When you visit an OB/GYN, the question they always ask is: When was your last period?
When I first became a doctor, the girls would always look up at the sky, deep in thought. Now, half of them quickly pull out their phones, swiping and saying, "Let me check for you."
Apps or mini-programs for tracking menstrual cycles have become an integral part of women's lives.
Besides being used to predict menstruation and determine if one's period is regular, many people also use it to predict ovulation and safe periods for purposes such as preparing for pregnancy or preventing pregnancy.
Is this a good idea for teenage girls?
Use apps with caution
Leah Fowler of the University of Texas Law Center at Houston believes that teenage girls may use these apps to track their periods to better understand their cycles and sexual health, but this could raise numerous issues regarding privacy, data sharing, and sex education.
For example, young women (and even us older women) don't know whether these apps will further use the big data they obtain for other commercial activities.
Many women may also share their data with their sexual partners or other friends.
During adolescence, these topics are still very sensitive and private, and sharing them could lead to more problems, such as being maliciously used for school bullying.
More importantly, in the absence of sufficient sex education, girls may believe and rely on the information provided by the app for contraception or to read other health information provided in the app.
However! Many similar apps don't always provide accurate information, and some girls can't even understand their content correctly. Under such circumstances, it's quite dangerous to "practice" on your own.
This is an article from abroad, and it may not be entirely applicable to China's national conditions. Many people believe that Chinese girls are generally "obedient".
However, sometimes it is precisely these misconceptions and the lack of sex education that amplify the risks mentioned earlier. Most girls do not know the principles behind these apps' predictions or how to interpret the information within them.
For example, in real life, there are many girls who, after taking emergency contraception, have their menstrual cycles disrupted by hormones, but still continue to use apps to predict their ovulation day and safe period.
How do I record the cycle myself?
The article discusses its use on teenage girls, but what about adult women of childbearing age?
Compared to not keeping a record of your menstrual cycle at all, regularly keeping a record is highly recommended. You'll gain a better understanding of your menstrual cycle and be able to promptly detect whether your period is early or late.
Many women have also discovered their menstrual irregularities or even pregnancy through the app.
However, it should also be understood that these apps' predictions are not as miraculous as some claim, nor should they be completely trusted. In particular, relying on apps to calculate the safe period for contraception carries certain risks.
As the saying goes, "It's better to rely on yourself than on others." The medical principles used by these apps that predict menstrual cycles, ovulation periods, and safe periods are actually quite simple.
1. Prediction of ovulation period
For women with relatively regular menstrual cycles, ovulation usually occurs about two weeks before the first day of their next period.
For example, for someone with a 28-day menstrual cycle, if their period starts on the 1st of this month and the 28th is expected to be the first day of their next period, then their ovulation period would be around the 14th.
2. Calculation of fertile days
Because sperm can survive for 3-5 days, while an egg can only survive for 12-24 hours after ovulation, the most fertile period is from 5 days before ovulation to 24 hours after ovulation.
For example: if you have intercourse 5 days before ovulation, the chance of conception is 4%; if you have intercourse 2 days before ovulation, the chance of conception is 25%-28%; if you have intercourse 24 hours after ovulation, the chance of conception is 8%-10%; and if you have intercourse on other days, the chance of conception is 0%.
However, whether these two principles can be applied with 100% accuracy depends on your menstrual cycle, that is, whether your ovulation day is very stable.
In fact, our endocrine system is easily affected by environmental factors, physical stress, emotional changes, etc., which inevitably leads to ovulation occurring earlier or later than expected, and we cannot detect this situation in advance.
A study analyzed data from over 18,500 women using a foreign app for contraception and found that the pregnancy rate was approximately 8.3% and the discontinuation rate after 12 months was 54%.
Without using an app, the traditional "brainpower calculation" rhythm method of contraception has a failure rate of up to 23%.
Of course, if you are using a similar app simply to monitor your menstrual cycle, and the data security is generally assured, then as an obstetrician and gynecologist, I would strongly encourage it.
After all, I much prefer seeing the colorful markers on your phones to being told I forgot after racking my brains.
Especially after many women become pregnant, in order to better verify their gestational age, these apps not only provide the date of their last menstrual period, but patients also record the dates of their intercourse (represented by little hearts on a calendar, which is quite endearing).
If you are worried about data leaks or other issues, it is a good idea to open a notepad application and record it.
In conclusion, regardless of the method used, recording your menstrual cycle is a highly commendable activity. However, please exercise caution when using this data for prediction.
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