Ask The Expert December 22, 2011 Monitoring the number of days
in your menstrual cycle helps you figure out when youíre
ovulating and if your bleeding pattern is normal. A series of
hormone events happens in your brain, ovary, and uterus ó it
ends with menses or bleeding. Even though itís the final event,
itís also the most obvious. So this is what you use to count
your cycle. Cycle length is the number of days from the first
day of one period to the start of the next period. It varies for
each woman. The length of a normal cycle can vary from 21 to 45
days. But in any one woman, it typically varies only by 3-4 days
from month to month. Normal menses last from 2-7 days. There
should be no spotting in between periods. You should count day 1
of your cycle as the first day that you bleed ó even if the flow
is light. If you have a day of very minor spotting before flow,
you can use either day to count as your day 1. But be consistent
from month to month. If the total number of days that you show
any blood lasts m