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Home/Cycle Matters / Period & Bleeding

What Causes Period Cramps?

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Written by Jennifer Gray

Jennifer Gray

Jennifer Gray is an award-winning writer with more than five years’ experience covering reproductive topics ranging from birth control to planning pregnancy. She is passionate about providing women with accurate information grounded in science they can use to take charge of their own health - while also dispelling myths that exist within the field of women’s health. She holds a Master of Science from the University of Edinburgh and currently lives in Ireland.

Medically reviewed by Jack Pearson, Medical Affairs Manager at Natural Cycles

Jack Pearson

Dr. Jack Pearson is a previously HCPC registered Embryologist with a PhD in reproductive medicine. Prior to joining Natural Cycles leading Medical Affairs, he worked for more than 10 years in a clinical setting working at some of the busiest fertility clinics in the UK. Today he spends most of his time working with experts at the world’s leading institutions to carry out important research with the vision to further the field of female health. He earned his PhD from the University of Sheffield specializing in Sperm Metabolism and currently lives in London.

We all have different experiences of period cramps. While some women are as regular as clockwork and can predict their cramps right down to the day, others might be lucky enough to rarely or never experience the pain of period cramps. They are something many of us expect and plan for, like the menstrual bleeding itself, but we rarely have time to stop and think: what actually causes period cramps and why are they a necessary, if painful, part of our cycle?

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