Childbirth stress alters women’s menstrual cycles

A study conducted by two gynecologists from the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona concluded that It was the stress of childbirth, not Covid itself, that was primarily responsible for the changes in menstruation. which has affected many women during the pandemic, Efe reports.

This is the first study to examine the relationship between mental health and menstrual imbalance in the early months of the Covid pandemic,

why did we ask more than 4900 women aged 15 to 55 in Spain who did not become infected with the disease. 92.3% had at least one menstruation during childbirth, and 7.7% had amenorrhea (absence of menstruation).

The study shows that changes in emotional state, And it was not so much the duration and intensity of isolation or exposure to the disease that significantly influenced menstrual cycle disturbances during the pandemic.

One of the people responsible for the report explained to Efe that the specialized menstrual health unit became interested in the issue after seeing media reports about some menstrual irregularities that had no scientific support.

““It was the stress and anxiety that the women suffered from that changed the cycle.”emphasized Kalaf, who adds that only women who did not have the disease and were not taking contraceptives were interviewed to avoid other variables.

The survey also found that 50.1% of women reported a worsening of their overall quality of life during childbirth; 41.3% reported it remained the same, and 8.7% reported it improved.

On the other hand, sexual activity decreased in 49.8% of participants, remained the same in 40.7%, and increased in 9.5%.

The same Santa Creu i Sant Pau Menstrual Health Research Institute had previously published another report on Covid incidence, in particular on the impact of the vaccine, which depended on the time of the cycle in which it was administered.