According to the National Institutes of Health, "blood clots are the clumps that occur when the blood hardens from a liquid to a solid (coagulates)". However, some women experience blood clots during their menstrual cycle, and worry that something may be wrong. However, most blood clots are nothing to be worried about. According to the Women's Health Zone, "blood clots that are passed during menstruation can be completely normal. In most cases, this is simply your body passing blood too quickly."
Normal Menstrual Cycle
A woman's menstrual cycle is centered around 28 days; however, some women may have menstrual cycles that last as few as 21 day and as many as 45 days. For four to five days during a woman's menstrual cycle, she menstruates. That blood is due to a build up of uterine lining in preparation for a pregnancy; if a woman does not become pregnant during the menstrual cycle, the uterine lining breaks down and the woman menstruates. During menstruation, the woman's body releases anti-coagulants, which keeps the blood fluid. However, if a woman is having a very heavy period, the blood may pass through the woman's system before the anti-coagulants are able to act.
Abnormal Signs
However, some women may have abnormal blood clots. According to the Women's Health Zone, blood clots that are the size of a quarter that happen frequently can be a sign of something abnormal. A woman should see her doctor and get tested if she experience these large blood clots.
Causes
According to the Women's Health Zone, certain conditions can cause the abnormally large blood clots during menstruation. Changes in a woman's hormone levels can result in more clots, since the hormonal changes alter a woman's normal menstrual cycle. Examples of conditions that can result in hormonal changes include menopause, excessive weight change and using certain medications. In these cases, the woman's doctor may opt to put her on hormonal therapy to even out her hormone level.
Another cause of abnormal clotting is an enlarged uterus. According to the Women's Health Zone, when a woman becomes pregnant, her uterus expands to allow room for the fetus to grow; usually, the uterus shrinks after giving birth. However, some women's uterus do not shrink, and the menstrual blood pools before passing and results in more blood clots. Endometriosis is a disease where there is an excessive growth of uterine lining, which can also result in excessive clotting.
