Menstrual Cycle Calendar

Making a menstrual cycle calendar is a simple, and easy, way to record your reproductive health. As women, it is always important to know the first day of our last periods. And when things go wrong with our periods, having a record of past periods is a plus when we talk to our doctors.

It takes just a minute to keep this important information about our menstrual cycles up-to-date, and handy, for when questions arise about our periods. Here's how you can make your own menstrual cycle calendar.

Time Required: less than 5 minutesDecide what you will use to mark your period on your calendar. You can simply write, "1st day," "2cd day," and so on, or you can choose to use a symbol of some sort. Many women choose to circle the dates of the first and last days of their periods. Use a red marker to make the days you had your period easier to spot. Each day during your period, describe the flow of your menstruation on your calendar. Is the flow of your period heavy, medium, or light? Use your red marker to write "H" for heavy, "M" for medium, or "L" for light on your menstrual cycle calendar. If the flow of your period is extra heavy or light, you can simply make an "X" in front of the other letter you use to describe your period. Do you have the signs or symptoms of premenstrual syndrome -- PMS? Write on your calendar on each day of the month. Describe how you feel and what types of symptoms you're having on a particular day. Do you have a headache? Are you feeling bloated or retaining water? Are you happy, or has it been a bad day? Just a word or two about how you feel everyday will help you to see if there is a pattern emerging so that your doctor can help you if you have premenstrual syndrome or PMS. Use a calendar with big squares to write in so that you have plenty of room to describe how you feel on days when a small square might not be big enough. Start making your menstrual cycle calendar today, or wait until the first day of your next period.if(zSbL

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