Welcome to Learn English with Camille.
Unfortunately, I don't have my sidekick Calvin, my husband, here with me today, because I am filming this video for women.
So a couple weeks ago I asked on Instagram types of videos that you guys want to see content that would be useful to help you learn English.
And one person wrote in, could you talk about menstruation and perimenopause and pregnancy?
And I was like, yes, I can.
I'm actually a very open person and I can see how those things are useful because I yeah, sometimes we want to tell our friend you know that we're meeting with or me, for example, i need to say like i'm on my period sometimes, or talk about my past pregnancies with friends, and so in this video we are going to cover those three topics and i think that you'll learn really useful vocabulary.
If you don't know, I am Camille.
I'm an online English teacher and I mostly write books and create courses to help you learn English.
All of my books dialogue books, short story books they come with free audio and they are great resources.
You can find them on my website, learnenglishwithcamille.com. or Amazon.
Okay, so let's just jump into it.
Actually, I'm on my period right now.
So that's how we can say it.
Like, I'm on my period.
I have my period.
You might hear, oh, it's that time of the month again.
So those are common ways to say that we have our period.
I do have some notes here because I don't want to miss things.
So when we have our period, it usually lasts maybe max a week.
And basically having a period or menstruating is when blood is coming out of our vagina.
It's a very natural thing.
If you don't get your period regularly, it could mean that you need to visit a doctor.
Maybe your hormones are not where they need to be.
I am not a doctor, so I'm not going to even give suggestions.
But I know that diet as well and what we eat can play into that.
So in the four weeks of the month, there's actually different cycles that our body goes in.
And I just learned this a couple of years ago.
I didn't even know.
So I'm going to give you the names of those briefly.
So we have the menstrual phase, which is three to seven days.
It's when we're bleeding.
And we might be feeling... cramps, which means like, oh, my stomach is kind of hurting.
Or maybe you're really tired or fatigued.
Maybe you're moody, your moods change.
Maybe you get craving, like I always really want chocolate when I'm about to get my period or on my period.
I don't know what your craving is, but...
Bloating is another thing when you just feel like bloated.
The feeling in your stomach is just like it feels like big and uncomfortable.
So those are all things that you might feel during the menstrual cycle.
Week two is called the follicular phase.
And that usually lasts seven days, and your body prepares for an egg in the ovary and your hormones rise.
So your energy starts to improve.
You might be feeling stronger, more energetic, more excited about life.
It's a good week to get things done, to be productive.
Week three is called the ovulation phase.
And in that phase, let's see, one to three days, the egg is released from the ovary.
Usually have more sexual desire in that phase as well.
And week four is the luteal phase, which usually is 10 to 14 days.
The body prepares for the next period.
You could be feeling like bloated, maybe some breast tenderness.
Irritability, tiredness.
So that is a little bit about the period.
I actually brought some things.
I'm sure you guys know, but these are called pads.
We actually call these panty liners because they're very thin and you put them in your panty.
So panty liners.
And then we also have bigger pads that are thicker and these ones have wings.
So if they have wings, that means there's a sticky part that you stick kind of underneath your underwear to hold it.
I personally do not use tampons, so I don't even have one to show you, but I can put it on the screen.
What I do use is a cup.
It's called a menstruation cup.
It's literally just like a little cup that you insert into your vagina and it collects the blood.
And then you empty it and wash it and keep using it.
And then at the end of your period, you boil it to sanitize it.
And then you can use this cup for years.
So I have been using a cup for almost 10 years.
And I have changed it out several times.
But I love the comfort of it.
And then I also use a panty liner as well.
I hope that was enough vocabulary to help you when talking about your period.
Let's go into pregnancy.
So pregnancy is when a baby is growing inside of your womb.
And there are many slang things for being pregnant, which I actually took a note of some things.
You could say she has a bun in the oven.
She's expecting a baby.
She's preggers.
People say, I'm finally showing now, which means you can see the little bump.
I'm due in.
So when is your due date?
When are you due?
If somebody asks you that when you're pregnant, that just means when is your due date?
My due date is October 5th, meaning I'm going to have a baby. maybe on that day.
We don't know unless it's a scheduled cesarean.
So people have, okay, I'm getting excited.
I'm going off script totally.
I don't have a script actually, but I have a lot of notes.
So First of all, pregnancy is in trimesters, three trimesters, first, second, and third.
In the first trimester, when you get pregnant, maybe you take a pregnancy test.
It confirms.
The little checks are there.
You're pregnant.
Congratulations.
What next?
You probably do another test.
You go to the doctors.
And then in the first month, you might have like breast tenderness.
You might have cravings again for things that you've never eaten before, or just strong cravings like I need this now.
So that is just due to the changes in your body.
It's very normal.
And in the first trimester, usually you're not showing.
So you can keep it a secret for those first 12 weeks.
And then usually people share.
Sometimes people don't wait that long.
I've seen it's very common now to do gender reveal parties.
So when you find out the sex of the baby, if it's a boy or a girl, you plan a party.
Maybe you have somebody bake a cake and the inside is either blue or pink, and then you cut the cake and ah.
It's a girl or it's a boy.
And you celebrate that way.
You will also get an ultrasound during your pregnancy, throughout your pregnancy, where the doctor will put a cold gel on your belly and then take the monitor and So you can see your baby and hear your baby's heartbeat.
Nowadays, the ultrasounds are crazy, like 3D.
You can see them a lot better than even seven years ago is when I birthed my last baby baby.
So things have changed and gotten better.
As far as medicine goes, i am not sure where the last video left off because my camera just stopped and shut off.
So i'm just going to start again by saying in the second trimester usually you start feeling more energy.
Usually you start showing meaning, your stomach starts growing.
You might even feel your baby kick.
And then in the third trimester or the last trimester, your baby is obviously growing more and more.
You might feel more discomfort.
You might feel very tired.
And then, yeah, you can have your baby naturally.
Some people do epidurals, which I did, which is what they put in your back to help with the pain.
You will have contractions.
If you have false contractions meaning you're feeling contractions but your baby's not coming we have a term for that that's called Braxton Hicks, I believe.
And then when your water breaks, it's when the sack that's holding your baby breaks.
Breaks and liquid starts coming out and then you know, okay, my water broke.
I have to go to the hospital.
My baby's coming.
Some women have to do C-sections, where they do a cut in your stomach and take the baby out that way, so you don't have to push or anything like that.
Other women have their baby where the head is not down first and that is called breach when the baby is not in the right position.
And so sometimes your baby can turn, though naturally over time, and then you can have a completely safe and normal delivery.
So that is what it is.
Like, I'm delivering my baby.
I'm having my baby delivered.
Yeah, so those are some terms.
Let me think if there's anything.
Okay, so also when you're about to have your baby, you can say, I'm in labor.
Literally, you're in labor.
You're laboring.
You're about to give birth.
Your doctor also will probably have you take prenatal vitamins, which is a good term maybe to know.
And I think that's maybe it.
I think I touched on a lot of things.
Let's go into the third and final part of this video, which is perimenopause, which is what happens before menopause, which is when like, your period ends and your body's going through a lot of changes.
We have to go through so many things as women our whole life.
It's just crazy.
So perimenopause, there are some key words I have here.
First of all, it usually happens in your, it can happen even in your late 30s.
I've heard of that.
I think there's a lot more information out.
There's a lot more online than ever.
So people are talking out about it.
I think I've had some symptoms for perimenopause.
For sure, with my I've had like longer periods, so irregular periods when your period isn't the same every month.
Also you can have.
Hot flashes is when you just break out in a sweat and you get very hot, and that can happen anytime day or night mood changes.
So your mood can be up and down and all over the place.
I've definitely experienced that.
And then like I mentioned, menopause is when your period stops happening.
So I know I didn't go like too much into detail, but I gave you, I think, some things that could be key when talking about these three areas of your life, especially sharing with other women sisters, family members, whatever it might be.
It's good to have those words and to know what to say.
So I hope this video was useful for you.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
And I will see you guys real soon.
Don't forget to like the video, subscribe, write a comment.
I always love hearing from you guys.
And I will see you soon in a new video.
Bye.
