Inducing menstruation depends on the reason why it is necessary. Lifestyle changes, hormone therapy, and herbal remedies can be used, but medical professionals must first analyze the situation. Hormone therapy may not work for more serious conditions, and inducing menstruation to terminate or prevent pregnancy requires a different course of action.
There are several ways to induce menstruation and a lot depends on why the process is necessary. The first step any healthcare professional usually takes is to analyze the woman’s situation to determine why she is not having regular periods. The simplest interventions involve basic lifestyle changes, especially regarding exercise and diet. Hormone therapy and medications designed to stimulate ovulation and uterine balance can also be used, while for other women, more natural tinctures or herbal teas may be the best choice. In most cases, forcing a period to terminate or prevent pregnancy requires a different course of action and is usually not treated the same way.
Analyze the problem
There are many reasons why women don’t have regular periods, and some are more serious than others. Medical professionals don’t always agree when it comes to a woman’s need to bleed each month, but most acknowledge that irregular or missed periods can be a sign of a deeper problem. Otherwise, healthy women who simply don’t have a period are often diagnosed as having amenorrhea and typically receive treatment to restore the period. Those who menstruate but experience it infrequently or irregularly are also good candidates for treatment, as unpredictable cycles can lead to unstable blood chemistry and can also interfere with many women’s schedules and overall sense of well-being.
One of the first things a doctor or clinician will do when evaluating a woman for menstruation induction is to try to understand why she is not having her period. Sometimes the answer has to do with environmental or lifestyle choices, or it can be a result of other unrelated medications a woman is taking. More serious medical conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can also be to blame. In most cases, the way to force menstruation is largely dictated by why it is needed.
Lifestyle changes
Women who don’t seem to have any medical reason for their missed or irregular periods can often get their cycles back on track through a series of lifestyle changes. Eating a more balanced and regular diet is often a big part of this. Women and girls who eat too few calories often force their reproductive systems into a sort of hibernation, and increasing the quantity and quality of food eaten can often fix things almost instantly. On the other end of the spectrum, obese people often have trouble regulating their monthly cycles because too much weight puts similar pressures on the sex organs. In these cases, induction is often a matter of getting the weight back into a healthy range.
Exercise can also be to blame. Endurance athletes and others who spend a lot of time exercising sometimes miss their periods, but toning regimens — or supplementing with calories to make up for those lost — typically bring regular periods back.
Prolonged stress or emotional anxiety can also cause disruption to the menstrual cycle. Women who are able to overcome these problems, whether by changing their circumstances, seeking therapy, or taking mood-regulating medications, are often able to induce menstruation simply by stabilizing their mental health.
Pharmaceutical solutions
When the irregularity is due to a hormone imbalance, which is common with PCOS or certain blood problems, the best course of action is usually a pharmaceutical hormone replacement or supplementation regimen. The popular birth control pill is an example of this type of drug and is commonly prescribed to induce menstruation in women who may or may not need protection against pregnancy. These pills usually work by regulating and normalizing a woman’s reproductive cycle such that a period is essentially forced at a certain time each month.
However, hormone therapy doesn’t normally work for women who suffer from other, larger conditions such as hyperthyroidism or pituitary dysfunction. These and other more serious medical conditions can sometimes cause amenorrhea, but this is usually a side effect rather than a primary symptom. Infections can also be the cause. In most cases, treating the underlying condition, whether with antibiotics or other specialized medications, will also work to induce menstruation. Medical professionals usually start by ordering a blood test and performing a comprehensive health exam, and will make a diagnosis from there.
Herbal and natural remedies
Herbal remedies can sometimes work for women who don’t have serious medical complications but want more regular or predictable periods. These types of remedies are known as emmenagogues, and while they’re generally considered safe, anyone looking to start using them should usually speak to a doctor as even the most natural herbs can exacerbate certain medical conditions or interfere with unrelated prescription drugs.
Parsley and yarrow, both mild emmenagogues, are common first-line remedies. When taken in high concentrations, parsley can cause mild uterine contractions that aid in the onset of menstruation, and yarrow contains sterols that mimic the action of female hormones that work to regulate menstruation. These can be given as an infusion, tea or oral capsule.
Inducing menstruation can be as much a matter of timing as having a monthly cycle. If ovulation has not occurred when a woman uses an emmenagogue, the herbal treatment is likely not effective and medical intervention may still be needed.
Abortions of pregnancy
Some women wish to induce menstruation as a means of terminating a pregnancy or, more commonly, as a way to ensure that they do not become pregnant after unprotected intercourse. This typically requires a heavy dose of various hormones which basically force the uterine lining apart, releasing all the matter inside. Drugs in this class must generally be used within the first 72 hours of pregnancy to be effective, and are not legal in all places.
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