Menstrual calendar – phases of the menstrual cycle, application. How does the menstrual calendar work?

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Every woman’s body is different from each other. There are no specific guidelines for what the menstrual cycle should look like, and it is sometimes difficult to identify certain phases. The menstrual calendar can help in their calculation, which is an indispensable way for women trying for a baby, as well as for those who do not plan one. What are the stages of the cycle and what days are they on?

Menstrual calendar – the menstrual cycle

The menstrual cycle consists of several phases, including bleeding, relative infertility, ovulation and absolute infertility. Many of them can be identified by certain symptoms, such as:

1. higher temperature,
2. change in appearance or amount of mucus,
3. various pain ailments. 

Cycle observation is also associated with the so-called Billings method – observation of cervical mucus.

Menstrual cycle – length, phases, cycle disorders [EXPLAINED]

Menstrual calendar – bleeding

Typically, the bleeding period is 4 to 7 days. The first day of menstruation is also the first day of the cycle. During this phase, the ovum that has not been fertilized and the enlarged endometrium are removed.

This is a completely natural process and applies to all women. If your period is more than one week late, a pregnancy test should be performed.

During your period, we recommend Vuokkoset Bio Super Organic Cotton Tampons or Bio Mini Tampons, depending on how heavy your periods are.

See: Menstruation calculator – fertile days, period symptoms

Menstrual calendar – relative infertile days

After the bleeding is over, it begins period of pre-ovulatory infertility. During this time, the body is preparing for the fertile period. However, this stage does not occur in all women, and not every time. It all depends on the length of the cycle, its regularity and your general lifestyle. This is the time between the 7th and the 13th day.

Then the level of estrogen rises. Hair is shinier, and acne that may occur before and during the period disappears. The body is also characterized by a lower temperature. During this time, the cervix is ​​tightly closed and the discharge is scanty or absent.

Also read: How to calculate fertile days?

Menstrual calendar – fertile days

This phase means that one Graff follicle has been selected. It contains an egg that grows and matures in the ovary, waiting for fertilization. The body is preparing for fertilization. The cervix opens and the vaginal mucus is abundant. This happens 4 days before ovulation.

Check it out: Fertile days calendar. How to calculate fertile and infertile days?

Menstrual calendar – ovulation

The moment the egg is released from the fallopian tubes is ovulation. It is characterized by the fact that the body temperature rises by up to several degrees. You may experience ovulatory pain manifested by breast tenderness, a stinging sensation in your lower abdomen and a greater desire for sex. This phase is also accompanied by an abundant appearance of smooth and slippery mucus.

The greatest probability of conceiving a child is 2-3 days before the planned ovulation. Sperm is able to survive in a woman’s body from 48 hours to even 72 hours after intercourse with full ejaculation. The egg, on the other hand, only lives for 24 hours.

Read: Is Bleeding During Ovulation Normal?

Menstrual calendar – absolute infertile days

If fertilization does not take place, the level of estrogen and progesterone in the woman’s body drops. This happens between the 21st and 28th day of the cycle. The woman experiences symptoms that may indicate that she is about to enter a period – low mood, abdominal pain, gas, high body temperature and PMS, i.e. premenstrual syndrome.

How do I use the menstrual calendar?

A calendar is something that works for women who want to get pregnant as well as for those who do not plan a baby and want to control their fertility. For women who have a very regular period, it can be a contraceptive method, but it is not very effective.

The Internet is rich in all sorts of sites that offer menstrual calendars. Moreover, many applications have been developed to help you calculate when to expect your period. Just enter the date your period starts and the length of your average cycle. The menstrual calendar clearly and legibly tells women what day of the cycle they are currently on.

Also read: Sterility. How to check if the cycles are ovulatory?

The menstrual calendar as a method of contraception

The menstrual calendar can be used as a method of contraception, but remember that it is only effective if the woman has a regular cycle and, equally importantly, strictly adheres to periods of sexual abstinence. Additionally, there are many factors that can reduce the effectiveness of this method. These include: stress, colds or even climate change.

Before a woman uses this method of contraception, she should carefully observe her cycles for at least several months, so that she can determine their length.

However, it should be remembered that, after all, the menstrual calendar is the least effective method of contraception and is much better when a woman wants to get pregnant.

Read more about effective contraception: Pearl Index – how to calculate Pearl Index for different methods of contraception

The menstrual calendar and the chance of getting pregnant

Thanks to the use of the menstrual calendar, a woman can calculate when her fertile days are, however, this does not mean that on these fertile days she will become pregnant. There is simply the best chance of getting pregnant during the fertile days. This is because sperm can survive in a woman’s body for up to a week.

In other words, if sexual intercourse took place during the infertile days, sperm can survive in the body until fertile days.

Planning a pregnancy – how to plan a pregnancy wisely?

Menstrual calendar – ways to calculate

It is worth every woman to keep a menstrual calendar and to do it correctly. When keeping a calendar, write down exactly the dates of your periods (their beginning and end). Usually, the cycle lasts 28 days, so for example, if a woman got menstruation on August 1, she should have the next one on August 29, and that day the cycle begins again.

During the 28-day cycle, fertilization may take place between the 8th and 17th day of the cycle. However, counting it just like that is often ineffective, which is why there are several methods of counting fertile days. These methods include:

Temperature measurement – during the fertile days, the woman’s body temperature is slightly higher than 0,2 degrees, therefore this method consists in measuring her body temperature every day after waking up and recording it. It is important that the measurement is taken at the same time each time;

Ovulation test – it is available at any pharmacy at a low price. With it, you can immediately know if ovulation is occurring;

Observation of the mucus – This method has been known for a long time and is characterized by high efficiency. When a woman ovulates, her mucus is different, stretched, white in color, and has the consistency of chicken protein. After ovulation, the mucus has a completely different consistency, and in some women it is completely absent.

There are also women for whom the methods mentioned above are completely unnecessary. This is due to their knowledge of their own body, which means that these women know exactly when it is the best time to fertilize them. They know this thanks to their characteristic symptoms. The breasts are then clearly larger and more tender, in addition, these women have a much greater libido at this time, and they also feel pain in the lower abdomen.

It is also worth mentioning that there are menstrual calendars widely available on the Internet, which themselves calculate the fertile days and menstruation, showing the woman exactly at which point in the cycle she is. Nevertheless, they should not be trusted blindly, and every woman should continue to observe her body and use at least one method of calculating her fertile days.

Find out more: Fertile and infertile mucus – observation and chances of fertilization