Women detail how they 'period scoop' during menstruation as doctor issues warning

When it comes to our 'times of the month', I'm sure many other women will agree - the sooner it's over, the better.

After all, what's worse when you've got exciting plans than painful cramps, severe bloating and mood swings that'll give your other-half whiplash?

But in a bid to speed the process of menstruation along, some monthly-bleeders have taken part in a process known as 'period scooping', claiming they'd rather beat mother nature to the punch.

Now, it's important to not that this is no biological, chemical or hormonal phenomenon. Nothing changes inside the body that allows women to dictate as and when their menses commence.

In fact, 'period scooping' is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin; it describes the belief that a person can 'scoop out' part of their daily bleed to avoid half of the faff that comes with it.

This doesn't necessarily mean the manual removal of an entire months worth of blood, and can apply to cases of a small amount being extracted per day.

Some women claims they practice period scooping to save themselves the faff (Getty Stock Images)

Now, if you're squeamish, I totally get why you'd be put off by this idea - but apparently, it's much more common than you might expect.

Sharing her experience, one female Reddit user wrote on the discussion forum recently: "When i'm in the shower i kind of try 'scooping' the blood out - I feel like I can 'wash away' gobs of blood before they get on my pad.

"Part of me also hopes this might make my period shorter even though I know that's not likely."

The same user went on to ask: "Anybody do anything similar or is this actually unusual?"

Immediately, another user claimed they're a regular period-scooper, explaining: "I do this also since I have endometriosis and really I can't help but do anything I can to get the clots of blood out as soon as possible.

"I am going to pass them one way or the other, so may as well be in the shower."

Some women claimed they period scoop in the shower (Getty Stock Images)

As a third went on to add: "I usually do it on the toilet. I just sit there after peeing and push, push, push until there are no more gobs of blood."

While another continued: "I don't know why I was so surprised to read that I'm not the only one who does this, whoop whoop."

It isn't just bleeders themselves that can take the lead on this practice, however - as one TikToker revealed recently, claiming her gynaecologist asked her after a recent smear if she'd like her period 'scooped' out.

"Scoop it out? Do I look like a pint of Häagen-Dazs?" she joked in the viral video. "And, yeah… she scooped it out."

Not long after the clip began doing the rounds online, number of health experts chimed in on the matter.

Some suggested that this instance could refer to a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, including Houston-based OB-GYN, Dr Andrea Alexander.

She explained that this specific surgery works by gently opening or dilating the cervix and then a spoon-shaped tool will be used to remove tissue from the uterine lining.

Some experts have issued advice on this matter (Getty Stock Images)

This procedure is reportedly most commonly practiced following a miscarriage, the birth of a child, following some abortions, or to treat conditions like polyps, fibroids and endometrial hyperplasia.

'Period scooping' could also refer to using a manual vacuum aspirator (MVA), or another gentle suction procedure to empty the uterus," she told the New York post recently.

However, Dr Shannon Clark, an OB-GYN and professor at the University of Texas, said in response: "No OB-GYN, or any provider for that matter, should be offering to scoop anything out of anyone at the end of a routine procedure.

"There are things we can do to help someone who’s having irregular or heavy menstrual cycles. But people can’t just sign up for an appointment to just ‘scoop it out’ so they don’t have to have a menstrual cycle."

She added that this could cause unnecessary pain for the patient, most likely worse than your period would be, and it can increase the risk of infection if it's done routinely.