A new study has found that pandemic stress has led to irregular menstrual cycles in women. A woman’s menstrual cycle is incredibly important for a woman’s health, and women track their cycles for all kinds of reasons. One of the main reasons a woman would track her cycle was if she were trying to conceive. There are women all over the world who are struggling with infertility, and a big part of fertility is a woman’s menstrual cycle. This means that it is important to pay attention when it seems a little off.

According to Medical Xpress, a new study was done that has found that stress from the COVID-19 pandemic has caused irregular menstrual cycles. Stress has always been known to play a part in regular periods, however, if there wasn't a pandemic, there would not be this type of stress.

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The study was completed by Northwestern University and it can be read in full here. This is the first US study that has looked at the impact of stress on a woman’s period. It found that those who have a monthly cycle were experiencing irregularities during this time.

To complete the study, they looked at more than 200 people in the US between July and August 2020. They wanted to better understand how pandemic stress has impacted menstrual cycles. What they found was that more than half (54%) of those in the survey stated that they have experienced changes in their menstrual cycle since the pandemic started. They found that those who experienced higher levels of stress throughout this time had a higher risk of an irregular cycle. They experienced heavier bleeding and a longer period in general. This was when compared to individuals who had a moderate level of stress.

Nicole Woitowich was the lead author of the study and she stated that we already know that added stress can impact a woman’s cycle, but they wanted to take a closer look at how much it was changed. That this is an indicator of a woman’s reproductive health being at risk due to the pandemic. Something that can make a challenging experience, like trying to conceive, even more so. This study is now confirming what everyone has been reading on social media, or hearing about from friends, that the pandemic has impacted a woman’s menstrual cycle and experts are saying that reproductive health can not be overlooked when you are thinking about the impact of COVID-19.

Sources: Medical Xpress, Liebert Pub