The second half of the menstrual cycle is the time from ovulation to the onset of the next menstruation. In medicine, this period is called the luteal phase or the phase of the corpus luteum. Usually it has a fairly stable duration, fluctuations and shifts are rare.
Features of the luteal phase
The female cycle obeys a certain pattern, in which one stage replaces another. The first half of the cycle calls follicular, since at this time a follicle with an egg inside matures, then ovulation occurs, which divides the cycle into two phases.
After the release of the egg, a corpus luteum, a temporary gland, forms on the surface of the gonad. It is located where the follicle was, and consists of the residual part of its membranes.
The corpus luteum produces progesterone, and under the influence of this particular female sex hormone, the second half of the cycle occurs.
Progesterone carefully creates optimal conditions in the female body for the development of a possible pregnancy. Even if there was no conception, the corpus luteum still functions properly if ovulation took place. When conception has taken place, after about a week, the embryo is implanted in the uterine cavity, the chorionic villi begin to produce the hCG hormone, under the influence of which the corpus luteum lives and flourishes until about the end of the first trimester. Progesterone remains high, and menstruation does not occur.
If a woman is not pregnant, then the gland is actively working within 10-12 days, and then regresses without hCG support, decreases, stops producing progesterone. The level of estrogen rises again and the endometrium, diligently increased by the progesterone effect, begins to be rejected as biological unnecessary. This is menstruation.
How long does it take?
If the first half of the cycle can be longer or shorter in women, since it is very dependent on the concentration and ratio of numerous hormones important for ovulation (FSH, LH, estradiol, testosterone, prolactin), then the second half of the cycle after ovulation is more stable. It usually lasts 14 days. An error of 1 day in one direction or another is considered acceptable.
It is on this property that the calendar calculation of ovulation is based - subtract 14 from the cycle time of a particular woman - the most constant value in the female cycle.
This is the answer to the question of how many days menstruation comes after ovulation - after 14 days. If there is a delay in menstruation, there is always one of the reasons:
- ovulation occurred later (that is, the first phase was lengthened);
- pregnancy has come (progesterone does not decrease, and therefore there is no menstruation);
- There was no ovulation, there was a hormonal failure.
Important! The duration of the luteal phase is approximately the same, regardless of age, health status and cycle length in different women. Therefore, for women with an irregular cycle, its duration remains the same as for women with regular menstruation.
Periods immediately after ovulation are not possible... If bleeding appears earlier than 14 days after the release of the egg from the follicle, they talk about the onset intermenstrual bleeding, which can be a symptom of a wide variety of abnormalities in the state of women's health - from gynecological inflammatory ailments and genital infections to surgical pathologies, neoplasms and tumors.
Possible violations and diagnostics
To establish whether the luteal phase is normal is very important for women who cannot conceive a baby, suffer from miscarriage, and also find it difficult to determine the duration of their cycle due to its irregularity. In this case, two types of studies are shown.
- Ultrasound with determination of the fact of ovulation... After menstruation, until the middle of the cycle, the maturation of the follicle, its size, is noted, after 3-4 days it is possible to determine the presence of a corpus luteum in the ovary, which will be the main and indisputable confirmation of the accomplished ovulation.
- Blood tests for hormones.
The main indicator of the sufficiency and usefulness of the second phase of the cycle is the level of progesterone in the woman's blood. If at the beginning of the cycle, its value is considered normal in the range of 0.97-4.7 nmol / l, then after ovulation the level of this hormone gradually increases, reaching high values about a week after the day of ovulation. It is at this time that you need to donate blood. With a full second phase, the analysis result will show an increase in progesterone to 16.2-85 nmol / L.
After this period, a gradual decrease in the level of the hormone in the blood begins, and a couple of days before the expected menstruation, the progesterone number again reaches its minimum values. This allows you to judge whether your period will be timely.
If, 1-2 days before the end of the cycle, the level of the hormone remains high, it will be normal only in one case - the woman became pregnant in this cycle. In other cases, high progesterone will indicate pathology, endocrine disorders, and the presence of tumors. Additional examination will establish more details.
Too low progesterone a week before your period can cause bleeding, dizziness, headache, and alopecia (hair loss). Usually, with such a blood test result, the ultrasound doctor does not detect the corpus luteum, there is no ovulation.
In the first case, it is important to identify the cause of the hormonal disruption, the underlying disease and eliminate it. In the second, drugs containing artificial progesterone can be prescribed to maintain the second phase of the cycle. This helps to normalize the cycle and ensure the safety of pregnancy, if it occurs, as early as possible.
A woman can independently establish the consistency of her luteal phase according to the basal temperature schedule. Normally, against the background of the action of progesterone, BT values remain elevated almost until menstruation, the drop in basal temperature occurs only 1-2 days before menstruation, when the corpus luteum ceases to function. If the woman is pregnant, the temperature remains high, as does the progesterone level.
Temperature jumps on the graph in the second phase, temperature drops are a sign of progesterone deficiency. It is important to see a doctor and receive appropriate treatment.
The causes of hormonal imbalance, which can lead to delays in menstruation or early menstruation, may lie in the disruption of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, in the dysfunction of the thyroid gland, adrenal cortex, in the presence of tumors that are independently capable of producing hormones, in diseases of the ovaries and uterus. The duration of the second half of the cycle can be influenced by abortion and diagnostic curettage, refusal to take oral contraceptives.
Menstruation may shift if a woman took in the middle of the cycle means of emergency postcoital contraception - "Postinor" and its analogues. If ovulation could not take place as it should, and there was early luteinization of the follicle or its persistence (absence of rupture of the follicular membrane), then the second phase can stretch in time, there is a delay in menstruation sometimes for several weeks.
Useful Tips
A woman for whom it is important to maintain reproductive health cannot somehow significantly affect the course of the phases of the menstrual cycle, because they do not obey her, but she can adhere to simple recommendations that will help normalize the cycle:
- have a regular sex life (its irregularity negatively affects the hormonal background and often causes phase displacement);
- do not use hormones and antidepressants without a doctor's prescription;
- treat gynecological diseases on time, visit a doctor for examination and prevention at least once a year, even if there are no complaints;
- keep track of the duration of the cycle, keep a female calendar, in case of violations for more than 3 days in two or more cycles in a row, it is important to contact a gynecologist-endocrinologist;
- lead a healthy lifestyle, try to spend at least 8 hours a day sleeping at night, do not smoke or consume alcohol and psychotropic substances, move more, be active;
- use the means of "fire" hormonal contraception as little as possible;
- watch your weight and nutrition.
