Estrogen during the life of a woman

Prior to puberty, girls and boys have equal levels of estrogen and testosterone. As they start to move into puberty, females experience an increase in estrogen. The average age girls start to go through puberty is 10-11 and they typically have finished this transition by 15-17.

Estrogen increases drastically during pregnancy and drops significantly, immediately following birth. It fluctuates during the postpartum phase but begins to level out about a year to a year and a half postpartum or if you breastfeed/ pump about 6 months after you finish.

During perimenopause, hormones are in constant flux, and can actually be 20-30% higher than premenopausal. These inconsistencies can cause the classic menopause symptoms (esp. hot flashes, irregular periods, decreased libido, mood changes, pelvic pain and dryness).

Estrogen drops significant during menopause. This causes those symptoms listed above. Another thing we think about as women age and go through these hormone changes is bone health! Estrogen helps prevent bone resorption and as it drops, bone density changes. There’s actually a direct correlation between decreased estrogen and bone loss.

There are numerous things people can do to help manage this bone loss. As a PT, I instruct people in loading the bones and strengthening the muscles, for appropriate bone maintenance. Taking appropriate supplements can be very helpful. Using hormone replacement therapy has been shown to be very helpful, especially if you start sooner rather than later. **This is not medical advice but I can help you find the right provider if this is something you’re interested in**

Did you learn anything? Did you think you’d be reading about osteoporosis/osteopenia at the start of this post😂?