How do hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle affect female ejaculation?
Executive summary
Hormonal shifts across the menstrual cycle and especially during perimenopause/menopause alter vaginal tissue, lubrication, blood flow and libido—changes that experts and health sites link to differences in orgasm frequency and the likelihood or character of female ejaculation (e.g., reduced estrogen → vaginal dryness; pelvic tissue changes) [1] [2]. Direct, high‑quality research tying short‑term cycle hormone fluctuations to increased or decreased rates of female ejaculation is scant; one recent hypothesis paper calls for cycle‑tracking to test such links because existing data are limited [3] [4].
1. Hormones shape the bodily terrain for ejaculation
Estrogen and, to a lesser extent, androgens sustain vaginal blood flow, lubrication and tissue elasticity; when those levels fall (as in menopause), clinicians and sexual‑health guides say arousal, orgasm intensity and the mechanical conditions that may produce female ejaculation often change—most commonly toward reduced lubrication, slower arousal and potential pain with penetration [1] [2]. Multiple consumer health sites describe vaginal dryness and loss of clitoral/vaginal blood flow as mechanisms that can make orgasm and thus ejaculation less likely without further intervention [1] [5].
2. Menopause is the clearest life phase where hormones affect ejaculation, but effects vary
Reporting and patient‑facing guides emphasise heterogeneity: some women report losing the capacity to ejaculate after menopause, others begin or notice more frequent ejaculation after hormonal changes [4] [1]. Sharecare notes that hormonal loss of estrogen can change pelvic muscle tone and urinary continence—factors that confound reports of “squirting” vs urinary leakage—so apparent increases or decreases in fluid expulsion may reflect multiple physiological shifts, not a single mechanism [4].
3. “Squirting,” female ejaculation and urinary leakage are often conflated
Sources repeatedly warn the phenomena described as female ejaculation, squirting and urinary incontinence overlap in both lay and some clinical reports. That ambiguity makes it hard to quantify true prevalence or to map precise hormonal causes without careful biochemical and urodynamic study [4] [6]. Some studies detect Skene’s‑gland secretions (containing PSA) distinct from urine, but routine differentiation is not standard in most consumer reports [3].
4. The menstrual cycle itself: limited direct evidence
While hormonal birth control and broad endocrine shifts are hypothesised to alter sexual behaviour and possibly the prevalence of female ejaculation, contemporary literature remains thin on direct, well‑controlled studies tying day‑to‑day menstrual‑cycle hormone fluctuations to female ejaculation frequency [3]. ScienceDirect’s 2024 review and a later Medical Hypotheses piece propose cycle‑tracking studies because current datasets don’t yet permit confident, causal claims [3].
5. Practical mechanisms and mediators cited by sources
Guides and clinics cite several mediators by which hormones could affect ejaculation: decreased estrogen → reduced lubrication and elasticity; altered pelvic floor muscle tone → changes in expulsive contractions; lower libido or arousal (linked to both estrogen and testosterone) → fewer or weaker orgasms [1] [2] [7]. These are plausible mechanistic pathways described in the sources, though empirical quantification is not provided [1] [2].
6. What the science calls for and what clinicians recommend now
Researchers explicitly call for empirical cycle‑tracking in women who do and do not ejaculate to test hypotheses about hormonal modulation of female ejaculation; they also predict hormonal contraception may lower prevalence, based on its known effects on sexual behaviour [3]. Meanwhile practical recommendations in consumer pieces include local estrogen therapy, lubricants, pelvic‑floor strengthening and sexual technique adjustments as ways to mitigate menopause‑related changes—advice framed as symptomatic management rather than proof of hormonal causation [1] [2] [8].
7. Limitations, disagreements and hidden assumptions
Available sources are mostly patient‑oriented guides, hypothesis papers and reviews; rigorous, large‑scale clinical trials directly linking menstrual‑cycle hormone levels to female ejaculation episodes are not cited in this set [3] [4]. Some sources assume female ejaculation is a single, definable phenomenon, while others stress it’s a mixture of Skene’s gland secretions and possible urine—this conceptual split drives disagreement about prevalence and mechanisms [4] [3] [6].
8. Bottom line for readers
Hormonal change clearly alters the sexual milieu—lubrication, tissue quality, blood flow and desire—and those changes plausibly affect whether and how female ejaculation occurs, especially across the menopause transition [1] [2]. But definitive, cycle‑level causal data are lacking; high‑quality, hormone‑assayed, cycle‑tracked studies are needed to move beyond plausible mechanisms and mixed clinical observation into firm conclusions [3] [4].