Being a Teen by Jane Fonda Read Free Book Online Page A

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    Meanwhile, another female sex hormone, progesterone, signals the endometrial lining of the uterus to build up a soft, thick cushion of blood vessels, tissue, and fluids. This serves as a nest to nourish and protect a fertilized egg to grow into a baby.
    If the ovum is not fertilized, this cushion breaks down and flows through the cervix and out of the woman’s vagina,together with the blood-filled endometrial (uterine) lining, which is no longer needed. This process is what is called menstruation, or “having a period.” When one month’s menstruation is completed, the cycle begins all over again—the uterine lining begins to rebuild, the eggs (ova) begin to grow inside their little sacs, and eventually an egg is released. This is what is called the menstrual cycle.

    Anticipating Your Period
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    If you have not yet gotten your period, now is the time to start thinking about what sanitary protection you will want.
    Put a pad or tampon in your purse, your backpack, your locker, or in whatever other bag you carry with you, just in case. You can usually find these products in vending machines in women’s bathrooms, or a school nurse will likely have some products on hand for emergencies.If you can’t get a sanitary product, fold up some toilet paper and put it in your underpants until you can get other protection.
    If, during your period, blood leaks through your underpants onto your clothes, don’t sweat it. Just wrap a sweater or sweatshirt around your waist or keep an extra pair of underpants, or even a skirt or pair of pants, inside your locker so you can change. To remove a bloodstain, use cold water to soak or rinse it out. Hot water will set the bloodstain into the fabric. If you’re changing your tampons or pads frequently, this shouldn’t happen as often.
    The Menstrual Flow
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    Menstrual blood can be red, dark red, pink, or brown. You won’t be able to see the egg, because it’s much too tiny and has already started to dissolve. Throughout the day, your flow may vary from little dribbles to big gushes. You may feel the difference. There is no way to affect the amount of the flow.
    Usually the flow is heavier for the first two days and then gets lighter and lighter. You may go an entire day without seeing any blood, and then see some the next day. Panty liners (discussed here ) are a good solution.
    Keeping Track of Your Menstrual Cycle
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    Menstrual periods occur anywhere from twenty-five to forty days apart. If your periods are regular, over time you can beginto anticipate when to expect your next period by keeping a calendar.
    Put an X on the first day of your period and then on every day till your period ends. The next month, do the same, and, over time, you will be able to see a pattern of how many days you have between periods. The length of your cycle is from the first day of one period to the first day of the next, so if your period starts on a Tuesday and then starts on a Tuesday four weeks later, you have a twenty-eight-day cycle. You can download a menstrual calendar from the Internet to help you keep track of your periods. You will be asked the first day of your last menstrual cycle each time you go to your doctor.

    If you get cramps or premenstrual syndrome (PMS), you might also mark that on the calendar so you’ll have a better sense of what to expect.
    When you first begin menstruating, your periods will probably be irregular. You might even skip a month completely. Even if your schedule is regular, it can change if you lose or gain a lot of weight, get sick, travel, or exercise a lot.
    Over time, though, most women’s cycles become regular. If after six months or so, your periods haven’t settled into a regular schedule of about once a month, check with your doctor.
    Menstrual Protection
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    Most stalls in public women’s bathrooms have a covered box hanging on the side, where you are asked to throw out pads, tampons, or panty liners so they won’t clog the sewer