As I understand it, when a woman’s period starts, her uterus has contraction to help expel the tissue – giving us ladies CRAMPS! Also, from position of the uterus, it looks like gravity may play a large roll in the elimination of menstrual blood.
If a woman has her period in a zero gravity environment, would that present a health problem for her?
Three cheers for Gravity!
Good for the monthlies, bad for the boobies. 
Ok then, just two cheers.
I’m confused by the whole effects of gravity thing myself. I can’t really think of any other biological process that sort of wallows around, rather than gets moved along. Once things clear the cervix, it’s pretty smooth sailing unlike other things…damn, this isn’t pleasant to think about, but honestly, I can’t think of anything else like it. Even if you have a runny nose you can sniff and there is a back up plan, so even without gravity, it would be taken care of.
The title of the thread makes me think of a hastily-rejected Muppet Show sketch…
I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one.
I presented this question to the morning coffee characters, here is the results:
Rob the Aussie (a mouse guru and my co-worker :)): Don’t know. Maybe that’s why space shuttle trips are only a couple of days long.
Dr. T (a post-doc and a woman): I’m sure that if you use something that wicks, you’ll be fine.
Dr. G (a pulmonologist): Beats the hell out of me.
I’m not sure about the veracity of this site but we are informed it isn’t a problem.
Sadly, the hygiene techniques required to deal with menstruation in zero gravity are not made clear. Apparently it’s also possible for humans to conceive in space. Again, there is no hard evidence available to support this assertion.
Pity. The very idea sounds like fun. I don’t suppose it would matter who is on top, either.
Gravity is not required for any part of the menstruation process. See Our Bodies, Ourselves (yes, I’ve read it, and yes, I’m a dude…get over it) which gives IIRC extensive information on the whole biomechanical process of menstruation in an intelligent layman’s (or rather, more specifically, laywoman’s) terms. The action of the uterus in excreting the lining is peristaltic and depends not at all on gravity; ditto for the natural cleaning process of the vagina. The only possible problem, as noted, is the exit hygiene, but this is certainly less messy than even a mild case of diarrhea, and that is a common problem with freefall environments. I think the worst part might be the iron-blood smell that accompanies the process, but again, if astronauts deal with the elmination of raw sewage (and plumbing “issues” have been a repeated concern with long-term missions) then I’m sure this is old hat.
Many women have performed long-duration habitation (months) in space, including Shannon Lucid (188 days on Mir), Elena V. Kondakova (169 days on Mir), and Peggy Whitson (185 days on the ISS). It is possible that these women took menstruation-suppressing hormones during these missions, but this does not guarentee that it won’t occur, and I’m sure there were preparations in case the cycle started. There are certainly other hazards and female-specific concerns regarding long-term space habitation, but menstruation in particular is not one of them.
Stranger
And just to correct this misapprehension, Shuttle missions are typically anywhere from 7 days to a current maximum of 16 days, probably averaging somewhere around 11-12 days. Given mission shifts and the vagracies of the female ovulation cycle, there would be no way to plan around the menstruation period of a female astronaut.
Stranger
I read a book called Do Your Ears Pop in Space by former shuttle astronaut R. Mike Mullane. He said that female astronauts have flown during their periods, and “reported no difference in the timing, duration, or flow of their cycles”. Also according to him, NASA doesn’t take menstrual cycles into account when scheduling female astronauts to fly.
Also according to the same book, astronauts can and do blow their noses in space, and it works pretty much like it does on Earth (except, of course, when they’re wearing space suits). Your nose doesn’t drip or run in space (no gravity), so you would only blow your nose to clear congestion, not to stop it from running.
and I maintain that if in fact our bodies are designed to get rid of menstrual flow regardless of orientation, I disagree, since even lying down obviously doesn’t stop the flow, it just stops the flow OUT until you stand up. At least, this has been my experience.
I’m with the previous poster that said anything that wicks will work.
Thanks everybody! 
Oh, I only wish it did in my case! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shifted while sleeping and my pad west askew and I was getting blood out of the sheets in the morning (salt water works best!). Too gross. I even have “period sheets” I put on the night before it starts. Kind of nasty, but I got sick of ruining multiple sets. My husband calls it the “Blood Signal” (like Bat Signal, only disgusting.)
:rolleyes:
Could be worse.
In space, I’d imagine you could end up with little floating blobs of any body fluid if you’re not careful.
May I refer you to Diana Gallagher’s classic filk song, “A Reconsideration of Anatomical Docking Maneuvers in a Zero-Gravity Environment”? I can only find one set of lyrics on the web, and those not on an authorized page, so I won’t link to them in the interest of copyright restrictions, but a google on the title should bring it up.
Excellent lyric there. Quite wistful really.
While I’m here, it occurs to me also that in space, no one can hear you cream.
And the award for worst pun of the day goes to…Chez Guevara!
We get this question every now and again. Here is a previous thread: Periods in Space: TMI