Should I tell my boyfriend I have my period

Today’s Hormonal Health Challenge of the week is this:

Talk to your partner about your period!

That’s right, ladies. This week it’s time to loop in your partner - your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, roommate, or whoever you tend to be spending lots of time with.We get questions from you all the time about how best to communicate your changing hormonal patterns with those closest to you. Especially if you’re dealing with mood changes, physical pain, energy shifts, low libido, or baby-making efforts, it’s really important to be on the same page with things.To help aid your discussion, here are a few points to share. You might even want to print this out and read it over together!What you should know about my cycle:Before we get into more specific details, here’s a cheat-sheet of the different phases of my cycle:Follicular: right after bleeding stops, for about 7 daysOvulation: 3 or 4 days of the most fertile time, midway through the cycleLuteal: the 10 days or so after ovulation and before menstruationMenstruation: the 2-7 days of bleeding(note that the exact amount of days will vary from woman to woman)My communication style will change week to week. I tend to be the clearest and most verbally inclined right after my period and up to ovulation. This is because the left hemisphere of my brain is more dominant. Starting right after ovulation, about 10 days or so before my period, my brain chemistry changes and the right brain is more accessible. This means I tend to be more emotional and sensitive and have less ability to communicate exactly how I’m feeling verbally.My needs for sex change throughout the month. Ovulation time is when I’m the most fertile and so my sex drive will be heightened, but this is not the only time! My testosterone peaks during my luteal phase, somewhere during the 10 days before my period. (Every woman is a little bit different with this, so be sure to communicate how you notice your specific needs changing.)My body image will also vary week to week. I tend to be more critical of my body in the week before my period. This is when I need you to be extra loving and reassuring. When I’m ovulating I’m usually feeling great about how I look and will not have problems picking out outfits because everything feels fabulous!Let’s go out sometimes, and stay home other times. I’m the most energetic and ready to be social in my follicular phase (the week after my period) and the week that I’m ovulating. Let’s plan dates during this time! Once I get closer to my period, though, I’d much prefer dark chocolate and a night in watching Netflix. While I’m on my period, I also crave a significant amount of alone time, so don’t be offended if I feel like closing the door to do some reflecting.And finally, ask your partner what he or she thinks and how you can best stay in communication at all times of the month. Come up with a system you both feel great about and watch how your relationship blossoms!Ready for a more in depth look at every phase of your cycle? Get your copy of WomanCode today and share it with your loved ones!