Most young people will have their first periods when they're between 11 and 14½, but anywhere from 9-16 years is considered normal. Periods are likely to start soon if your child has: had a major growth spurt. grown some underarm and pubic hair.
If a girl starts menstruation at a young age, it's usually because the hormones in her body responsible for puberty are being produced earlier.
How often does a period happen? Periods usually happen about once a month. But some girls get their periods around every 3 weeks. And others only get a period about once every 6 weeks.
Early menstruation, especially at a young age is a perfectly normal phenomenon. During the first months or even years, the period can be quite irregular. The cause early menstruation it may simply be a hormonal imbalance. However, if it happens repeatedly then you should seek the cause from your doctor.
What if you get your period at night? If you start bleeding in the evening or overnight, it can be confusing whether to count that as your Day 1 since there are just a few hours left in that day. For the sake of simplicity, I recommend that you do count that as your Day 1.
Several different things could be causing bleeding that's too early. Cycles may become irregular when menstruating years are starting or nearing an end. Pregnancy is another factor that may cause a period twice a month. But thyroid function and structural problems could also be throwing your normal cycle out of whack.
Menopause is the time that marks the end of your menstrual cycles. It's diagnosed after you've gone 12 months without a menstrual period. Menopause can happen in your 40s or 50s, but the average age is 51 in the United States. Menopause is a natural biological process.
Oligomenorrhea is when you often don't get your period for 35 days or more and as a result have only four to nine periods each year. Missing a single period that is not due to pregnancy, birth control, or menopause is normally not cause for alarm.
Your first period should last anywhere from 2 to 7 days. It may be very light, with just a few spots of brownish blood. Or it may start and end more brownish, but be brighter red on heavier flow days.
Between the ages of 8 and 13, girls typically experience: Their breasts begin to bud, and their areolas (pigmented area around the nipple) enlarge. Scant pubic hair appears. Height increases by about 2¾ inches per year.
Menarche is defined as the first menstrual period in a female adolescent. Menarche typically occurs between the ages of 10 and 16, with the average age of onset being 12.4 years.
Early-onset puberty is increasingly common. The reasons for it are not fully understood, but factors may include: Genetics – if you, or her siblings, experienced early puberty, she may too. Being overweight – evidence suggests that obesity could be a driving factor.
Most commonly, especially in girls, precocious puberty is due to the brain sending signals earlier than it should. There is no other underlying medical problem or trigger. This also can often run in families. Less often, precocious puberty stems from a more serious problem, such as a tumor or trauma.
Pubic hair – Once her pubic hair starts growing, you can expect her period to develop in one to two years. It may begin soft and thin but it will become courser and thicker towards the end of puberty.
A female who misses more than three menstrual periods (either consecutively or over the course of a year) should see a health care provider. Oligomenorrhea — Oligomenorrhea is the medical term for infrequent menstrual periods (fewer than six to eight periods per year).
On average, women will have 450 periods over their lifetime, which equals 3,500 days spent menstruating. That's over 10,000 period products in one lifetime! Of course, each woman is unique so that number will vary, but understanding your cycle is important since you will have so many throughout your life.
A number of things can cause irregular periods: A girl may have something going on with her hormones . Excessive exercise, not eating enough calories, or being underweight or overweight can also affect a girl's cycle. So can medicines or drugs (like steroids).
Spotting or light bleeding after menopause might not seem like a serious problem, but you should never ignore it or wait to bring it up with your doctor. After a woman's periods have stopped, vaginal bleeding could be a sign of a health issue—including endometrial (uterine) cancer.
During your 40s, your ovaries slow their estrogen production, so your periods may get shorter and lighter, or come less frequently. Menopause occurs when your period stops completely for 12 consecutive months. For most women, this happens in their late 40s or early 50s.
Bleeding after menopause is not normal, so take it seriously. Go directly to your ob-gyn. Polyps also can cause vaginal bleeding. If your ob-gyn discovers these benign (noncancerous) growths in your uterus or on your cervix, you might need surgery to remove them.
“The primary reason that period blood could be brown is because it's old blood,” said Dr. Cummings. It usually happens at the beginning or the end of your period, when your flow is lighter. Because the longer blood takes to leave the body, the longer it has to oxidize (read: get exposed to oxygen), which makes it dark.
Spotting is usually red or pink in colour. It can also look brown, like old blood or like the bleeding at the start and end of your period. The amount of blood you lose when spotting is small – less than a light period bleed.