Trying for a baby?
Or planning to start doing so soon?
In that case, it makes sense to really get to know your period cycle, as this can make it easier to get pregnant faster – and also spot any potential problems sooner.
Your period health is of vast importance when it comes to your fertility, and it seems many of us don’t know enough about our own bodies and, in particular, our periods.
In fact, a recent poll carried out by Sims IVF, found that 75 percent of people only learned more about periods when they started to fertility treatment.
And with that in mind, the Medical Consultant-led group of fertility clinics in Ireland has introduced a new awareness and education campaign to celebrate Fertility Awareness Week 2022.
The ‘Know Your Period’ aims to educate women of all ages about their menstrual cycle and to tackle how periods can be viewed as a ‘taboo’ subject.
The campaign will also focus on how the menstrual cycle can impact on fertility, and highlight what women need to know if they are trying to conceive or are going through fertility treatment.
Know your period
“When you are trying to conceive, whether that is with the help of a fertility clinic or not, it is important to understand your menstrual cycle, explains Amy Murphy, Nurse Manager at the Sims IVF clinic in Swords.
“In preparation for the ‘Know Your Period’ campaign, we carried out research among out target audience to understand how much they know about their cycles and the results showed that many people are not fully aware of certain elements that can impact your chances of conceiving.”
Murphy explains that, for instance, it is important to know the length of your cycle in order to determine when your ‘fertile window’ is, or for patients going through fertility treatment, it is useful to have this information to hand when attending your first appointment.
“During the two-week campaign, we want to help women to understand their bodies, and to open up the conversations about periods.”
As part of the campaign, Sims IVF have highlighted three things to know about your period when trying to conceive:
1. What does Day 1 of your cycle mean?
Surprisingly, a lot of people surveyed by Sims IVF did not know when ‘Day 1’ of their menstrual cycle is. The simple answer is that ‘Day 1’ is the first day of your period. The length of a cycle varies but is generally between 24 and 38 days.
2. What is the most fertile time of your cycle and optimum time to try and conceive?
The most fertile days in your cycle are the days leading up to ovulation before the egg is released from the ovary. It is recommended that couples have intercourse every two days throughout the fertile window.
3. What does it mean if you have a long or short menstrual cycle?
Long or irregular cycles can mean you are not ovulating regularly, which can impact chances of conceiving. The most important thing is to get to know your cycle and what a ‘normal’ cycle looks like for you, so you can identify any changes that need to be investigated.
