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What's Normal?

Women during the premenopausal years are making choices about education, vocation and partnerships. They may or may not choose to have children.

This stage of women’s lives lasts from the 20s until menopause. The premenopausal years make up the bulk of the entire reproductive life span from menarche to menopause that usually spans 30-45 years. Most menstrual cycles are predictable, flow lasts about four to six days and cycle lengths vary between 21 and 36 days apart. This is a time of final maturation of ovulation with over 95% of cycles being normally ovulatory with normal luteal phase lengths of 10 or more days. Women who choose to have children have them during these years. Although cramps are variable between women, usually they improve after the first childbirth.