Post written by Payal Singh.
Today in Naari Tatwa, I am going
to talk about the female sex hormones, how they fluctuate throughout your
life, how they affect arousal and signs
of a hormonal imbalance because female
sex hormones or sex steroids play vital roles in sexual development,
reproduction, and general health. Sex hormone levels change over time, but some
of the most significant changes happen during puberty, pregnancy, and
menopause.
What are hormones?
Hormones are chemical messengers
that the endocrine glands produce and release into the bloodstream. They
help to relay messages between cells and organ and regulate many bodily
processes, such as appetite, sleep, and growth. Everyone has what are
considered “male” and “female” sex hormones.
Types of female sex hormones
Estrogen
As the primary
“female” hormone, estrogen promotes the growth and health of the female
reproductive organs and keeps the vagina moisturized, elastic (stretchy), and
well supplied with blood. Estrogen
plays a big role in puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. Estrogen also affects the brain, cardiovascular
system, hair, musculoskeletal system, skin and urinary tract. Estrogen levels generally decline during
perimenopause, but they do so in an irregular fashion. Sometimes there can be
more estrogen present during perimenopause than in the past.
Progesterone
In addition to
estrogen, a level of other hormone produced by the ovaries is progesterone. The role of progesterone is to prepare the lining
of the uterus for a fertilized egg, support pregnancy and suppress estrogen
production after ovulation.
Testosterone
Although testosterone is
the main sex hormone in males, it is also present in lower amounts in females. In
females, testosterone affects in Fertility, Sexual desire, Menstruation, Tissue
and bone mass, Red blood cell production.
The roles your hormones play change over time.
Hormones change dramatically if you become pregnant, give birth, or
breastfeed. And they continue to change as you near menopause. These changes
are natural and expected.
Role in puberty
Females typically
enter puberty between the ages of 8 and 13 years, and puberty
usually ends when they are around 14 years old. Increased levels of
estrogen and progesterone initiate the development of secondary sexual
characteristics, which include in your breast development, hair growth on the
underarms, legs, and pubic region, increased height, increased fat storage on
the hips, buttocks, and thighs, widening of the pelvis and hips, increased oil
production in the skin.
Role in menstruation
Menarche
is the first time a person gets their menstrual period, and it typically
occurs between the ages of 12 and 13 years. However, menarche can occur at
any time between 8 and 15 years of age. Menstrual cycles are usually
around 28 days long but can vary between 24 and 38 days. The
menstrual cycle occurs in three phases that coincide with hormonal changes: Follicular
phase, Ovulatory phase and Luteal phase
Sexual desire and contraception
Estrogen, progesterone, and
testosterone all play a role in female sexual desire. Due to hormonal
fluctuations, you are generally at the peak of sexual desire just before
ovulation.
Pregnancy
As soon as conception takes
place, you start to produce human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG).
This is the hormone that shows up in your urine and is used to test for
pregnancy. It also boosts the production of estrogen and progesterone,
preventing menstruation and helping to sustain the pregnancy. Human placental
lactogen (HPL) is a hormone made by the placenta. In addition to providing
nutrients for the baby, it helps stimulate milk glands for breastfeeding.
After childbirth and breastfeeding
Once pregnancy ends, hormone
levels start to fall immediately. They eventually reach pre-pregnancy levels. A
sudden, significant drop in estrogen and progesterone may be a contributing
factor in the development of postpartum depression. Breastfeeding lowers
estrogen levels and can prevent ovulation. This isn’t always the case, however,
so you’ll still need birth control to prevent another pregnancy.
Perimenopause and menopause
During perimenopause, the period
leading up to menopause and hormone production in your ovaries slows down.
Estrogen levels begin to fluctuate while progesterone levels start a steady
decline. As your hormone levels drop, your vagina may become less lubricated.
Some people experience a decrease in their libido and their menstrual cycle
becomes irregular. When you’ve gone 12 months without a period, you’ve
reached menopause. By this time, both estrogen and progesterone are
holding steady at low levels. This typically happens around age 50. But like
other phases of life, there’s great variation in this. Decreased hormones after
menopause may increase your risk of conditions such as thinning bones
(osteoporosis) and cardiovascular disease.
Role in sexual desire and arousal
Estrogen,
progesterone, and testosterone all affect sexual desire and arousal. Having
higher levels of estrogen in the body promotes vaginal lubrication and
increases sexual desire. Increases in progesterone can reduce sexual desire. Low
levels of testosterone may lead to reduced sexual desire in some women.
However, testosterone therapy appears ineffective at treating low sex drive in
females. According to a systematic review from 2016, testosterone therapy
can enhance the effects of estrogen, but only if a doctor administers the
testosterone at higher-than-normal levels. This can lead to unwanted side
effects. These side effects can include weight gain, irritability, balding, excess
facial hair, clitoral enlargement.
When
hormones become unbalanced
Your hormones will naturally
fluctuate throughout your lifetime. This is usually due to expected changes
such as irregular periods, excess body and facial hair, acne, vaginal dryness, low
sex drive, breast tenderness, gastrointestinal problems, hot flashes, night
sweats, weight gain, fatigue, irritability and irregular mood changes, anxiety,
depression, difficulty in sleeping. Even a hormonal imbalance can
sometimes be a sign of something more serious, such as polycystic ovary
syndrome, primary ovarian insufficiency, hormonal birth control, hormone
replacement therapy, excess body weight, ovarian cancer, stress and other
underlying conditions include hypogonadism, which is a shortage of female
hormones, a miscarriage or abnormal pregnancy, a multiple pregnancy
(having twins, triplets, or more), ovarian tumour.
