Table 3 Comparison of cycle lengths between women with and women without children over a period of approximately 10 years. Duration of the cycle (in days) is given as mean, SD and range or as an absolute or relative frequency.
| Children of their own | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 25) | No (n = 39) | ||||||
| ± SD | Range | ± SD | Range | ||||
| * or prior to the birth of the 1st child for women with children** compared to 10 years ago or before the birth of the 1st child for women with children | |||||||
| Length of menstrual cycle (days) | At present | 49.3 | 25.71 | (20–91) | 48.33 | 23.84 | (20–91) |
| 10 years ago | 56.56 | 25.41 | (28–91) | 52.11 | 25.21 | (28–91) | |
| Shorter now than 10 years ago* | 11 (44 %) | 11 (28.2 %) | |||||
| Longer now than 10 years ago* | 5 (20 %) | 9 (23.1 %) | |||||
| Length remained normal**Remained longer** | 2 (8 %)7 (28 %) | 8 (20.5 %)11 (28.2 %) | |||||