MYTHBUSTER - About the cycle and fertility

   The world is full of false information and misunderstanding burnt into the public's mind, so I thought of starting a series where we would discuss these myths in certain topics. The most popular misconceptions are related to the menstrual cycle and the fertility, so we will start with these.

Myth #1: A normal cycle is 28 days long.
Fact: Only a fraction of women have 28 days long cycles. The length of the cycle is totally normal between 24 and 35 days, it can even change from month to month (see in the next paragraph), but doctors usually follow the textbook "norm" and count with 28 days to make it easier.

Myth #2: Ovulation always happens on the 14th day.
Fact: The brain produces the hormones that are responsible for ovulation, therefore stress, travel, grief, illness etc can have an effect on it. Ovulation can happen as early as day 9-10 or as late as day 20-21 or even later, all are perfectly normal. The number of days between ovulation and the next menstruation (luteal phase) is always the same individually, it can last 10-16 days. The length of the cycle always depends on the day of ovulation in that month and the length of the luteal phase of that person. Doctors however count with 14th day's ovulation, following the textbook "norm".

Myth #3: Women can get pregnant on any days of their cycle.
Fact: After ovulation the matured egg lives for 12-24 hours and can be fertilized only in the first 6-12 hours of its life. The sperm can live up to 5 days in nourishing environment (fertile cervical fluid). Taking these factors into account there are only about 6 days in each menstrual cycle when unprotected intercourse can cause pregnancy. 

If you know more myths in this topic or you have comments or questions, use the comment option below, I would love to hear from you! 😉