When Something Goes Wrong "Down There"

Menorrhagia, or unusually heavy bleeding during your period, can strike any time during a woman's reproductive lifetime. Unusually heavy bleeding involves a soaked pad and/or tampon every hour or less. It is most likely during puberty and perimenopause (the years just before menopause), when reproductive hormones are erratic, and affects an estimated 10 to 20 percent of premenopausal women in the United States.

Most women diagnosed with menorrhagia are over 30, with about 50 percent older than 45. The cause behind most cases of menorrhagia is unknown, but medical conditions such as fibroids and thyroid conditions can contribute. Plus, about 15 percent of menorrhagia diagnoses are related to von Willebrand's disease, a bleeding disorder that occurs when blood doesn't clot properly. Unfortunately, doctors don't always test for this condition before treating menorrhagia.

Note: Any bleeding after menopause should be investigated immediately. It could be a sign of endometrial cancer.

Your pelvic health changes throughout your life. With every pregnancy and delivery and with every decade, organs shift, hormones fluctuate and your risk of pelvic health issues increases. Specifically, here is what four common pelvic health conditions look like over the years.

Fibroids

Fibroids are noncancerous uterine tumors. They are amazingly common in reproductive aged women, particularly toward the end of a woman's reproductive life. By age 35, 60 percent of African-American women and 40 percent of Caucasian women have fibroids; that percentage jumps to more than 80 percent of African-American women and nearly 70 percent of Caucasian women by age 50. By menopause, a woman's risk of fibroids is 20 times higher than her risk at age 25.