In the article, we will consider whether it is normal for the uterus to increase before menstruation.
It is known that this organ changes a lot before the onset of menstruation. At the same time, it tends to increase in size, fall, and in some situations, on the contrary, rise. Many women feel some tingling, which often worries them. Sometimes pain can be a sign of a variety of diseases, so at the slightest suspicion of a pathology, you should consult a doctor and conduct diagnostic tests.
In most cases, those girls who are trying to determine the onset of pregnancy are interested in similar changes that occur with the uterus before the onset of menstruation. The most common questions in this case are: “Is this considered normal?a phenomenon like pulsation in the uterus before menstruation?”, “What to do, before menstruation, the uterus increases?”, “How serious are the consequences of self-palpation?” and “How does the uterus look before menstruation?”.
Medical opinions
Medics' opinions are mixed. Some of them believe that before menstruation, the uterus increases and this is a pathology, while others consider this phenomenon to be normal. But here the main role is played by the next factor - the size of the uterus. For each woman, they vary, but if this organ increases before menstruation, then this should also be within the normal range. A significant increase in the uterus is a sign of a serious illness or pregnancy.
How does the uterus change?
Every woman needs to know how the uterus changes before the onset of menstruation. Women's cycles affect the condition of the uterine cervix. The body itself, right before the critical days, undergoes certain changes and this is quite normal. However, in order to determine such transformations that provoke menstruation and the ovulatory period, it is sometimes necessary to independently check the vaginal area by touch. If these measures are not suitable for one reason or another, you can visit the attending gynecologist.
Many people wonder if the uterus increases before menstruation.
Normal or not?
In he althy women, it is usually hard before menstruation. The increase is also quite natural and normal. During this period, the internal mucous membrane lining the organstarts to thicken. In addition, the hormonal background changes, swelling appears due to fluid retention - because of this, the mass of the organ may increase.
On the eve of menstruation, the uterus may sink a little, and with the onset of ovulation, it begins to open as it prepares for conception.
If fertilization occurs, the uterus rises, the cervix becomes more moist. Such signs help to determine pregnancy at the earliest stages of its development.
During critical days, the cervical pharynx expands a little, which is provided by nature for faster and more unhindered disposal of blood and exfoliated endometrium. That is why experts do not recommend women to have sexual intercourse during this period, since this position of the organ makes it more likely to get an infection.
Patterns
If you visit a gynecologist before the expected menstruation or with a slight delay, even an experienced doctor will not be able to say for sure whether the patient is pregnant, because at this time the uterus during pregnancy and during menstruation is approximately the same size. Although there are certain patterns:
- Women who have given birth always have a larger uterus than girls who have not given birth;
- an organ may be irregularly shaped and enlarged with fibroids;
- an increase in the size of the uterus may be due to the development of adenomyosis.
Let's figure out why the uterus increases before menstruation?
Reasons
Before starting a newmost women have premenstrual syndrome during their menstrual cycle. Such a condition is often accompanied by a variety of pathological manifestations that affect the physical and mental state. In addition, during this period, girls may feel bloating, which indicates not only a disorder of digestive functions, but also an increase in the size of the uterus.
What actually happens to the reproductive organ? Does it increase before menstruation, what causes such a manifestation, how many days before the onset of menstruation can the uterus be enlarged?
To what size does the uterus increase before menstruation?
The arrival of a certain phase of the cycle occurs under the influence of hormonal levels on the body. During the premenstrual period, the concentration of the hormone progesterone in the blood increases. At the same time, there is a decrease in the production of serotonin and estrogens.
In the second phase of the cycle, the level of progesterone in the blood increases. This hormone prepares the uterus to receive an egg. At this stage, fluid retention is observed in the tissues of the body, and the main part of the nutrients goes to the uterus. Thus, its increase in size is explained by the fact that at the first stages, until the placenta is formed, the uterus increases, the endometrium grows, the tissues swell.
Thanks to progesterone, the endometrium becomes very thick and loose. A woman can observe an increase in the abdomen, which is due to fluid retention, which accumulates mainly in the small pelvis. Fluid is needed to keepblood in the uterus.
If pregnancy does not occur, menstruation occurs, during which the uterus gets rid of the endometrium and its size returns to normal.
How the uterus increases before menstruation, we will understand below.
Uterus before menstruation - sizes
A smooth and dense neck before the start of a new cycle indicates the absence of pathologies - this is the norm. During ovulation, it has a looser structure and increased softness so that spermatozoa can easily penetrate the cervical canal.
Womb size parameters include front size, length and width. Separately, the neck, the thickness of the endometrium is measured and this is done through an ultrasound examination. Measurements of the body of the uterus are made in the sagittal plane, and its width - in the transverse position. The accuracy of the dimensions depends on how the ultrasound is performed - with the transabdominal method, the indicators may be slightly increased.
It is important to know how many weeks the uterus grows before menstruation.
Changes in the body can be felt 1-2 weeks before the onset of menstruation.
Numerical values
Digital values usually have a large range and depend on such factors:
- cycle day;
- presence of childbirth and their number;
- menopause.
Based on this, the normal size of the uterus should be considered in each case separately. Among womenof reproductive age, the uterus before menstruation can reach 46 mm, before the onset of sexual activity - 43 mm, and if a woman had one or more births - up to 60 mm. These indicators are variants of the norm, and if the uterus is enlarged even more, this may indicate the onset of pregnancy or the development of a certain disease in a woman. These include a variety of benign formations, such as fibroids, as well as such a common female pathology as endometriosis. Therefore, if the uterus after menstruation has not taken the usual size, you need to contact a specialist.
How many days does the uterus increase before menstruation?
The average woman has a cycle of 28 to 34 days. The uterus begins to increase, as a rule, in the ovulatory phase, when it is preparing to accept a mature egg, that is, approximately on day 14. An increase in the body of the uterus before menstruation is a variant of the norm and should not cause any concern in a woman.
The softened neck, which also increases in size and slightly opens, indicates the approach of menstruation. But you can notice this phenomenon only in those women who gave birth to a child. Therefore, during examination, the doctor can easily determine this fact. When menstruation ends, the cervix gradually begins to close, but in women who have given birth, it sometimes does not close completely. How many days before menstruation the organ increases depends on many different factors. However, he althy womenbefore critical days, the uterus not only increases, but in any case falls, just as during the period of ovulation, the cervical canal expands, opening the pharynx.
Self-diagnosis
Some women have successfully used a self-diagnosis method to rule out or determine pregnancy. To do this, the middle finger must be inserted into the vagina, where it should easily rest against the neck. Before menstruation, it straightens and falls, which is due to the increase in the uterus. At the same time, a recess is noticed in it, which is the entrance to the lumen of the cervical canal.
If, before menstruation, the cervix is hard and difficult to reach for self-diagnosis, this may first of all indicate pregnancy or that menstruation will not come soon (menstrual irregularity). During the entire period of pregnancy, the uterus is firm and this helps it to hold the fetus. It acquires a loose structure only before childbirth.
What does it mean if the uterus has increased in size excessively?
Deviations and their causes
If before menstruation the uterus greatly increases in size and they exceed the allowable limits for the age group and taking into account the woman's childbirth, then this indicates that in this case a certain disease of the reproductive system develops, which must be cured in a timely manner. The most common pathology in this case is endometrial hyperplasia. In this case, the layer of the internal mucous membrane of the organ may be several times thicker than normal, and this condition is due to a violationhormonal background and the presence of inflammatory processes. With hyperplasia during menstruation, a uterine polyp can form, which is a certain fragment of the endometrium that did not exfoliate during menstruation and did not come out with blood.
Endometriosis and fibroids
Another reason that the uterus increases in size excessively before menstruation may be endometriosis. Most often, this pathology is observed in women who have given birth and have hormonal problems. With endometriosis, endometrial particles can be found in neighboring tissues and organs, which should not normally be, and this is due to the penetration of menstrual blood into the pelvic cavity.
The cause of a strong increase may be fibroids, which are benign formations in the uterine cavity. Fibroids are removed surgically, especially if they are large.
We looked at why the uterus enlarges before menstruation.
