tumblunni:

okayysophia:

Saw this on Essence Magazine’s Snapchat and thought it would be helpful💕

Yeah seriously, sex education never told me any of this in school. Little me was panicked seeing the dark coloured bits and i had no clue that’s just the normal colour blood goes when its clotted or dried.

You may also see what look kinda like stringy clots but turn out to be a thin, membraney substance on close inspection. That’s the endometrium, the internal lining of your uterus. It’s the reason for all this stuff- your body is shedding the internal lining to get rid of any unfertilized eggs, or any eggs that were fertilized but failed to embed properly in the uterine wall. It’s weird-looking, but normal. 

Also, massive amounts of blood (soaking through pads/tampons) isn’t always normal and may indicate that something is wrong. If you’re in pain beyond a minor ache, something is DEFINITELY wrong, even if it’s every time. There are a lot of extremely under-discussed things that can make your cycle worse, from ovarian cysts to endometriosis, and all of them are either curable or treatable. Some can even be diagnosed with just an ultrasound, no pelvic exam. See a doctor!