A woman is asking the nurse about using the calendar method of contraception. She reports that her last six menstrual cycles were 28, 32, 29, 36, 30, and 27 days long, respectively. Based on this information, when should the nurse tell the patient to abstain from intercourse?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To use the calendar method effectively, the woman subtracts 18 from the length of her shortest cycle (27 days) to find the first fertile day, which is day 9 (27-18=9), and subtracts 11 from the length of her longest cycle (36 days) to find the last fertile day, which is day 25 (36-11=25). Therefore, she should abstain from intercourse or use another form of contraception from days 9 to 25 of her cycle.

A Woman Is Asking the Nurse About Using the Calendar