worry and heartbreak when the whole time your answer has been “you are not ovulating”. If you knew that in the beginning, you could’ve seeked earlier support or explored options.
Comments