Concerns about whether a period is or isn’t normal are incredibly common among menstruating women. Because the experience of having a period can vary so widely from month to month and from woman to woman, the qualifications of having a so-called “normal period” are not often viewed as universal.
Then length of your period, heaviness of your flow, and PMS symptoms can fluctuate over the course of your reproductive lifetime. For some women, their period is similar from month to month – they can expect that it will arrive at this day, at this time, and it will last for the same number of days each month. For others, their period isn’t predictable, fluctuating in arrival time and length of heavy and light days. Everyone is different, and that’s fine. However, there are some factors that women should consider when questioning if their period is normal or healthy.
Is your period regular?
On average, women should experience a period every 28 days. Of course, if your period fluctuates by a few days, then this is likely not an issue, but checking with your PGOMG provider is recommended to see if there should be any concern. This is especially true if you find that your period is more than a week early or late.
If your period typically arrives every 28 days and it has yet to arrive, we encourage you to contact PGOMG in order to rule out a pregnancy.
Is your period heavy?
Just like difficult PMS symptoms, women often expect that they need to “deal with” a heavy period. Sometimes a heavy period is simply just that, but sometimes a heavy period is actually a medical condition called abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), also called menorrhagia. AUB symptoms include periods that last longer than a week, a need for double layers of protection or quickly going through products designed for heavy flow, large blood clots in your flow, and symptoms of anemia (dizziness, fatigue, and shortness of breath). A heavy period may also be symptomatic of an underlying medical condition like endometriosis, so please contact your PGOMG provider to discuss how you are feeling and if your quality of life is affected by AUB.
Of course, concerns about a period can exist outside of irregularity and a heavy flow, so please contact PGOMG today if you have any questions. It’s important to remember that there are treatment options available for period symptoms that disrupt your daily routine.
