Conception

28 days a horn! My cycle is not like that.

Since childhood, when they explain to us that we will menstruate, one of the things that imprint in our minds is a number above all: 28. All.

The twenty-eight, like the lunar cycles, or like the size of jeans…

28 According to common thinking (and alas also that of many doctors) should be the typical length of menstrual cycles that we will have in our lives .

As a result, another number appears on the horizon: 14.

14 should be the day of ovulation, non-sex (or sex as the case may be).

Never have two simple numbers been so misinterpreted. And badly used

Not only do menstrual cycle lengths vary from month to month and widely among women, but a new study has found that only 13% of women have a 28-day cycle.
Being aware that menstrual cycles are not actually standard as we have always been taught, can help a lot not only those who are trying to get pregnant, but also those who have a cycle so irregular as to justify the gynecological examination.

28 or not 28 that’s the problem

In the study published in npj Digital MedicineTrusted Source it was seen that only 13% of cycles last 28 days. The average length calculated over a total of 600,000 menstrual cycles was 29.3 days.

Researchers at University College London collaborated with a contraceptive app called Natural Cycles to analyze more than 600,000 menstrual cycles from more than 120,000 anonymous users of the app.

Nearly 65 percent of women experienced cycles between 25 and 30 days.

It is normal that menstrual cycles can vary from person to person, but also from month to month. For example, it is not a problem if one month I have a cycle of 27 days and the next of 30.

When users write to us saying: “I have an irregular cycle” this is often not actually the case and they worry about nothing. Most of the time they consider irregular a cycle that varies by 3-4 days.

By truly irregular, on the other hand, we mean particularly long cycles that even skip months. These cycles require medical advice because they could be due to hormonal imbalances and syndromes such as polycystic ovary.

The problem of fixed calculations

When people think they have a 28-day cycle, they mistakenly assume that they always ovulate on day 14.

It happens that doctors prescribe drugs such as progesterone to be taken a priori from the 14th day of the menstrual cycle. For example, if a woman has a long cycle and ovulates around the 20th… progesterone would be taken at a completely wrong and counterproductive juncture.

It also happens that you come to think that you can only conceive a child if you have intercourse on the 14th day. It is not so. Ovulation can easily occur earlier or later than expected, and sperm cells can survive up to 3-5 days in a woman’s body after intercourse, making about 7 days a woman’s fertile window.

The fertile window in fact includes the 5-6 days preceding ovulation, the day of ovulation and the day after (the oocyte in fact survives 12-24 hours after the follicle burst).

Relying on numbers and statistics to monitor your menstrual cycle and fertility is therefore wrong.

Instead, it is essential that the woman learns to know her body and its rhythms well, when she ovulates, when her post-ovulatory phase lasts and registers any particular symptoms.

These are very important data, whether you are looking for pregnancy, whether you want to understand if the cycle has a normal course or not, and when it is good to consult your doctor.

A luteal phase that is always too short (less than 11 days) should be investigated with specific investigations. Cycles that are not ovulatory or appear one month and others do not, require medical advice.

The understanding of what is normal and what is not, is fundamental in the period in which pregnancy is sought, when it is not sought, and when the woman is approaching menopause.

Menstrual cycles that are too short or too long, or particularly painful, or scarce or too abundant, are a valid reason to request medical advice.

Change in menstrual cycle length or characteristics may be the first sign a woman notices when she has thyroid abnormalities, or other hormonal problems such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or Hyperprolactinaemia .

Know your menstrual cycle

To track your period, there are many options whether you are trying to get pregnant or not.

Apps can help but technology is valid if it allows women to “think for themselves” to understand the data even when it doesn’t seem clear.

A good way to understand when a woman is ovulating is observing symptoms such as cervical mucus , using ovulation tests and monitoring basal body temperature tags. These tools, even used together, help in understanding the rhythms of one’s body.

Once you understand, if you’re approaching pregnancy research and everything is fine, have sex as often as you like. Don’t count the days, don’t schedule intercourse on set days, but try not to miss the fertile window!. If, on the other hand, you have particularly irregular cycles, it is better to talk to your doctor immediately to understand how to regulate them and facilitate the search for pregnancy.

Dr Kathryn Barlow

Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.

Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.

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