I’ve encountered quite a number of ladies who know nothing about their menstrual cycle and this baffles me a lot. If you are among this group of ladies then this piece is for you.
The menstrual cycle is the series of changes a woman’s body goes through to prepare for pregnancy
The first day of your menstrual cycle is the first day you start bleeding ( i.e. the first day you ‘see your period’)
In order to calculate your cycle length, you will count from this first day of bleeding to the first day of your next period.
The average cycle length is about 28 days but the normal range is between 21 days and 35 days
For you to know your cycle length you will have to study yourself for months in order to get your consistent cycle length
Your body is not a machine so even when you know your consistent cycle length it may change by few days from time to time
Once you know your cycle length you can calculate your ovulation day by subtracting 14 from cycle length e.g if your cycle length is 28 days then you ovulated on the day 14 of the cycle (28 – 14 = 14), if yours is 26 days then you ovulated on the day 12 of your cycle ( 26 – 14 = 12)
Thus for a lady with a 28-day cycle, assuming today is May 1 and she starts seeing her period today, it means she will ovulate on May 14 which will be the day 14 of her cycle.
The ovulation day is the day your ovary releases egg. If this egg comes in contact with a sperm cell pregnancy will result.
Some sperm cells can survive for up to 5 days in a woman’s womb, so having unprotected sex 4 – 5 days before your ovulation day is quite risky. The egg can survive for about 24 hours after ovulation, so having unprotected sex a day after your ovulation is risky too.
It’s important to state that calculation of the exact ovulation day can only be done after seeing your period i.e. assuming you start seeing your period today and the interval between your last period and this present one was 29 days, it means you ovulated on the day 15 (29 -14 = 15) of your last cycle and knowing this, you can project that you may ovulate on the day 15 or thereabout of your present cycle
For some observant ladies, you may discover that you sometimes experience abdominal cramps about 2 weeks to your next period. This is called mid-cycle pain and is due to ovulation
Your sexual urge may increase around ovulation time too
About a week or 2 to your period you may experience premenstrual symptoms, these symptoms vary from women to women and from cycle to cycle. They include fatigue, acne, constipation, diarrhoea, cramps, breast swelling and tenderness, anger, irritability, mood swings and so many more. Each lady knows the symptoms that are peculiar to her.
All the best!

good talk.

Thank you.