periods

Toni Weschler is the author of Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement and Reproductive Health, which is pretty much THE book for people who want to chart fertility, and the book I used to learn how to do it well in my 20's. She also wrote a great book about menstruation and charting for teen women, called Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body. She's an amazingly dedicated and energetic person who also just happens to really, really like chocolate croissants.

Looking for an alternative to tampons or pads? A user asks about menstrual cups, and we give her -- and you -- the scoop.

It's really hard to say when your periods might develop a discernible pattern. In general, we would probably expect to see that happen within the first 3-5 years of menstruation. However, that is a very general guideline because there are a lot of other factors that could be at work as well. Your...

Yes, there are health risks associated with ingesting or being exposed to menses, because this is both fluid sharing and also blood sharing, even though menses is more than just blood. Overall, what you're looking at are the risks associated with unprotected -- without a latex barrier like a condom...

Given when you had your abortion, you're right: you would not have been anything even remotely close to fully dilated. Your provider would have dilated your cervix to some degree, but only as much as is needed for aspiration, which is nothing close to what is needed for childbirth. At 10 weeks, a...

Breastfeeding can have a variety of impacts on one's periods. Some people will start having periods again soon after birth (even if they are breastfeeding). Others may not start having periods again for 6 months or more. Some never have a period until they stop breastfeeding entirely. This is really...

Well, panic doesn't really do anybody any good, so I'd advise not spending your time in a panic period. However, based on what you described you do have both a pregnancy risk and an STI risk. Withdrawal (or "pulling out") is not really a good method of birth control. (Our own founder, Heather, is...

The difference is that PMS symptoms won't cause your pregnancy test to turn positive. Using symptoms to determine if you're pregnant is really unreliable. If you absolutely must know if you're pregnant, wait 10 to 14 days after the sexual encounter in question then take a pregnancy test using the...

Reprinted from S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College , © 2007 Heather Corinna/Marlowe & Company. Illustration by Molly Crabapple. Want to print out copies for yourself? Click here to download one in PDF format. Enjoy!

There sure is! Per your cramps, it partially depends on why you're having them. So, the first thing you will want to do, especially if they are severe, and if you have other menstrual issues, is to check in with your gynecologist or other reproductive health professional and make sure you don't have...