Period problems
Period problems
For many women, periods are a monthly inconvenience although sometimes they can cause more concern. Learn more about common period problems in this section including heavy periods, irregular periods and premenstrual syndrome and more.
Breastfeeding and periods
There are many factors that determine when your period will return when you are breastfeeding. Learn more about breastfeeding and periods here.
Heavy periods
It could be a sign your periods are heavy if you are using more tampons or sanitary towels than usual, or blood is leaking through to your clothes and...
Irregular periods
The length of your cycle may change from month to month. Any alteration in what you consider to be your normal cycle can be a cause for concern. Find ...
Painful periods
Painful periods is most common in young women, and the pain often tends to ease as you get older. Learn more about the symptoms and treatments.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Premenstrual syndrome refers to symptoms that occur around the time of your period. There are several treatments available to help women manage their ...
Retained object or tampon
Sometimes an object, such as a tampon, can become stuck in the vagina. There are several reasons why this happens, but it is important to know what to...
Toxic shock syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) occurs when a bacteria releases poisonous toxins into the body’s bloodstream. Although it is rare you should still take pr...
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Found 209 results
Menstrual cycle and period problems | Family Planning NSW
What is menstruation and when does it happen? Get info on managing menstruation, period pain and maintaining hygiene during menstruation.
Read more on Family Planning NSW website
Periods | Jean Hailes
The menstrual cycle is controlled by female hormones that generally cause a regular bleed, often called a period. In these pages you will learn all about the menstrual cycle, periods, heavy bleeding, regular and irregular bleeding, period pain, premenst
Read more on Jean Hailes for Women's Health website
Menstrual cycle: normal - myDr.com.au
The menstrual cycle is generally thought of in phases: the menses, the follicular phase, ovulation and the luteal (secretory) phase.
Read more on myDr website
Calendar Based Methods of Contraception | myVMC
Calendar based contraceptive methods prevent pregnancy by determining the fertile periods during the menstrual cycle and avoiding sexual intercourse or using alternative contraceptive methods on those days.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Kids' Health - Topics - Periods - having a period
The word menstruation (say men-strew-ay-shun) comes from a Latin word 'mensis' which means month. Periods usually come about once a month.
Read more on Women's and Children's Health Network website
Basal Body Temperature Monitoring Contraceptive Method | myVMC
Basal body temperature monitoring is a contraceptive method which relies on the woman monitoring her basal body temperature on a daily basis to determine the periods of her menstrual cycle when she is and is not fertile.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Fertility awareness (natural family planning)
Fertility awareness means not having sex during the fertile times in a womans menstrual cycle.
Read more on WA Health website
Fertility Awareness Contraceptive Methods | myVMC
Fertility awareness contraceptive methods prevent pregnancy by relying on a woman monitoring her fertility throughout the menstrual cycle and avoiding sex on days of the cycle in which she is fertile. These methods are also known as periodic abstinence methods and natural contraceptive methods.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a hormonal condition associated with irregular menstrual cycles, excess hair growth, acne, reduced fertility, and increased risk of diabetes and mood changes.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Kids' Health - Topics - Periods - facts and questions
Here are some of the questions you have asked about menstruation (say men-stroo-ay-shun) (periods). If there is anything else you want to know, or things you can't understand, you can ask your question using the "Feedback" form (click on the "Feedback" link) and we will include it if we can.
Read more on Women's and Children's Health Network website
Found 14 results
Timing and fertility – a fact file
Knowledge about the ‘fertile window’ is low among Australians of reproductive age. Two thirds of Australians have inadequate knowledge about the time in the menstrual cycle when a woman is most likely to conceive.
Read more on Your Fertility website
Timing of surgery for premenopausal women with breast cancer | Cochrane
Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity and the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo treatment which includes surgical intervention, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or both. This review attempted to ascertain if the timing of tumour removal in relation to different stages of the menstrual cycle has an impact on overall survival or disease-free survival in premenopausal breast cancer patients. The follicular stage of the menstrual cycle relates to days 0 to 14, prior to ovulation. The luteal phase relates to days 15 to 35, after ovulation. If small changes in the timing of surgery could predictably improve the survival rates, any inconvenience and complexity is a small price to pay for the benefit. There were no completed randomised controlled trials comparing surgery performed during the follicular phase and the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We identified one ongoing randomised multicentre study and three prospective observational studies.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Cyclical progestogens for heavy menstrual bleeding | Cochrane
Progestagens may offer some help in reducing heavy menstrual bleeding but are not as effective as other therapies such as danazol and tranexamic acid. Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is when a woman looses 80 ml or more of blood per menstrual cycle (period). Most women with HMB do not show any physical cause so getting help without surgery is an attractive alternative. Progestogens are taken by mouth either during days 15 or 16 to day 26 of the menstrual cycle (short course) or from day 5 to day 26 (long course). The review of trials found that progestogens significantly reduced menstrual blood loss but were less effective than danazol, tranexamic acid and the progesterone-releasing intrauterine system (IUS).
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Family planning with methods based on fertility awareness | Cochrane
Methods of family planning that are based on 'fertility awareness' try to identify the fertile days of a woman's menstrual cycle. Names used to describe this approach to birth control include 'rhythm,' 'natural family planning' and 'periodic abstinence.' The goal is to avoid sex on the days when the women might get pregnant. Couples could also use these methods with a condom or they could use withdrawal.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for premenstrual syndrome | Cochrane
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common cause of physical, psychological and social problems in women of reproductive age. PMS is distinguished from 'normal' premenstrual symptoms by the degree of distress and disruption it causes. Symptoms occur during the period leading up to the menstrual period and are relieved by the onset of menstruation. Common symptoms include irritability, depression, anxiety and lethargy. A clinical diagnosis of PMS requires that the symptoms are confirmed by prospective recording (that is recorded as they occur) for at least two menstrual cycles and that they cause substantial distress or impairment to daily life. It is estimated that approximately one in five women of reproductive age are affected. PMS can severely disrupt a woman's daily life and some women seek medical treatment. Researchers in The Cochrane Collaboration reviewed the evidence about the effectiveness and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for treating PMS. They examined the research up to February 2013.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Beta2-adrenoceptor agonists for primary dysmenorrhoea | Cochrane
As many as 50% of premenopausal women regularly suffer from menstrual pain. Many of these women may be incapacitated for one to three days during each menstrual cycle. Primary dysmenorrhoea (PD) is where women suffer from menstrual pain but lack any pathology in their pelvic anatomy. A wide range of treatments are available and some of these, such as beta2-adrenoceptor agonists, have been used to treat women with primary dysmenorrhoea but their effects are unclear. Five studies involving 187 females with an age range of 15 to 40 years were included in this review. Oral isoxsuprine was examined in two studies; terbutaline oral spray, ritodrine chloride and oral hydroxyphenyl-orciprenalin were compared with placebo in a further three studies. All of the studies were conducted over 30 years ago and none were of high quality. None of these medications, other than isoxsuprine combined with acetaminophen and caffeine, were reported to have any beneficial effect. Side effects with these medications were reported in up to a quarter of the participants and included nausea, vomiting, dizziness, quivering, tremor and palpitations. At present there is insufficient evidence to allow confident decision-making about the use of beta2-adrenoceptor agonists for dysmenorrhoea.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Black cohosh (Cimicifuga spp.) for menopausal symptoms | Cochrane
Menopause is the period of time in a woman's life when menstruation ceases. These changes in menstruation are often accompanied by troublesome symptoms, including hot flushes, vaginal dryness and night sweats. Interventions that decrease the severity and frequency of these menopausal symptoms are likely to improve a person's well-being and quality of life. The herb black cohosh was traditionally used by Native Americans to treat menstrual irregularity, with many experimental studies indicating a possible use for black cohosh in menopause. This review set out to evaluate the effectiveness of black cohosh for controlling the symptoms of menopause. The review of 16 studies (involving 2027 women) found insufficient evidence to support the use of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms. Given the uncertain quality of most studies included in the review, further research investigating the effectiveness of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms is warranted. Such trials need to give greater consideration to the use of other important outcomes (such as quality of life, bone health, night sweats and cost-effectiveness), stringent study design and the quality reporting of study methods.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Iron supplements taken one, two or three times a week for preventing anaemia and its consequences in menstruating women | Cochrane
Iron supplements taken one, two or three times a week for preventing anaemia and its consequences in menstruating women
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Vitamin B1 and magnesium may both help reduce the pain of dysmenorrhoea | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Endometrial preparation for egg donor recipients or for frozen embryo transfers | Cochrane
Couples undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) after a long period of subfertility, because women have blocked fallopian tubes or severe endometriosis, where the male partner has a reduced semen count, or when pregnancy has not resulted after previous less invasive fertility treatment. Subsequent to an unsuccessful fresh embryo IVF cycle, a frozen-thawed embryo transfer can be performed when frozen embryos are available. Alternatively for women who have:ovarian insufficiency (premature menopause), poor ovarian capacity to respond to stimulation, or or have had several unsuccessful IVF cycles, oocyte donation is a frequent treatment option, particularly for older women. Adequate hormonal preparation of the endometrium is of outmost importance in both egg donor and frozen embryo replacement cycles to provide the optimal chances of pregnancy. Many drugs and various modes of administration have been tried by several investigators in order to optimise implantation rates and consequently improve the success rates of the embryo transfer procedures. A total of 22 randomised controlled trials were included in this review. There is insufficient evidence from these trials to be able to identify one particular intervention for endometrial preparation that clearly improves the treatment outcome for women receiving embryo transfers with either frozen embryos or embryos derived from donated oocytes. Better quality studies are needed to more accurately evaluate each treatment.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
