Source: DOCTORSHUB NIGERIA

So I am here again, this time, to talk about a seemingly common practice but one with potentially devastating consequences: refusal or unwillingness by some women to know the workings of menstruation and ovulation . I have never minced words in telling young ladies of reproductive age (15-45 years) that if at all there is only one thing they have to know (inside out) about their bodies, it should be their menstrual cycles. And I still stand by that pronouncement. Because that is really what makes a woman a woman- not even boobs. There are men with boobs these days (a condition called gynecomastia). But I am yet to see or hear of any man who ovulates and menstruates. If you know any, please shock me.


That said, let's go straight to the topic of the day- knowing how to calculate your safe days or period i.e the time during your menstrual cycle that even when you have unprotected sexual intercourse with a fertile male, your chance of ever getting pregnant is as good as zero. But before I do, let me quickly explain these two easily confused terminologies: ovulation and menstruation.


Ovulation is the process whereby a woman's ovaries release egg(s) for fertilization. And for most normal women, this happens only once in any given month. Usually, if your cycle length is 28 days like most women, your ovulation day will be on day 14. Please note the day, because it is important. If however your cycle length is 26 or 30 days, just divide it by 2 and that would give you days 13 and 15 respectively as your ovulation day.


Menstruation on the other hand is the monthly flow of blood most women experience during which some abstain from school or work because of the cramps and other symptoms associated with it. The meaning of menstruation is simple:pregnancy has failed to occur that month. In other words, for every month that you menstruate, it is evidence that you failed to conceive.

NB: there are some women who fail to menstruate even though they are not pregnant. A lot of conditions can cause that.


Now to the real koko of this article...

Since you now know that you ovulate on day 14 if your cycle length is 28 days or day 15 if it is 30 days, all you need to do is start counting from the last day of your period. That is, if your period ends today, you will start counting from today as the beginning of your next cycle. I am going to assume your cycle last for 28 days so I will be referring to 14 and 28 for the rest of the article. So you start counting from the last day of your immediate period up until day 9. From day 10 up to day 15, you are not to have unprotected sex (if you do, please take postinor immediately), and this is assumming your ovulation happens on day 14. But you may want to ask, if I am going to ovulate on day 14, why should I not just avoid day 14 alone instead? Why start from day 10? The answer is simple as well- sperms! They are a tricky, sneaky and mischievous lot. Because their mandate is to impregnate you at all cost, they can stay alive inside of you for up to 5 days! So if you have unprotected sex on day 10 and think you are cool, you are just joking. The sneaky bastard would be in there waiting for you until day 14 when you will release some egg(s)- and bingo! Because of this, you start being very careful from day 10. That means that from day 1 to day 9, you are safe. No cause for alarm.


Again, your eggs, (the ones released during ovulation) don't have as much stamina as the sperms so they are only able to be alive for up to 24 hours inside of you. What does this mean? After an egg is released, it only has a fertilization interval of 24 hours (for the sperm to penetrate it so that conception can occur). If after 24 hours nothing happens, the eggs won't be viable again and hence won't be fertilized even if a sperm cell comes in contact with it. With the 5 days of the sperms and the 1 day of the eggs, a woman only has 6 days in every cycle during which she can get knocked up if she has unprotected intercourse with a fertile male. Days 10 to 15 are your unsafe days. Some people actually call it "No man's land". That is, no man should go there during those days- assuming you don't intend to get pregnant. But again, you can let a man get in there if you know what you are doing. Just make sure you practise safe sex and should it happen that the sperms were too hot for the condom to hold and they found their way inside of you, always have postinor handy.


IN SUMMARY,
For any woman (whose cycle lasts for 28 days) worried about safe days and unsafe days, days 10 to 15 are your unsafe days while every other day including the entire duration of your menstuation are your safe days.

If your cycle length is 26 or 30 days, just half it, and you will get the exact day of your ovulation (which would be day 13 if your cycle lasts for 26 days and day 15 if it lasts for 30 days). should that be the case, your unsafe days would be days 11 to 16 (for a cycle length of 30 days) and days 9-14 (for a cycle length of 26 days).

NB: if your period is irregular, you may not be able to accurately pinpoint your ovulation day. Very occasionally too, some women with severely abnormal cycles have been known to ovulate just a day after mentruation. This s a very rare occurrence though-extremely rare. If your cycle is irregular and you are unable to calculate your safe and unsafe days, feel free to consult any of our doctors on the site for guidance.

You may also find useful,

"6 FACTS ABOUT OVULATION EVERY WOMAN MUST KNOW", here http://doctorshub.com.ng/2017/01/19/6-facts-about-ovulation-every-woman-must-know/

"FAQs: POSTINOR 1&2- EVRY IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED TO KNOW" http://doctorshub.com.ng/2017/02/14/faqs-postinor-12-every-important-thing-you-need-to-know


Thanks for reading!





http://doctorshub.com.ng/2017/03/11/how-to-calculate-the-safe-days-of-your-cycle/

This is nice