How To Calculate Your Safe And Unsafe Fertile Periods

In this particular article, we are going to be looking into a common question that women ask. Which is about what their cycle is.

We are going to be looking into what a cycle length is, and, of course, from this cycle length, you will know how you can calculate your safe period in case you are using a natural method of family planning.

When based on your period alone, you don’t want to get pregnant. We are also going to be looking into the ovulation dates so that by this, you would be ready to have timed intercourse, which is intercourse that is timed towards ovulation, in case you are also trying to get pregnant.

In the  beginning of one menses to the beginning of another menses. I mean if you start your menses today, this is the beginning of your cycle length, and when you are going to finish the menses in the next month, it’s also the end of this particular cycle.

Let’s assume my menses start on the 5th of this month and is going to finish on the 2nd of the next month. That is my cycle. What I’m saying is, that this is the 4th day of my period, which is day 5, which is today, to the 1st of the next month. So this is my cycle length.

Now, before you can use the menstrual cycle, there is a requirement.

The requirement is that you must have a regular cycle. So what is a regular cycle?

A regular cycle is a cycle that doesn’t come earlier than every 21 days and it’s also not coming later than every 35 days. And whenever it comes, whenever you have any of these days, it’s not going to vary more than plus or minus five. So, for example, if I’m expecting my menses on the 1st of this month, as I have written here, and I’m seeing my menses on the 29th, before that 1st, it’s a regular cycle, as long as this variation is no more than plus or minus five days. This is a regular cycle.

Now, what we are going to be using to describe the safe period and the ovulation date is going to be a standard example, and the standard example is a 28-day cycle. Not every woman has a 28-day cycle, and even whoever says she has a 28-day cycle, the possibility is there that she may not be seeing her menses every 28th.

What that means is that sometimes it may be on the 27th, it may be 28, it may be 29. As long as this variation, as I’ve said, is no more than plus or minus 5 days, it is a regular cycle.

So now you must have a regular cycle before we can use your menstrual calendar to know your safe period or your ovulation dates. I’ve told you what a regular cycle is in this class. I’ve told you that your menses don’t have to come on the day you are expecting exactly. If it comes plus or minus five days when you are expecting it, it’s fine. This is a regular cycle. If you are going to be using it to calculate your ovulation, you must have like six of these written down.

There are some applications and even a calendar method you can cycle on your calendar. The first day of your menses, not the total number of days of your menses. In this particular discussion that we are having, the first day of your cycle is what you will be noting down on your tracker or even your calendar, and that is what we are working on. You are going to be using it for your cycle length.

I hope you have been able to gain one or two things from this article.

I’m Dr Muibat Adeniran, a consultant psychiatrist and gynaecologist.

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