For those who menstruate early, one of the questions that arises during their reproductive life is whether early menstruation affects fertility. Often, a girl’s first period comes around the age of 12 to 15, while early menstruation occurs around ages 9 to 11. But what would affect fertility by menstruating so early? What factors are relevant for an adult woman who started menstruating very early?
What Is the Link Between Menstruation and Fertility?
Fertility is directly linked to menstruation. This is because a series of hormones cause the ovaries to start working and trigger ovulation, which is then followed by menstruation.
FSH, the main hormone released by the pituitary gland (located in the brain), initiates the cycle. Although a girl shows signs of puberty in her body, only after the release of FSH—which stimulates other hormones such as LH, progesterone, estrogen, and others—does the ovulatory cycle truly begin.
The follicles, which have been stored in the ovaries since intrauterine development during pregnancy, will begin to be stimulated. After maturation, ovulation occurs, and if the egg is not fertilized, menstruation will come after a few days. However, it can be said that early menstruation will harm a woman’s fertile life if certain precautions are not taken throughout life.
But What Is the Problem Early Menstruation Causes for Fertility?
Eggs are limited. Although a developing girl, still in utero, has about 6 or 7 million eggs, she will enter puberty with an ovarian reserve of 300,000 to 500,000 eggs, and by the age of 35 to 40, she will have only between 400 to 500 eggs released and stimulated to mature and potentially become pregnant.
But why, with so many eggs, is fertility compromised? The quality of the eggs is not always ideal, not all eggs reach maturity, not all are stimulated… there are a number of factors. What’s important to say is that the more menstrual cycles a woman has, the more eggs will be “wasted”.
Important: The fact is, the more a woman menstruates, the more she loses healthy eggs. The younger she is, the better the quality of the eggs, and, in the last years of reproductive age, egg quality will not be the same as at the start of her reproductive years.
What Factors Influence the Acceleration of Egg Loss?
Women who menstruate early tend to have a shorter reproductive life. A woman who started menstruation at age 10 will have a much shorter adult fertile life than someone who started at 13 or 14, because age will be a factor in deciding to have a child.
If she decides to get pregnant at age 35, her ovarian reserve for a healthy pregnancy, with low risk of malformation and chromosomal diseases, will already be reduced. Family genetics is also one of the factors that influences fertility.
This is because there are chromosomes, family genetics, that speed up egg maturation. While a woman normally stimulates 7 to 10 eggs per cycle with 1 mature follicle, some people’s bodies can double that amount, which is why there is a higher incidence of twins in some families. We should remember there is no way to recover the ovarian reserve.
How to Prevent Egg Loss and Lessen the Problem
Although girls who menstruate early are well, their eggs are strong and healthy, a doctor should be consulted to evaluate the possibility of preventing this girl from ovulating to preserve her eggs.
Extreme cases of families with histories of anovulation or female fertility problems may make it advisable for the girl to stop menstruating for a period to preserve her fertility. This procedure will be recommended by a doctor, who will choose the best way to keep the ovarian reserve almost intact.
The fewer menstrual cycles a woman has, the better the quality of her eggs, since the ovaries essentially “pause in time,” as if they weren’t being used, and will consequently be extremely functional when needed.
That is why it should be pointed out that women who take birth control for many years will not suffer serious problems because of it, at most their ovaries will take longer to resume activity and then ovulate as usual.
If you started menstruating quite early, it is worthwhile to see a doctor to have your ovarian reserve measured. This test is simple and inexpensive. In fact, some companies even provide the FSH and LH test to assess ovarian reserve.
When in doubt, it is worth seeing a fertility specialist and checking your timeline, depending on your desire to become a mother at that time or to wait a little longer, but preserving your eggs will be important for the right moment.
See also: Early Menopause – How to Detect It?
