Why Use a Menstrual Calendar?
Menstrual calendars are another part of keeping an overall health calendar that is important for women who want to know more about how their bodies are working, are trying to get pregnant or have been having menstrual problems. Keeping a calendar of your period will help your doctor to diagnose any problems and help you keep track of your normal cycles. You will be better able to avoid accidents, plan for a pregnancy, manage suspected menstrual problems and keep track of your emotional changes.
In adults menstrual cycles are between 24 and 35 days but in the teen years and during menopause cycle days can be very irregular. A good rule of thumb though is that cycles shouldnt be closer than 3 weeks (21 days) and bleeding shouldnt last longer than 8 days. Your menstrual cycle calendar will help you chart these events and determine if a visit to the doctor is warranted.
Your menstrual calendar should include a couple of important pieces of information the day of the month that you start your period, the number of days that you bleed and the amount of bleeding each day. Some women use a charting system that rates the amount of bleeding by the number of tampons or pads that are used each day.
Menstrual cycle calendars can also be used to track your emotional changes each month. Using this information will help you with your decisions and your relationships. Knowing that you may be more volatile on one or two days of the month will help you and your partner prepare for potential conflicts.
Use the menstrual calendar to chart your physical and emotional responses all month for several months so you can find the patterns. If you are trying to become pregnant a calendar is very helpful. HOWEVER, a menstrual cycle calendar will not help to prevent pregnancy.
Predicting the most fertile time of the month can be pretty straightforward, but you can also be fertile at other times when you may not predict it. Thats why a calendar can help to achieve a pregnancy but isnt the most reliable way to prevent one.
Predicting your most fertile time involves the type and feel of cervical mucus and your basal temperature. Use the calendar to chart your mucus type and stickiness. At your most fertile time the mucus is slippery and wet and changes back to sticky and pasty when you loose fertility. The time the mucus is slippert wet to bleeding will usually 11-16 days.
Although most cycles will be fertile, some may not be. If there is more or less time between slippery wet mucus and bleeding the cycle is not fertile. Also remember that although periods are often 28 to 30 days irregular cycles do not mean you are infertile.
The time you are bleeding is also a factor that should be charted. Bleeding for at least 3 days usually means the uterus is capable of putting down enough lining to support a pregnancy but bleeding for more than 5 days is exhausting and can lead to anemia.
Using a menstrual cycle calendar will help you chart your personal health cycles and will help you and your doctor accurately diagnose any problems or difficulties you might be having. Often your doctor will ask you to keep a calendar for several months. Walking into an office visit with this information will increase the likelihood that you will walk out with a diagnosis of your problem that much more quickly.
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