Would you believe it if we said, not really…? Yes, not really!
You’re probably wondering how can you go about tracking your period? Why track a period if you don’t have to also track the end date? Will the predictions even be correct? All valid and reasonable questions and we would love to explain them all and more. If you have been wondering how/why you can’t track your period end date or how many days you bled in the Grace Health app (currently) then this blog post is for you!
Let’s get right into it…
Why Not?
Tracking your period is essentially important for every woman. It only makes sense that if you do track your period you track both the start and end dates, right? Well… not quite! The star of the show- if we may call it that, is and has always been when your period starts! There are numerous reasons why you may track periods, the main one being to understand your body by learning its frequency and length. By doing this, you’re able to predict your fertile days and plan when to conceive and/or avoid pregnancy as well as identify any unusual symptoms and detect any health issues or conditions in their early stages.
Take note of this, the first day of full bleeding (not spotting) is day one of your menstrual cycle! This cycle ends the day before your next period starts. So everything else, in between when you stop bleeding, your fertile days, ovulation, and PMS are within your cycle.
So Then, What’s Important?
Cycle length!
All you need to know is your cycle length matters most. Whether you have a regular (21-35 days in adults and 21-45 days in teens) or irregular cycle length, please remember that it’s bound to change throughout your menstruating life. It may start as irregular when you first get your period and gradually it becomes more regular after your teenage years and then, later on, it will become irregular as you approach menopause. Take note, that there are plenty of other factors that could alter the cycle length. A good example would be contraceptives.
For Grace, It’s your cycle length that helps create accurate period and ovulation predictions with a 99% successful prediction for a user who always tracks their start date in the App!
How Does It Work?
For those who have recently started using the Grace Health App, do you remember the questions you were asked during sign-up? One of the questions had to do with the length of your cycle. It’s okay if you were not sure or did not get a chance to see this question because Grace will always choose a 28-day cycle as it is the most common length. You can always change this later on the calendar page, if necessary.
Occasionally, the Grace App will always ask you to update your last period date. It’s important that you answer this every time you are prompted to. You see, Grace is designed to adjust accordingly to what you share. So by tracking the last period date, Grace can pick the start date and use it to predict your next ovulation and period date.
What about the bleeding days?
Grace uses a default window of 4 days for all our App users as this is the most common one. If you have more bleeding days, please track bleeding using the track button after the four-day window has ended. This could help identify abnormalities in your bleeding patterns.
Again, it’s pretty normal for the days to vary and this does not affect your next period start date.
So What Should I Be Doing?
Track consistently - If you would like to get accurate predictions then you’ll need to be consistent with tracking your period. Even if you see it twice in one month.
Monitor cycle length - Cycle lengths change, if you track consistently Grace will learn your cycle length over time (You can always see your cycle length in the cycle details).
Track additional bleeding days - After the four days' bleeding window has passed and you are still bleeding, use the track button to track your flow.
Tell a friend, to tell a friend - Many still believe that both the start date and end date are used to determine the next period. But you now know the truth. Share that knowledge:)
In Summary
Part of learning about your body is understanding how the different elements all work together. As we have shared above the cycle length is important. The first day of full bleeding is when your cycle starts and that cycle only ends the day before the next period. Not to say that everything else doesn’t matter, they do! That’s why we keep on nudging you to track, track, track as often as possible.
Stay informed, Stay in control
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