Water retention and stomach bloating are two uncomfortable symptoms that everyone experiences from time to time. Their causes range from premenstrual syndrome to a poor diet, but the solution is the same. Simple lifestyle changes are all that's usually needed to beat bloating and fluid retention.

Your kidneys filter water and other substances from your blood to produce urine. Urine production enables your body to rid itself of waste products and other potentially harmful substances, while also regulating water balance.

If you have an unpleasant vaginal odor, it can be very embarrassing, and it may be a sign of some sort of infection, or even poor personal hygiene. One of the most common vaginal infections that is associated with a fishy vaginal smell is called bacterial vaginosis, which is caused by gardnerella bacteria.

Water retention signifies the accumulation of excess fluid in the body cavities and tissues. This is not a medical condition, but a symptom of an underlying medical problem. In some cases, water retention occurs as the result of medication use. Seek medical advice for water retention that does not improve on its own.

The menstrual cycle is a normal monthly occurrence for women from puberty until menopause. The cycle prepares a woman's body for pregnancy. Menstruation begins each month when the egg is not fertilized, causing the shedding of the extra lining of the uterus that would otherwise nourish the growing embryo.

Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is a hormone made by the placenta to help support the growth of the fetus during pregnancy. During normal pregnancy, hCG levels generally double about every 48 to 72 hours and can be detected by a blood test about 3 weeks from the last menstrual period.

During pregnancy, your body needs extra nutrition to support your developing baby's growth, and drinking whole milk can be a way to meet some of those needs.

Surgical removal of both ovaries is medically known as bilateral oophorectomy. Since the ovaries manage hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle, including estrogen and progesterone, removing the ovaries causes surgical menopause.

In a normal menstrual cycle, a woman releases a mature egg from a follicle that develops in the ovary. Luteinizing hormone (LH) matures the egg inside the follicle and causes the follicle to burst, releasing the egg.

Fallopian tube blockage can prevent a woman from becoming pregnant and is a major cause of infertility. A special X-ray called a hysterosalpingogram is used to look inside the uterus and fallopian tubes to help identify a blockage.

The herb parsley, whose scientific name is Petroselinum crispum, has a reputation among herbalists as an emmenagogue, a substance that stimulates the uterus and may lead to uterine contractions.

If you have an endometrial biopsy, your gynecologist will take a sample of tissue from your endometrium, which is the lining of your uterus. The sample is then sent to a pathologist who will study it under a microscope.