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Abstract Background Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is associated with impaired quality of life and may signal serious health problems. Unresolved challenges in measuring menstrual bleeding and identifying HMB have hampered research and clinical care. Self-reported bleeding histories are commonly used but these may be influenced by recall bias, personal beliefs regarding “normal” flow volume, and the experience of other physical symptoms or disruptions to daily life. The potential usefulness of menstrual-tracking mobile applications, which allow real-time user-entered data recording, for assessing HMB has not been studied. We evaluated recall bias in reported period duration, the relationship of tracked period duration and daily flow volume to subsequently reported period heaviness, variation in quality of life associated with increasing period heaviness, and the advantages and limitations of using app-tracked data for clinical and research purposes. Methods An online questionnaire was distributed to current users of Clue, a commercially available menstrual health tracking app, asking them to characterize their last period. We compared responses to the user’s corresponding Clue app-tracked data. The study sample comprised 6546 U.S.-based users (aged 18–45 years). Results Increasing reported heaviness was associated with increasing app-tracked period length and days of heavy flow, impaired quality-of-life (especially body pain severity), and disrupted activities. Of those reporting having had a heavy/very heavy period, ~ 18% had not tracked any heavy flow, but their period length and quality-of-life indicators were similar to those who had tracked heavy flow. Sexual/romantic activities were the most affected across all flow volumes. Compared to app-tracked data, 44% recalled their exact period length; 83% recalled within ± 1 day. Overestimation was more common than underestimation. However, those with longer app-tracked periods were more likely to underestimate period length by ≥ 2 days, a pattern which could contribute to under-diagnosis of HMB. Conclusion Period heaviness is a complex construct that encapsulates flow volume and, for many, several other bleeding-associated experiences (period length, bodily impairments, disruptions of daily activities). Even very precise flow volume assessments cannot capture the multi-faceted nature of HMB as experienced by the individual. Real-time app-tracking facilitates quick daily recording of several aspects of bleeding-associated experiences. This more reliable and detailed characterization of bleeding patterns and experiences can potentially increase understanding of menstrual bleeding variability and, if needed, help to guide treatment.

Unlike most medical research fields, reproductive health has long focused on women. When contraception became a medical issue in France, this further cemented the perception of it as a female issue. Indeed, the promotion of female medical methods went hand in hand with the discrediting of collaborative contraceptive methods involving both partners, such as withdrawal or condom use. This article aims to analyse how the medicalisation of contraception has reinforced the construction of sexually differentiated roles with regard to reproduction, and specifically the role of the medical profession in defining what is possible and desirable in this sphere. It focuses on health professionals’ representations and attitudes, and the role they play in defining contraceptive standards and gender roles. We conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with contraception providers in Paris and its suburbs in 2012 and 2013. Their representations, for the most part, reflect a gendered perception of individuals and their contraceptive skills, men being associated with sexuality and women with reproduction. This gender differentiation is used as a justification for excluding male methods from contraceptive provision.