How menstruation works - Emma Bryce

Made in partnership with the Always #LikeAGirl campaign.

At this moment, three hundred million women across the planet are experiencing the same thing: a period. The monthly menstrual cycle that gives rise to the period is a reality that most women on Earth will go through in their lives. But why is this cycle so universal? And what makes it a cycle in the first place? Emma Bryce gives a primer on periods.

Lesson by Emma Bryce, animation by Kozmonot Animation Studio.

[delaneysays]

It's amazing how isolated I feel on my period even though millions of women are dealing with it at the same time...

[dogedoge]

I read a comment that perfectly described periods.
"Uterus is preparing for baby and putting up elephant wall paper. Uterus is told that there will be no baby. Uterus flies jnto a rage and rips off elephant wall paper, screaming in pain. Uterus will repeat this cycle next month."

[GraeHall]

I'm a 37 year old guy, and I've had decent sex ed. But this TED-Ed was the best I've had on the menstrual cycle. What a great and simple video that explains such an important process so clearly and quickly.

[oskarhenriksen]

We all definitely need to learn more about these things.

I heard about this girl (friend of a friend) whose boyfriend got annoyed when she had to deal with her period; he thought she could simply hold it in, like when you need to pee.

It's also a real obstacle to education for girls many places, because they don't have access to sanitary products, so the alternative is to bleed at school. This keeps many at home, also because it's often a taboo subject

[laurenc]

Uterus: you have two options
A.Baby
B.No Baby
You: No baby please
Uterus:Wrong answer
You: oh no

[TheMsEline]

Uterus wants baby
You don't have baby
Uterus wants revenge

Explained. You're welcome.

[cadencezerayacob]

We get punished for NOT having children, nice one uterus.

[edinerovic]

i am studyin medicine, and i have read, saw and pretty much lived through some very intruguing and brreathtaking experiences, but the most mind baffling, mesmerizing thing that i have came across is most definetly the menstrual cycle, and to think that women go through this approximately 400-450 times in their life is just out of this world!

[aadhyaivaturi]

If we get pregnant, we suffer
If we don't get pregnant, we suffer
So we suffer either way :)

[pastramichop]

The Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell

[arcanaj]

The one critique I would make of this video (and so many explanations of the menstrual cycle) is there’s never any mention of the work the uterine muscles do.

It’s not as if a timer goes off in your uterus and your period just falls out. Menstrual cramps feel a lot like the onset of labor pains and there’s a reason for that. It’s the same muscles at work, trying to clear the decks so that the cycle can begin again.

And when one considers that historically doctors told generations of women that cramps were all in their head, I think it only fair to make the facts at least as commonly known now, as that “common knowledge” was once upon a time.

[mariav]

Me: I don't want a baby I'm not even 18
Uterus: honey, you got a big storm coming.

[danag]

I wish they had highlighted how much the pains can really be. It’s redicukous how we are expected to work through that

[robinsonj.lawrence]

"You're unique, just like everybody else" - What's wrong with this phase?

[boy]

while I guess I learned something as a dude. respect girls, I'm happy I don't have to deal with that.

[dirtywash]

I'm here because the public school system failed me

[roseblanche]

TED-ED is so good at teaching people and empowering them at the same time!

[nishakuttan]

Isn't it curious that a woman's average cycle is 28 days similar to moons rotation around the earth? Considering that the mating cycles of many species are based on the position of moon, we women are probably more linked with the moon than we think..

[beautifullungs]

Beautifully sent message about girls studying in STEM at the end of the video. I hope many young girls get to see this informative video and understand their bodies better.

[Sara-zmgp]

uterus: I want a baby
me: I'm too young
uterus: so you choose death