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Menstrual Cycle

Menstrual Cycle

The menstrual cycle is the hormonal process a woman's body goes through each month to prepare for a possible pregnancy. Regular menstrual periods in the years between puberty and menopause are usually a sign that your body is working normally. Irregular or heavy, painful periods are not normal. Many women also get premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms. You can take steps at home and talk to your doctor or nurse about ways to treat your period problems and PMS.

Top questions about the menstrual cycle

The Office on Women's Health is grateful for the medical review by:
  • Kristen A. Matteson, M.D., M.P.H., Interim Director, Division of Research, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
  • Sunni Mumford, Ph.D., Earl Stadtman Investigator, Epidemiology Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
  • Peter Schmidt, M.D., Chief, Section on Behavioral Endocrinology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
  • Kimberly Ann Yonkers, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Epidemiology, and Public Health, and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences; Director, Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers, Yale University School of Medicine
All material contained on these pages are free of copyright restrictions and maybe copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citation of the source is appreciated.
Page last updated: February 22, 2021