Irregular Period? It Could Be More Than Just Stress

Dr. Nelson is researching a treatment for primary ovarian insufficiency. Michael Spencer, NIH

When a young woman's menstrual periods get out of whack — extra-long, extra-short or intermittent — she may just chalk it up to stress and ignore it.

To even out monthly cycles, doctors often prescribe birth control pills, without doing much of an evaluation first.

But both those approaches are a mistake, says gynecologist Lawrence Nelson, of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Nelson studies primary ovarian insufficiency, a disruption in reproductive hormones that affects 1 in 100 women by age 40.

His research has shown that POI greatly reduces fertility, impairs bone health and often goes undiagnosed for years.

Read more...

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Category: Fertility, menstrual cycles, ovulation shutdown