The Health Challenges:

Woman is subject to numerous health challenges due to a number of diverse roles she has to perform as a daughter, Individual Personality handling domestic and professional responsibilities in a balanced manner, a devoted wife, a mother caring for the children and in the late phase as a Grand mother caring for the grand children and always facing an element of dependency.

Phases in Life Cycle:

A woman’s life cycle divided into well demarcated phases requiring increased or changed nutritional needs. Any lapse on the part of the woman can have serious effects on her health making her incapable of coping with the demands on her paving way for departing from health to disease. The various phases in woman’s lifecycle are discussed as below:

After Puberty around the age of 13 years a playful girl experiences metamorphosis stepping into womanhood exhibiting peculiar characteristics in her appearance, behavior under the influence of endocrine Hormones secreted by the pituitary, which cause appearance of secondary sex characters like development of breasts, Axial Hair and hairs around the genitals. After the age of 45 a phase of Menopause sets, when there is drop in the secretions of these hormones causing withdrawal symptoms like mood swings, irritability.

Vexing & Waning Effect of Hormones:

Woman during her life continuously is under the influence of two hormones Estrogen and Progesterone. The first Phase, when the Progesterone Peak level of previous Phase is on the decline, with Estrogen gradually increasing, to attain its Peak Level. During this phase Ovum or egg in the ovary matures simultaneously growth of the endometrial wall also takes place.

The matured ovum is released in the peritoneal cavity. Fallopian tubes attached to the uterus catch the released egg by it’s cilia lined receptacle. Thus the Ovum travels from the ovary to the Uterus. If the ovum does not get fertilized in the absence of sperm a male gamete, this marks decline of Progesterone and simultaneous gradual increase in estrogen levels.

With the decline of Progesterone levels the endometrial wall growth cannot sustain itself and sheds off and all this mass is thrown out in the form of menstrual bleeding which lasts 4 to 5 days. Now under the influence of estrogen another ovum in the ovary matures in a cyclical manner. This regular cycle is completed in a cycle of 28 days and continues till a conception takes place or menopause sets in.

Fertilization of Ovum & Thereafter:

After release of Ovum the Estrogen levels in the blood decline making way for the Progesterone to gradually increase and reach its peak level. During the journey, if the ovum from the ovary and into the fallopian tubes if it meets the sperm the male gamete fertilization of the egg occurs called conception. Under the influence of Progestrone, there are increased chances of the fertilized egg getting implanted in the Uterus, which is followed by a gestation period. During gestation period the embryo receives it’s nutrition through a Placenta which takes over the function of Progesterone secretion. Thus the Woman plays a dual role Child bearing, Breast feeding of the child during infancy.

The fertilized egg grows and develops into multi-cellular embryo, which gets attached with the uterine wall through a placenta, which becomes highly active and prepared to receive the embryo under the influence of progesterone hormone.

Now ovary ceases to produce progesterone because after progesterone peak level it is not followed by its decline and this function is taken over by the Placenta till the fetus is fully formed to be delivered at full term. During this period cyclical activity of the ovary gets suspended and is resumed after the lactation period, which is usually 6 months after child birth.

Lactation Period:

Now a phase of Lactation starts to breastfeed the new born baby. Nature provides that during the lactation period the activity of the ovary remains suspended for some time so that the new born is in a position to receive breast milk devoid of the effect of hormones on the milk produced.

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