What is Your Menstrual Cycle Telling You?
By: Kerry Lett, MPH, RDN, LDN, CLC
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When it comes to fertility, tracking and understanding your menstrual cycle offers valuable insight into your chances of conceiving and overall health & well-being. However, it is something that many women never learned about in school. Instead, we were taught that our period comes every 28 days and that any other time of our cycle we are fertile, but we know that in reality our menstrual cycle is so much more complex that that. Plus, for many of us with irregular periods or having trouble conceiving, those two pieces of information that we learned in school seem wildly inaccurate.
Why You Should Track Your Menstrual Cycle
There are so many benefits to tracking your menstrual cycle whether your goal is to conceive, to minimize symptoms that you are experiencing, or to understand your body better.
Determining Your Fertile Window: One of the primary reasons to track your menstrual cycle is to identify your fertile window accurately. This window when you are most fertile typically starts 5 days before ovulation to the day after ovulation when conception is most likely to occur. Understanding this time frame empowers those who are trying to conceive to optimize their chances of success by timing intercourse appropriately.
Monitoring Hormonal Health: Your menstrual cycle is intricately regulated by hormones like estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH. Irregularities in the length of your cycle, the duration of menstruation, or the presence of symptoms, like heavy bleeding or severe pain, can be indicative of underlying hormonal imbalances. Tracking these patterns over time can provide valuable information to healthcare providers - like myself -, aiding in the diagnosis and management of conditions, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or thyroid disorders, which can affect fertility.
Identifying Ovulation: Ovulation, the release of an egg from the ovary, is a star event in the menstrual cycle. Tracking changes in basal body temperature, cervical mucus consistency, or using ovulation predictor kits can help pinpoint the timing of ovulation with greater accuracy. Knowing when you are ovulating no only enhances the chances of conception, but also serves as a vital indicator of reproductive health.
Assessing Menstrual Health: A regular menstrual cycle with consistent cycle length and moderate bleeding is often indicative of good reproductive health. Conversely, irregularities, such as excessively long or short cycles, erratic bleeding patterns, or absent menstruation (amenorrhea), may signal underlying issues that warrant investigation. Tracking these abnormalities can facilitate early intervention and prevent potential complications down the line.
What to Track During Your Menstrual Cycle
There are so many different ways to track your menstrual cycle from the new electronic trackers, such as the Oura ring, Inito fertility monitor, Mira fertility monitor, and Kegg fertility tracker, to old school methods using ovulation test strips, a thermometer, and an app or a paper calendar. Regardless of how you are tracking your cycle below are some of things that you want to track in an app or on a calendar:
Write down when you are bleeding, the severity of bleeding (e.g., spotting vs heavy flow), and describe the color
Describe any symptoms, such as cramping, menstrual fluid odor, bloating, headaches, tender breasts, & mood swings, and their severity
Note when you ovulate based on a positive urine ovulation test strip, rise in basal body temperature, or spike in LH shown on your electronic trackers
Describe your vaginal discharge/cervical mucus (e.g., dry, sticky, creamy, egg white consistency)
Knowing this information should allow your to complete a comprehensive picture of your menstrual cycle starting with day 1 (first day of regular bleeding - not spotting), length of follicular phase (day 1 of cycle to day of ovulation), and length of luteal phase (day after ovulation until next bleeding) along with any symptoms and abnormalities along the way.
What is Your Menstrual Cycle Telling You
Once your menstrual cycle is tracked and you know all of the information listed above then you can use this information to better understand your hormonal and menstrual health, improve your chance of fertility, and reduce your symptoms.
No menstrual bleeding or skipped cycles: If you are not having any menstrual bleeding then it is best to work with your provider to figure out why. This can be due to many different causes, such as lack of ovulation, excessive exercise, extreme weight loss, stress, trauma, PCOS, thyroid disorders, and more. It is important to note that it is common to skip a cycle occasionally or have a bleeding show up a little late especially during times of stress. However, if you are regularly missing a period, then it is important to talk to your provider to figure out why.
Cycles lasting longer than 35 days: If you are having menstrual cycles lasting longer than 35 days, then it could be due to lack of ovulation or PCOS.
Luteal phase shorter than 10 days: As a reminder, your luteal phase is the time right after ovulation continue your next period starts. Typically, the luteal phase is 10-16 days. However, if your luteal phase is shorter, it may be due to low progesterone related to inadequate follicle or corpus luteum development. It is important to work with your provider to look into things, such as egg quality, inflammation, thyroid disease, insulin metabolism, and nutrient deficiencies.
Heavy flow & painful cramps: This could be due to an abundant amount of estrogen. Luckily, there are changes that can be done to help reduce your estrogen naturally, such as eating more fiber and reducing saturated fat consumption. However, if you are experiencing other symptoms, such as severe pelvic pain, painful intercourse, or GI issues alongside your menstrual irregularities, it is important to reach out to your provider for support as this could indicate something more severe, such as endometriosis.
Menstrual fluid odor: This could be possible due to an infection or dysbiosis. It is important to reach out to your provider for additional testing.
Light flow and/or dark/brown menstrual color: This could be due to inadequate corpus luteum development. It is important to work with your provider to look into things, such as egg quality, inflammation, thyroid disease, insulin metabolism, and nutrient deficiencies.
Tracking your menstrual cycle offers valuable insights into your fertility and reproductive health. By understanding the significance of various menstrual irregularities, you can proactively address underlying issues and optimize your chances of conceiving naturally. It is important to remember that the recommendations above are general and there are so many factors that influence your menstrual cycle. If you are looking for support to balance your hormones and increase your chance of fertility, schedule a discovery call today.
Disclaimer: This information contained in this blog is based on the experience of the author and science-based research. It is not intended to replace medical advice or diagnosis from a physician or other medical provider. This blog is not intended as a substitute for a consultation with a physician or other healthcare provider. The author is not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of any suggestions discussed in this blog.
Last medically reviewed on March 26, 2024
Kerry Lett, MPH, RDN, LDN,CLC is the pediatric & maternal registered dietitian and owner of Milestones Pediatric & Maternal Nutrition in Cary, NC. Kerry is passionate about helping growing families navigate life and achieve all of their milestones along the way. Schedule an appointment today.
